A Curitiba’s storyteller: narration, oldness and Efigênia Rolim’s performance

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to analyze, based on different viewpoints, the work by Efigênia Rolim, a 70-year-old artist, who creates objects and stories from scrap. This work is based on literature and sociological theories as well as on the concept of performance which stems from the performing arts, helping with the understanding as well as with the possibility of classification of the artist’s creation. As an extension of the debate on the interface between the old age transformations and the traditional narrator (BELMAIA; DANTAS; 2007), narrative and experience aspects will be dealt with (as defined by W. Benjamin), connected to the history of verbal narrative in Brazil. Based on sociological theories it is intended to outline how the 20th century culture marginalized the elderly, changing their role from a narrator to a passive consumer. Finally, the singularity of Efigênia Rolim’s work, contrary to the current trends, is considered a proof that the traditional narrator has not disappeared and that he/she can still be considered an agent of transformation and construction of new cultural horizons.