Latin American Art

One aspect of Latin American culture that I am more familiar with (besides food) is art. We have a very valuable resource on campus in The Blanton. The art museum houses multiple pieces of art from influential Latin American artists. Studying the art of a group of people often highly reflects social, political and environmental factors that influence them. In connection to the conversation we had in class regarding the colonial expansion of the Spanish and French (and why Latin America is called ‘Latin America’), I’d like to introduce Cildo Meireles’ ‘How To Build Cathedrals.’ The work, located in the back of the America/Americas exhibit, is made of 600,000 coins, 800 communion wafers, 2000 cattle bones and 80 paving stones. The exhibit highlights the relationship between wealth, agricultural exploitation and religion. As a contemporary artist, Meireles draws from old world views to create a modern work of art. Other artists to check out in the Blanton are David Alfred Siqueiros, Gyula Kiocise, Antonio Berni and Joaquin Torres-Garcia.

Oswaldo Guayasamin is considered a popular, socially-concerned artist in Educador. My favorite painting, "The Scream," is a work by Guayasamin that most relate to Picasso. His images capture political oppression, racism, poverty and class division found in South America.