Disruptions and Mestizaje in Modernist Bolivian Art
As a part of Transformative Performances of National Identity: Bolivian Art and Cultural Expressions, this panel will retrace the artistic trajectory of modern Bolivian artists such as María Luisa Pacheco, Oscar Pantoja and Alfredo Da Silva, who were introduced to New York audiences and inserted in the Latin American art scene during the late 1950s and 1960s by the acclaimed art critics, José Goméz-Sicre, Marta Traba and Barbara Duncan. Cecilio Guzmán de Rojas whose paintings reflect strong nationalist undertones and coming from a geographically isolated country, informed this generation of Bolivian modernists. Later, their differing styles were presented as lyrical abstraction devoid of a political agenda and distancing themselves from the muralist and realism movements. However, none of these categories were entirely representative of the country’s complex reality. These modern Bolivian artists, and other representative artists to be presented by this panel, created works that embodied their particular vision of the Andean landscape, the mestizaje movement and decolonial perspectives. The sociopolitical contents presented during this panel will explicate the cultural background which will allow us to better understand these artists.
About the Speakers:
Fernando Calderón, Simón Bolivar Chair, University of Cambridge, England and Director of the Program on Innovation, Multiculturalism and Development (PIDEM) of the University of San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Michele Greet, Professor of Art History and affiliated faculty in Latin American Studies, Cultural Studies, Honors, and Women's Studies, George Mason University, Washington D.C.,
Valeria Paz, Academic Coordinator of the Universidad Católica de La Paz, Bolivia and 2021 CAA-Getty International Program Grantee, The Getty Foundation, Los Angeles, and moderated by Vanessa Davidson, Curator of Latin American Art, The Blanton Museum of Art.
About Transformative Performances of National Identity: Bolivian Art and Cultural Expressions:
This is a seven panel virtual series that will provide a historical overview of Bolivia’s artistic and cultural production. A group of Bolivian artists and intellectuals will trace the history and art of this South American country.
Transformative Representations of National Identity: Bolivian Art and Cultural Expressions is open and free to the public. Please click on this link to access registration for all panels https://www.eventbrite.com/o/carolina-scarborough-33772654223. At the conclusion of the series, the panels will also be available to the public on social media platforms.
Funders
The series of virtual panels, Transformative Performances of National Identity: Bolivian Art and Cultural Expressions, is made possible by generous funds from The Fundación Simón I. Patiño in Geneva, The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University, The Bolivian American Chamber of Commerce in New York, Roberta & Richard Huber, and two anonymous donors.
Special thanks to George Ruiz, Fréderic Debray, Ignacio Oficialdelgui, Jill Lane, Omar Dauhaujer, Iván Rebolledo, James Huber, María Eugenia de Asín, Rita del Solar, Ingvar Elleffsen, Elizabeth Elder, Alejandra Prado, Bryan Rosado, Sharon Schultz, and Edward J. Sullivan.