Petterson Dantas was born in Caicó, Brazil and has lived in Natal for 17 years. An architect and urban planner, he graduated from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. His series "Ode to Oscar" illustrates important works of Oscar Niemeyer, depicting the contrasts and the beauty of the buildings designed by Brazil's most famous architect.
Read the description of the project and see the illustrations below.
This series illustrates some of the most important works of the architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012). It is comprised of 11 pieces that depict buildings and monuments located both in Brazil and abroad, constructed between 1940 (Church of St. Francis, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte) and 2001 (Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba).
The aim of the illustrations was to depict Niemeyer's architecture through a series of contrasts present in his work:
Curves vs. Straight Lines
Earth vs. Heaven
Full vs. Empty
White vs. Color
To accomplish this, each project has been transformed into a flat figure, while maintaining their facade and essential lines. The background, consisting of colored orthogonal bands, emphasizes the desired contrasts and marks the important aspects of the structures.
The Ode to Oscar series allows for the creation of a large panel that juxtaposes the illustrations, interweaving the backgrounds used in each of the individual parts. The parts are mixed together, creating colored tiles that show familiar forms as the observer approaches.
To see all the illustrations from the Ode to Oscar series, click here.