Readings in Latin American Modern Art

by Patrick L. Frank

This important and welcome volume is the first English-language anthology of writings on Latin American modern art of the twentieth century. The book includes some fifty seminal essays and documents―including statements, interviews, and manifestoes by artists―that encompass the broad diversity of this emerging field. Many of these materials are difficult to access and some are translated here for the first time. Together the selections explore the breadth and depth of Latin American modern art as well as its distinctive evolution apart from American and European art history.
Included in this collection are fascinating ideas and insights on the impact of the avant-garde in the 1920s, the Mexican mural movement, Surrealism and other fantasy-based styles, modern architecture, geometric and optical art, concrete and neo-concrete art, and political conceptualism. For students and scholars of Latin American art, the volume offers an invaluable collection of primary and secondary sources.

Genres: Art, Art History

271 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Isai Soto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took my time.
There’s a strange emphasis in the middle of the book for concrete/constructivists and offshoots of the concrete art movement. I think this is weakest focus for the book. I appreciated the essays about Lam, as well as the brief mentions of Clemente Orozco. As in any essay collection, some really knocked it out of the park, particularly for me the one by Joaquin-Torres Garcia was awesome. The interviews were particularly great to read. The last section was good for the exception of the writing on Nahum Zenil. Overall, one thumb up.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of essays by a variety of people with some knowledge or expertise relating to art and architecture from different countries from that region, so a mixed bag as you would expect. My favourites were those that described artists from a biographical as well as technical art perspectives, such as Leonora Carrington, Dr Atl, Hector Hypolite, and the various groups that sprang up after European sojourns and political milieu. The section on architecture was also interesting and well written.