art

Brazil has proved itself a global force in soccer and music, architecture and business. But there’s one area where the South American giant has yet to produce a Pelé or a Veloso, a Niemeyer or an Embraer: art.

That seems odd considering Brazil’s richly creative culture and its awesomely idyllic surroundings. Mexico can claim the marquee power of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo; Colombia has Botero. But the Brazilian art scene “is still finding its way internationally,” says São Paulo entrepreneur and art promoter Michel Serebrinsky.

Art Miami, an Art Basel satellite fair, held a symposium this week on women in the arts.

The event was designed to bring attention to inequality between men and women on gallery walls, both the amount of women artists and the value of their work.

Emmet Moore is a South Florida artist through and through. He grew up in Miami and returned after college. That's when he set out to become an artist full-time. It's still early in his career but so far he's making it work: His work has been exhibited at a few art galleries, including Gallery Diet in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood.

Charles Soto started tattooing four years ago, after his mother died following a long illness.

“[It] was a moment in my life of desperation. I hit rock bottom," he says. "I was dead broke."

Three years later, Soto reconnected with his estranged older brother, just months before the latter died of HIV complications. His grief influenced his art with dark overtones, but also put him in the sightline of a company now displaying his work during Art Basel.

There’s no question that Art Basel brings plenty of people -- and their stuff -- to Wynwood. The question is: How do you keep the area clean?

Leticia Pollock is co-owner of Panther Coffee in Wynwood. She says Basel is her busiest week of the year, so she has to have more people on staff to help keep the place running smoothly – and looking tidy. But this year, Pollock noticed something else helping out: plastic yellow trash cans next to the street in front of her property.

Miami's massive art event isn't particularly known for showcasing the art of the African diaspora. Babacar Mbow, owner and curator of Multitudes Contemporary Art Gallery, hopes to change that.

  History was made this week on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Perez Art Museum Miami enters the world stage with the aim of being among those known by one name: Tate, Whitney, Guggenheim, Smithsonian. The museum gets its name from Jorge Perez, founder, chairman and CEO of real estate development company The Related Group.

Basel is back in town and the annual artistic spotlight is swiveling around Miami, highlighting nooks and crannies the city normally passes by with nonchalance. Now in its 12th year, Art Basel Miami Beach has not only grown, but changed the landscape of the city and South Florida.

It’s easy to be cynical about the general milieu. I have been snarky about the crowds and traffic before and I most likely will be again. But taking a step back and appreciating what Basel has changed can be boiled down to a few simple questions.

As Art Basel Miami Beach gets underway, we’re thinking about what it means to be an artist. Though many would deny being an artist, we have all probably experienced a time when we embraced the title: childhood.

We asked our staff, “What’s the first creative thing you can remember doing?” The answers prompted lots of fun conversations about early aspirations to be the next big animator, choreographer or roller coaster designer. Try it with your friends.

And let us know on Twitter @WLRN using #whatisart.

WLRN-Miami Herald News brings Art Basel to you through our digital coverage -- and our community of listeners.

Art Basel goes beyond the Miami Beach Convention Center. In the next few days, we want to know what you think about the art, people, and events you're seeing throughout South Florida during Basel.   Here are two things we're looking for: