Other Modernities: Latin American Art, Fall 2017 ARH 341N / LAS 327 Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 2:00–3:00pm, DFA 2.204

Instructor: Professor Adele Nelson Email: [email protected] Office: DFA 2.524 Office hours: Monday, 3:00–4:15pm, Thursday, 1:45–3:30pm, or by appointment

Course description: This course examines the various currents of that developed in Latin America from 1900 to 1945, with particular emphasis placed on the artists and art movements of South America and Mexico. Discussions will focus on understanding the distinct social, political, and historical contexts of artistic production in various Latin American centers and how artists conceived of their work in relationship to local and international debates about modernity, modernism, the avant-garde, nationalism, identity, and colonialism. We will take advantage of the University’s rich collections of Latin American art, including those of the Benson Latin American Collection and Blanton Museum of Art.

Some questions we will consider: What strategies did visual artists develop to assert their modernity from/in a region their contemporaries often considered a cultural backward? How did artists represent racial difference and emerging national identities in their work? How did art challenge, examine, and/or relate to the epochal societal and political changes underfoot in the period we will study, including the aftermath of the abolition of slavery in the mid- and late nineteenth century, the Mexican Revolution and World War I in the first decade of the twentieth century, World War II, and the urban transformation and industrialization of the region into the middle of the twentieth century?

Global Cultures flag: This course carries the Global Cultures flag. Global Cultures courses are designed to increase your familiarity with cultural groups outside the United States. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one non-U.S. cultural group, past or present.

Class structure: We meet three days a week, Mondays, Wednesday & Friday. Please be on time, as late arrivals, and early departures, are disruptive. This course combines lectures with discussion, and attendance is essential. Everything we will study and analyze in class will not be covered in the readings. You are expected to be an active participant in the class: asking questions, answering questions, and engaging with each other as well as with the readings and works of art. Slide lists with key terms will be distributed in each class and PDFs with the images you are responsible for learning will be posted on Canvas within a couple days of the lecture.

Learning objectives: Students who successfully complete this course will: 1. Gain knowledge of modern art of Latin America in terms of style, form, and historical context, including regional and transnational exchange; 2. Refine their interpretative skills in looking at modern art;

1 3. Develop fluency and confidence in writing about and verbally discussing art; 4. Identify and become conversant with a variety of art historical methodologies; 5. Further develop the ability to assess and discuss critically a variety of texts, including primary and secondary sources. 6. Acquire or develop the skills to write a research-based paper, including finding, analyzing, and evaluating primary and secondary sources; formulating an argument; and employing Chicago Manual of Style documentation formatting.

Required texts: Jacqueline Barnitz and Patrick Frank. Twentieth-Century Art of Latin America. Revised & expanded edition. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. (Fine Arts Library reserve & available at University Co-op) Additional required readings are available on Canvas.

Office hours: I am eager to get to know you individually, help you succeed in the course, and discuss professional opportunities during and after your undergraduate degree (in & outside of the fields of Art History and Latin American Studies). Please come see me.

Writing and studying support: A significant portion of your grade depends on your ability to present your ideas clearly and persuasively through writing. I suggest you take full advantage of the University Writing Center (UWC), which is located in the Learning Commons, PCL 2.330 (512-471-6222, uwc.utexas.edu). The UWC offers free, individualized help by appointment or on a drop-in basis. The Sanger Learning Center (JEL A332, 512-471-3614, utexas.edu/ugs/slc/) provides study skills, time-management, and note-taking courses.

Reference & writing guidance texts: Sylvan Barnet. A Short Guide to Writing about Art. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2015. (Fine Arts Library reserve) The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. (electronic access via library catalog; 16th ed reference desk at Perry-Castañeda Library) Andrea A. Lunsford. Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference. 4th ed. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. (Fine Arts Library reserve) Marjorie Munsterberg, Writing About Art. Available at: writingaboutart.org Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith. Modern Latin America. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. (electronic access via library catalog; 7th ed. Fine Arts Library reserve)

Course requirements: Readings & class discussion: Each class, you are required to read assigned material and come to class prepared to discuss all assigned readings. Your contributions to class discussions every week, along with attendance, will determine your class participation grade. See accompanying guidelines.

Exams and Quiz: On Oct. 16 a mid-term exam, consisting of slide identifications and essay questions, will be given. The date of the final exam, concentrated on the materials from the

2 second half of the course, will be announced later in the term. A short map quiz given on Sept. 8 will ensure your familiarity with the places we will study.

Papers: A one- to two-page visual analysis of an avant-garde work on display at the Blanton Museum of Art is due on Oct. 2. A three- to four-page essay analyzing the interpretation of Mexican modernism in the permanent collection galleries at the Blanton and the Mexico Modern exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center is due on Nov. 8. A five- to seven-page research-based paper will be due on Dec. 11. Detailed guidelines for each will be distributed in advance.

Grading: Grade breakdown: Class participation (including map quiz): 20% Mid-term exam: 20% Papers: 40% Final exam: 20%

The University of Texas grading system: A (4.00) = 94–100 B (3.00) = 83–86 C (2.00) = 73–76 D (1.00) = 63–66 A- (3.67) = 90–93 B- (2.67) = 80–82 C- (1.67) = 70–72 D- (.67) = 60–62 B+ (3.33) = 87–89 C+ (2.33) = 77–79 D+ (1.33) = 67–69 F (.00) = 0–59

Class policies: Attendance: Attendance is required at all class meetings and will be taken at the beginning of each class. If you miss more than two classes, your participation grade will drop an increment for each subsequent class you miss (an A will become a A-).

Assignments: Assignments are due as hard copies (no emailed files, please) at the beginning of class on the date indicated on the syllabus. Late papers will be subject to a grade penalty for each day the paper is late (a B will be become a B-).

Use of cell phones, laptops, etc.: The use of laptops, tablets, cell phones, etc. is not allowed during class.

University policies: Accommodations: Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 512-471-6259 (voice) or 512-410-6644 (Video Phone) as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations.

Religious holy days: By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.

Academic Integrity: A fundamental principle for any educational institution, academic integrity is highly valued and seriously regarded at The University of Texas at Austin. More specifically, you and other students are expected to maintain absolute integrity and a high standard of individual honor in scholastic work undertaken at the University. This is a very

3 basic expectation that is further reinforced by the University's Honor Code. At a minimum, you should complete any assignments, exams, and other scholastic endeavors with the utmost honesty, which requires you to:

• acknowledge the contributions of other sources to your scholastic efforts; • complete your assignments independently unless expressly authorized to seek or obtain assistance in preparing them; • follow instructions for assignments and exams, and observe the standards of your academic discipline; and • avoid engaging in any form of academic dishonesty on behalf of yourself or another student.

Students who violate University rules on academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. For further information, please visit the Student Conduct and Academic Integrity website at: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/conduct.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is strictly forbidden. If you have any questions, please ask me. For UT Libraries’ guide on avoiding plagiarism, see: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/learningmodules/plagiarism/

Counseling and health services: Taking care of your general well-being is an important step in being a successful student. University Health Services (healthyhorns.utexas.edu) provides medical and health promotion services for currently enrolled students and some non-students who are officially enrolled in certain University programs. The Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC) helps students with their personal concerns so that they can meet the daily challenges of student life (M-F 8–5, SSB, 5th floor, 512-471-3515, cmhc.utexas.edu). CMHC Crisis Line is 24/7 (512-471-2255, cmhc.utexas.edu/24hourcounseling.html) The Counselors in Academic Residence (CARE) initiative has placed a counselor in the College of Fine Arts who can meet with students to discuss mental health issues: Abby Simpson, M-F 8-5, DFA 1.204B, 512-471-0392 (Please leave a message if she is unavailable), [email protected]

4 Course schedule: INTRODUCTION: SOME DEFINITIONS & HISTORICAL CONDITIONS Aug. 30 Introduction to the course

Sept. 1 The Idea of “Latin America” Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, xx. Canvas: Gerardo Mosquera, “From Latin American Art to Art from Latin America,” Art Nexus 2, no. 48 (April–June 2003): 70–74.

Sept. 4 No class (Labor Day)

Sept. 6 Colonialism & Identity in Latin America Canvas: Ariel Jiménez, “Neither Here Nor There,” in Mari Carmen Ramírez and Héctor Olea, eds., Inverted Utopias: Avant-Garde Art in Latin America (Houston: Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 2004), 247–53, only 247. #1: Eduardo Galeano, Memory of Fire, I: Genesis (1982) (New York: Norton & Company, 1985), xv–xvi, 43–62. #2: bell hooks, “Columbus: Gone but Not Forgotten,” in hooks, Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations (New York: Routledge, 1994), 231–42. #3: Silviano Santiago, “Why and For What Purpose Does the European Travel?,” The Space In-Between: Essays on Latin American Culture, Ed. Ana Lúcia Gazzola (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2001), 9–24. * For this class, read the first 4 paragraphs of Jiménez essay & select 1 of the 3 texts to read.

