Depositions

Depositions offers an understanding of Burle Marx beyond his gardens and parks; it is a solid introduction to both his work and Brazil’s quest to establish its cultural identity. Architectural Record

Catherine [Seavitt] Nordenson’s book, Depositions: Roberto Burle Marx and Public Landscapes under Dictatorship, is a crucial contribution as it reveals Burle Marx’s systematic role as a government councilor defending cultural and environmental preservation. . . . The architectural field in itself has scarcely been historicized and analyzed in its nuances and complexities in the period of the military dictatorship in Brazil. Nordenson’s work is highly relevant in its approach to acknowledging the role of architects in the policy-making debate, going beyond their landscape design. Such an approach moves towards recognizing historical subjects for more than the cultural products they create. caa.reviews

Depositions is a well-researched, well-written, and laudatory study that substantially adds to, and significantly amends, our view of Burle Marx as a landscape architect and cultural figure. Landscape Journal

[Depositions] presents [Burle Marx’s] pieces, or depositions, in English for the first time. It also stands alone as the first collection and republication of these texts since they appeared in three journals issued by Ministry of Education and Culture: Cultura, Boletim, and Revista Brasileira de Cultura. But Nordenson’s book goes far beyond that, as it tries to elucidate other instances and circles where Burle Marx was also active in questioning a process of modernization/development that has always cost Brazil profound environmental destruction. . . . It might not be exaggerated, then, to see in Burle Marx’s remarks essential reading for anyone who is interested not only in landscape design, but also in the science and politics of living on Earth. Architecture Beyond Europe Journal

[Depositions] opens new perspectives on Burle Marx's work, revealing facets of his celebrated projects and legacy that too often go unspoken…This seminal book will enable greater understanding not only of Burle Max's position as a designer operating under dictatorial conditions but also of the convoluted circumstances underlying Brazil's modern architectural history. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

[Depositions] sheds new light on Burle Marx’s intellectual position and serves as a valuable map of the local sociopolitical context, in its complexities and contradictions since colonial times. ABE Journal

At the center of Catherine Seavitt Nordenson’s masterly volume is Roberto Burle Marx: a visionary proselytizer for modernism, environmentalism, landscape design, and a Brazilian national aesthetic ethos. Equal parts history, sourcebook, and monograph, Depositions reveals how great and enduring art and ideas can find their way to the fore even during oppressive political regimes. Adam Weinberg

Roberto Burle Marx’s immediately recognizable modernist color palette and organic forms in garden design, paintings, tapestries, and even the famous mosaic stone walkways of Copacabana are virtually synonymous with the popular appearance of Brazilian modernism. The garden designer’s horticultural research is equally renowned. Yet his intellectual positions have scarcely been addressed. Exploiting rarely studied sources, Catherine Seavitt Nordenson establishes the most salient of Burle Marx’s stances as an ecological activist and explores the ways he deployed those positions even during the decades of the Brazilian military dictatorship. A pathbreaking study. Barry Bergdoll

A significant contribution to the scholarship on Roberto Burle Marx’s work. While much has been written about Burle Marx’s prolific design career, this is the first time we learn of him directly engaged in national politics and policymaking. The translations of his depositions alongside their thorough contextualization are invaluable for a deeper understanding of Burle Marx’s impact on the culture of Brazil and modern Latin America. Anita Berrizbeitia

Depositions presents a timely translation of Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx’s speeches while a cultural counselor to the military regime in its heyday, notably critiquing its nationalist developmentalist policies and arguing for environmental protection. This book also provides a valuable introduction to the construction of culture by the state in Brazil since colonial times, insightful commentaries on the speeches in relation to Burle Marx’s own landscape designs, and stunning photographs and drawings. Carlos Eduardo Comas