The Formac Building through the lens of João Alberto Fonseca da Silva

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to expand the debate on the history of photography in the Rio Grande do Sul, more specifically on the practice of photomontage in architecture, because of the rare studies in this area. The photomontage was the new form of expression to simulate the transformations that the capital of Rio
Grande do Sul would pass in the 1950s. In Porto Alegre, the first photographer to use the photomontage in architecture was João Alberto Fonseca da Silva who, even self-taught, can be considered a visionary in photography. João Alberto used this technique in
the Formac Building (1952), by order of the architect Carlos Alberto Holanda Mendonça. The architect's objective was to illustrate the insertion of the building in its context when the capital of Rio Grande do Sul went through a remarkable process of urban verticalization. The analysis and dissemination of the collection material – which was donated to the Centro Universitário Ritter dos  and photographs of the construction of the Formac Building and it is an important part of the history of photography and architecture in the Rio Grande do Sul and in Brazil. Also, it is an unprecedented cultural heritage and we hope to collaborate with the dissemination and analysis of João Alberto's collection. The photomontage of the Formac Building, which still stands out today for its technical quality, expressiveness, and precision, was an important element
for the dissemination of modern architecture then emerging in the local context.