Uma resenha, mesmo que tardia: Roberto Pontual e a sobrevida da questão da identidade nacional na arte brasileira dos anos 1980

Partindo do panorama traçado pelo crítico carioca Roberto Pontual em Explode Geração!, livro publicado em 1985, pretende-se analisar em que medida a questão da identidade brasileira na arte realizada no país encontrou respaldo na cena dos anos 1980, momento em que a produção de uma jovem geração de artistas foi alinhada à tradição do barroco brasileiro, tradição esta que, segundo o crítico, perpassaria e alinhavaria alguns dos trabalhos do período, fornecendo-lhes uma espécie de chancela de uma brasilidade insuspeita, a despeito de todo contato que travavam com a arte internacional. Esta "resenha tardia" propõe-se tão somente indicar caminhos possíveis para futuros estudos mais detalhados acerca de tal questão.

Pela construção de um estado de crítica: a reflexão crítica como campo dialógico

O texto aqui apresentado foi originalmente elaborado para o debate sobre a crítica de arte no I Congresso de Jornalismo realizado em São Paulo, pela Revista Cult, em Maio de 2009. Tendo como campo de trabalho a prática artística e a docência e envolvida no processo de formação de artistas desde 1982, meu objetivo foi argumentar a favor de um entendimento da crítica como dispositivo da arte e, portanto, atributo não só de críticos, mas também de artistas. Defendo a idéia da manutenção de um ‘estado de crítica' para o contexto brasileiro a partir de uma relação dialógica e internacionalizada, envolvendo também a fala crítica de artistas. Para isso reporto às práticas adotadas no século XX pelos artistas que colaboraram para inserir a obra de arte no campo programático da auto-crítica e da crítica ao sistema, evidenciando assim a posição destes como agente ativos no sistema

Nuclear-modification factor for open-heavy-flavor production at forward rapidity in Cu plus Cu collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

Background: Heavy-flavor production in p + p collisions is a good test of perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics (pQCD) calculations. Modification of heavy-flavor production in heavy-ion collisions relative to binary-collision scaling from p + p results, quantified with the nuclear-modification factor (R-AA), provides information on both cold-and hot-nuclear-matter effects. Midrapidity heavy-flavor R-AA measurements at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider have challenged parton-energy-loss models and resulted in upper limits on the viscosity-entropy ratio that are near the quantum lower bound. Such measurements have not been made in the forward-rapidity region. Purpose: Determine transverse-momentum (p(T)) spectra and the corresponding R-AA for muons from heavy-flavor meson decay in p + p and Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV and y = 1.65. Method: Results are obtained using the semileptonic decay of heavy-flavor mesons into negative muons. The PHENIX muon-arm spectrometers measure the p(T) spectra of inclusive muon candidates. Backgrounds, primarily due to light hadrons, are determined with a Monte Carlo calculation using a set of input hadron distributions tuned to match measured-hadron distributions in the same detector and statistically subtracted. Results: The charm-production cross section in p + p collisions at root s = 200 GeV, integrated over p(T) and in the rapidity range 1.4 < y < 1.9, is found to be d(sigma e (e) over bar)/dy = 0.139 +/- 0.029 (stat)(-0.058)(+0.051) (syst) mb. This result is consistent with a perturbative fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log calculation within scale uncertainties and is also consistent with expectations based on the corresponding midrapidity charm-production cross section measured by PHENIX. The R-AA for heavy-flavor muons in Cu + Cu collisions is measured in three centrality bins for 1 < p(T) < 4 GeV/c. Suppression relative to binary-collision scaling (R-AA < 1) increases with centrality. Conclusions: Within experimental and theoretical uncertainties, the measured charm yield in p + p collisions is consistent with state-of-the-art pQCD calculations. Suppression in central Cu + Cu collisions suggests the presence of significant cold-nuclear-matter effects and final-state energy loss.

Brazilian sandy beach macrofauna production: a review

The state of the art of the studies on the production of Brazilian sandy beach macrofauna was analyzed on the basis of the data available in the literature. For this purpose, the representativeness of the production dataset was examined by latitudinal distribution, degree of exposure and morphodynamic state of beaches, taxonomic groups, and methods employed. A descriptive analysis was, further, made to investigate the trends in production of the more representative taxonomic groups and species of sandy beach macrofauna. A total of 69 macrofauna annual production estimates were obtained for 38 populations from 25 studies carried out between 22º56'S and 32º20'S. Production estimates were restricted to populations on beaches located on the southern and southeastern Brazilian coast. Most of the populations in the dataset inhabit exposed dissipative sandy beaches and are mainly represented by mollusks and crustaceans, with a smaller number of polychaetes. The trends in production among taxonomic groups follow a similar pattern to that observed on beaches throughout the world, with high values for bivalves and decapods. The high turnover rate (P/B ratio) of the latter was due to the presence of several populations of the mole crab Emerita brasiliensis, which can attain high values of productivity, in the dataset. Most of the studies focus on the comparison of production and, especially, of P/B ratio according to life history traits in populations of the same species/taxonomic group. Despite the importance of life history-production studies, other approaches, such as the effect of man-induce disturbances on the macrofauna, should be undertaken in these threatened environments.