Ronaldo Entler Examines the Ethics of Showing Violent Historical Images

Key facts

• Ronaldo Entler is a researcher, photography critic, professor, and coordinator of postgraduate studies at FAAP (SP).
• The essay was published on ZUM, a Brazilian photography magazine.
• Debret and Rugendas were 19th-century European artists who depicted enslaved Black people in Brazil.
• Ariella Aïsha Azoulay chose not to display daguerreotypes of enslaved individuals from Harvard University in a 2019 talk at IMS.
• In 2023, Azoulay co-authored 'Collaboration – A Potential History of Photography', which included a daguerreotype of Renty Taylor held by descendant Tamara Lanier.
• Tamara Lanier sued Harvard University for the return of daguerreotypes of Renty Taylor and Delia Taylor.
• In 2024, a Supreme Court agreement transferred the daguerreotypes to the International African American Museum in Charleston.
• The exhibition 'Debret em Questão – Olhares Contemporâneos' ran from 2025 to 2026 at the Museu do Ipiranga.
• The exhibition was curated by Gabriela Longman and Jacques Leenhardt.
• It featured 35 engravings by Debret and works by 19 contemporary artists and one collective.
• Artists included Marcel Gautherot, Anna Bella Geiger, Cássio Vasconcellos, Dalton Paula, Denilson Baniwa, Eustaquio Neves, Rosana Paulino, Tiago Sant'Ana, Val Souza, Isabel Löfgren, and Patricia Gouvêa.
• Marcelo Masagão's installation 'Homens brancos' removed white figures from Debret's aquarelles.
• The installation was shown in a public square in Serra Grande, Bahia, and was destroyed by a teenager.
• Masagão later moved to Belmonte, Bahia, and collaborates with local artists.
• The essay discusses the concept of 'enquadramento' (framing) as key to ethical display.
• Azoulay also curated 'Untaken Photographs' (2010) and authored 'Unshowable Photographs' (2013).
• The essay references Saidiya Hartman's 'The Time of Slavery' (2018).
• Pierre Fatumbi Verger is cited as an example of an outsider who achieved belonging through deep engagement with Afro-Brazilian culture.
• The essay mentions the use of disclaimers as an ethical solution.
• Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino are discussed regarding the use of racial slurs in film.