Sept. 8 **Meet at the Blanton Museum of Art with Rosario Granados, Associate Curator of Spanish Colonial Art Painting the Conquest Canvas: Elizabeth Hill Boone and Thomas B.F. Cummins, “Colonial Foundations: Points of Contact and Compatibility,” in Joseph J. Rishel and Suzanne Stratton-Pruitt, eds., The Arts in Latin America, 1492–1820 (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2006), 11–21.

THE 19TH CENTURY- EARLY 20TH CENTURY: ACADEMICISM & MODERNISM Sept. 11 Envisioning Empire, Colony & Independence via Landscape MAP QUIZ Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 1–12.

Sept. 13 When and What are Modernity & Modernism in Latin America? Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 13–15. Canvas: Néstor García Canclini, “Modernity after Postmodernity,” in Gerardo Mosquera, ed., Beyond the Fantastic: Contemporary Art Criticism from Latin America. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1996, 20–52.

Sept. 15 Academic Art between Colony and Nation: The Case of Brazil Canvas: Rafael Cardoso Denis, “Academicism, Imperialism and National Identity: The Case of Brazil’s Academia Imperial de Belas Artes,” in Cardoso Denis, ed., Art and the Academy in the Nineteenth Century (New

5 Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000), 53–67, especially 53– 54, 59–67.

Sept. 18 Impressionism as Belated Modernism? As Modernism?: Armando Reverón & Pedro Figari Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 24–41. Canvas: Luis Pérez-Oramas, “Armando Reverón and Modern Art in Latin America,” in John Elderfield, ed., Armando Reverón (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2007), 97–100. Pedro Figari, “Regional Autonomy,” in Ramírez and Olea, Inverted Utopias, 462.

1910S & 1920S: THE AVANT-GARDE Sept. 20 Defining the Avant-Garde in/of Latin America Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 43–46 (up to Orozco), 56–59. Canvas: Mari Carmen Ramírez, “A Highly Topical Utopia: Some Outstanding Features of the Avant-Garde in Latin America,” in Ramírez and Olea, Inverted Utopias, only 3–5. David Alfaro Siqueiros, “Three Appeals for the Current Guidance of the New Generation of American Painters and Sculptors” (1921) in Ramírez and Olea, Inverted Utopias, 458–59.

Sept. 21 Optional panel discussion of Modern Mexico exhibition at 4pm, Harry Ransom Center

Sept. 22 The Cosmopolitan Avant-Garde in Argentina Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 65–76. Canvas: “Manifesto of Martín Fierro” (1924) in Patrick Frank, ed., Readings in Latin American Modern Art (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 12– 13.

Sept. 22 Optional lecture by Aeromoto at 3:30pm, ART 1.120. Followed by exhibition opening

Sept. 25 Alejandro Xul Solar Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 76–77. Canvas: Beatríz Sarlo, “The Modern City: Buenos Aires; The Peripheral Metropolis,” in Vivian Schelling, ed., Through the Kaleidoscope: The Experience of Modernity in Latin America (New York: Verso, 2000), 108–23, only 108–17.

Sept. 27 Tarsila do Amaral & Cannibalism as Modernist Strategy Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 59–64. Canvas: Oswald de Andrade, “Cannibalist Manifesto” (1928) in Eliane O’Brien et al. Modern Art in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (Chichester, West Sussex: Blackwell, 2013), 413–23.

Sept. 29 Emiliano Di Cavalcanti & Lasar Segall

6 Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 64–65. Canvas: Stephanie D’Alessandro, “The Absorption of Spectacular, Unedited Things: Brazil in the Work of Lasar Segall,” Still More Distant Journeys: The Artistic Emigrations of Lasar Segall (Chicago: Smart Museum of Art, 1997), 110–28, only 110–17.

Oct. 2 Countering-Cannibalism: Vicente do Rego Monteiro VISUAL ANALYSIS DUE Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 59. Canvas: Edith Wolfe, “Paris as Periphery: Vicente do Rego Monteiro and Brazil’s Discrepant Cosmopolitanism,” Art Bulletin XCVI, no. 1 (March 2014), only 98–105.

