“The museum transforms the work of art into an object”. (MALRAUX)

The search for artists and works under the key of Afrodiasporic art in the MAC USP collection presents itself as an arduous task, particularly for the researcher who is far from the routines of the institution. The most available tools are academic studies (articles, dissertations and theses), publications (folders, catalogs and books) and exhibitions that allow enjoying the collection. Often, these modes of extroversion offer a partial view of the Museum's works. The last edition of MAC USP's general catalog of works dates from 1992, with very few copies available in strategic sectors, such as the Library.

n addition to publications, a new research tool is available to the public (https://acervo.mac.usp.br/acervo/). In this database are the works incorporated up to February 2019, but it still does not have the pieces that are under administrative custody and those that go through the catalog review process. The search markers are technical and involve the basic catalog data, exhibitions and publications in which the works have participated. Here it should be mentioned that it is possible to aggregate artists by nationality, since the place of birth and death is one of these essential cataloging information. However, this research system still does not allow the gathering of artists and works under the denomination of schools, movements, styles and themes or even through cultural, gender or social markers – here it is emphasized that this field exists, but it is not yet available.

For the theme African Diasporas in the Americas in the MAC USP Collection, collecting lists of works and artists has become a major challenge. Due to several factors, among them, the geographical distance of the curators who are part of the project and the measures to prevent covid-19 that limited working in person. Two other issues arose: the lack of in-depth knowledge about the most outstanding collections in the collection and the construction of the concept of the so-called Afrodiasporic art from the reading of MAC USP.

Thus, we chose to perform sectioned searches that were refined and, even today, are considered incomplete and subject to further revisions. In the first selection, it was decided to gather all the artists born on the African continent – after all, the key to nationality was possible through the available research tool. Subsequently, artists born in the USA, South America and the Caribbean were gathered. For the formation of these lists, the Museum’s cataloging and documentation team was indispensable. It is worth mentioning that these lists need validation from the observation of each work and biography of the artists – this is research still to be carried out.

Another demand was the selection of works by Brazilian artists who, avowedly, have their production aligned with Afro-Brazilian art. In this selection, we took into account the history and criticism of art that place the poetics of these artists linked to the concerns of this aspect. Finally, the curators requested two specific lists: artists traditionally placed under the prism of “primitivism” and the gathering of works by white artists (Brazilian or foreign) with a theme linked to Afrodiasporic art. For the artists placed in the "Primitivism" key, we chose to list them in the Artists of Popular Erudition list. For these two lists, it was necessary to read (sheet by sheet) the MAC USP general catalog – here there is still the risk of adding or excluding some work, since “untitled” works. and with unrevealing images must be taken into account – nothing replaces a visit to the technical reserve and direct contact with the work.

Thus, the lists exposed in this section represent the possibility of investigating the collection beyond the technical data and the concern with racial, gender and social markers – which currently become relevant for the understanding and interpretation of works and artists. Finally, it is understood that cataloging and documentation are crucial instruments for new propositions and new readings of the collection.