Field book is the result of an invitation I made to seven civil construction workers to draw their work routines at the construction site into sketchbooks during one month. The idea came from reading the book I swear I saw this, by the Australian anthropologist Michael Taussig. In it, Taussig wonders if the drawings and scribbles he has performed in his own field books have ethnographic value.

Vânia Medeiros

The field book, by Vânia Medeiros, is not sponsored by the marketing of construction companies; on the contrary, surprisingly, it is the result of a Term of Conduct Adjustment (TAC), initiated by means of a denunciation by the Civil Construction Union of Guarulhos and formalized by the Public Ministry of Labor. Thus, Field book, its accomplishment and publication were not financed by companies or via Rouanet Law. They were made with TAC funds, collected from the company that committed the labor crime and, therefore, does not use tax exemptions, or requires its logo to be displayed in the exhibit and catalog of the works. This sui generis repair is being carried out by the Contracondutas Group from Escola da Cidade, in partnership with the course on History of Art at the Federal University of São Paulo. Contracondutas has selected, by means of edict, artists interested in proposing works that would problematize the work conditions on construction sites. Vânia Medeiros was one of the selected artists. The whole project has six artists and collectives performing on the same theme, with their own projects but in dialogue, a website, with research and debate material, involving Escola da Cidade, Unifesp and external collaborators.

                                                                       Pedro Fiori Arantes