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FIND OF THE WEEK

Brazilian folk artist and master woodcut printmaker, José Francisco Borges passed away at the age of 88 years old.

José Francisco Borges (August 4, 1935 – July 26, 2024), best known as J. Borges, was a Brazilian folk poet and woodcut artist. He was considered the greatest woodcut artist in northeastern Brazil, and “the most celebrated master of the art.”

As a young man, he worked as a bricklayer, farmhand, herb seller, carpenter and potter. He began selling, and then writing and selling, the leaflets known as “cordel literature,” containing epic poems illustrated with woodcut prints in a small format that the sellers would hang on strings, or cordeis.

Printmaking is one of my favorite mediums of art. By far my favorite college course thanks to Professor Chen, and one of my favorite units to teach to my high school students. This past summer my six-year-old and I have spent time printing together, something he absolutely loves to do and something he luckily hasn’t severely injured himself doing!

The works shown here are a few of my favorites by Borges. Specifically, the wood blocks. Secretly, the secret is out now, wood blocks that have long been printed, and printed, and collected the perfect amount of wear and tear and age is one of my favorite pieces of art ever. And the wood blocks by Borges are clearly no different.

Rest in peace J. Borges.

These works are in the permanent collection of the American Folk Art Museum.

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