João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban with dogs Nero and Pepi.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban with dogs Nero and Pepi.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban, photographer, author.
João Urban as a child.
https://www.amazon.com/Boias-frias-Joao-Urban/dp/3905482053
1984
1995
1999
2009
João Aristeu Urban was born on April 21, 1943, in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, to Polish immigrants. His uncle, an amateur photographer, had a laboratory in his parent's basement. Urban visited him many times in this improvised dark-room. When his uncle bought a new camera, he gave his old one, a Brownie Jr., to his nephew. Urban cannot recall if he actually took any pictures with it or just pretended to.
In 1954-1956, João Urban studied at Colegio Santa Maria. In 1956-1963, he attended Colegio Estadual do Parana (State College of Parana).
In 1957-1959, João Urban worked as a store clerk at Urban Ltd. In 1957-1959, he worked as a bank teller at Bamerindus. In 1967-1969, he was the owner of Photon Photos Ltd. In 1969, he became a photographer at Phototecnica. The collections of his photography include Landless Labourers: A Partial View (1988), Tropeiros (1992), Here and There - Memories of Polish Immigrants (2004), and The Rivers I Walk Through - Mother Nature (2007).
João Urban started working as a photographer in the advertising industry. However, he did not lose his sensitivity to social issues at his job, and they remained of the utmost importance in his artistic work. A Contemporary Photographers contributor noted, "He has not only recorded facts, events, and conditions; he has also been able to represent that mass of feelings - hopes and sorrows - that are the inward nature of man." He took part in various exhibitions both in Brazil and abroad, including the 14th Biennale in São Paulo in 1977, the 15th Biennale in São Paulo in 1979, and the 5th Biennale in Havana in 1994.
One of the main themes of his photographs is the day-to-day life and work of landless peasants. This theme was close to him due to his own family's situation: one of his close relatives worked on a farm. Urban's photographs documenting the situation of landless peasants at work are some of his most recognizable. Another important series is one documenting representatives of the Polish diaspora in the state of Parana. At the core of his work of documenting people (whether field workers or Polish immigrants and their descendants) lies in a close connection with fellow human beings and interest and concern for their fate. "It's possible none of this [photographic career] would have worked out if it weren't for the rural crisis in Parana," Urban said, recollecting the great exodus that exiled many people from villages to the cities in the 1960s. "Any sensitive person was interested in what was happening there at the time," he explained. He had good contact with the second-generation Polish immigrants, whom he photographed in centers like Cruz Machado, which had a high concentration of Polish people. This was surely in part due to the fact that his mother Janina was from that region in the south of Parana.
João Urban is the author of numerous photo albums. He earned several awards for his work in photography. A retrospective of his work entitled Temporary Demarcation: João Urban - 40 Years of Photography was presented at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba between 2006-2007. His works are included in permanent collections at many galleries and museums in Brazil, and the French Museum of Photography in Paris, France.
In the 1960s, João Urban was involved in politics: he took part in the opposition movement against Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), and he was interrogated for taking pictures of the military during demonstrations.
João Urban married Adelaide Fortes in 1969. They divorced in 1980. Now Urban is married to Jussara Salazar. He has two children: Dora and Vladimir.