Oct. 4 Debating the Latin American Avant-Gardes Canvas: Michele Greet, “1920s Transatlantic Encounters: Latin American Artists in Paris,” Global Studies Review 2, no. 3 (Fall 2006). Available at: www.globality-gmu.net/archives/955 (Accessed 8/29/17) Fernando J. Rosenberg, The Avant-Garde and Geopolitics in Latin America (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006), 1–8.

1920S–1940S: MEXICAN MURALISM & BEYOND Oct. 6 Constructing a Modern National Art, 1920s Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 45–54. Canvas: David Alfaro Siqueiros, “Manifesto of the Union of Mexican Workers, Technicians, Painters, and Sculptors” (1923) in Ramírez and Olea, Inverted Utopias, 323–24.

Oct. 9 Mexican Muralism, 1920s–1930s Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 79–87. Canvas: Anna Indych-López, “Mexican Muralism in the United States: Controversies, Paradoxes, and Publics,” in Anreus, Greeley, and Folgarait, Mexican Muralism: A Critical History, 208–26. José Clemente Orozco, “New World, New Races and New Art” (1929) in Alejandro Anreus, Robin Adèle Greeley, and Leonard Folgarait, eds., Mexican Muralism: A Critical History (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012), 321–22.

Oct. 11 Representing History, 1930s–40s Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 54–56, 87. Canvas: Leonard Folgarait, “Revolution as Ritual: Diego Rivera’s National Palace Murals,” Oxford Art Journal 14, no. 1 (1991): 18–33.

Oct. 13 **Meet at the Harry Ransom Center Beyond Muralism Canvas: George F. Flaherty, “All Eyes on Mexico: Revolution and Speculation,” in Donald Albrecht and Thomas Mellins, eds., Mexico Modern: Art, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange (Austin: Harry Ransom Center; New York: Museum of the City of New York, 2017), 22–27.

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Oct. 16 Midterm Exam

THE LATE 1920S–1940S: REALISMS Oct. 18 Defining Social Realism Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 79–80. Canvas: Alejandro Anreus, Diana L. Linden, and Jonathan Weinberg, “Introduction,” in Anreus, Linden and Weinberg, eds., The Social and the Real: Political Art of the 1930s in the Western Hemisphere (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), xiii–xviii.

Oct. 20 Social and Political Art in Cuba Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 43 – 44, 130–32. Canvas: Juan A. Martínez, “Social and Political Commentary in Cuban Modernist Painting of the 1930s,” in Anreus, Linden, and Weinberg, The Social and the Real, 21–42.

Oct. 23 New Realism in Argentina Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 90–92. Canvas: Alejandro Anreus, “Adapting to Argentinean Reality: The New Realism of Antonio Berni,” in Anreus, Linden, and Weinberg, The Social and the Real, 97–112.

Oct. 25 Cândido Portinari at Home and Abroad Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 93–96. Canvas: Rockwell Kent, Portinari: His Life and Art (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1940).

Oct. 27 The Taller de Gráfica Popular & the Role of Printmaking Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 88–90. Canvas: Dawn Ades, “The Taller de Gráfica Popular,” in Ades, Art in Latin America: The Modern Era, 1820–1980 (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989), 180–93.

Oct. 30 Indigenism in the Andes Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 20–23, 96–111.

Nov. 1 José Carlos Mariátegui’s Vision of the Avant-Garde from Peru Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 100–2. Canvas: Vicky Unruh, “Mariátegui’s Aesthetic Thought: A Critical Reading of the Avant-Gardes,” Latin American Research Review 24, no. 3 (1989): 45–69. José Carlos Mariátegui, “The Indian Question: A New Appraisal” (1928) in Ades, Art in Latin America, 327–28.

Nov. 3 No class (Prof. Nelson at Getty Research Institute) Individual visits to the Blanton Museum of Art and Harry Ransom Center

8 Nov. 6 No class (Prof. Nelson at Getty Research Institute)

Nov. 8 **Meet at Benson Latin American Collection Amauta DISPLAY ANALYSIS DUE Optional: José Carlos Mariátegui, “Amauta” (1926) in Ades, Art in Latin America, 316– 17. Mariátegui, “Art, Revolution, and Decadence” (1926) in Ades, Art in Latin America, 317–18.

Nov. 10 José Sabogal Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 21–22, 102–3. Canvas: Michael J. Schreffler and Jessica Welton, “Garcilaso de la Vega and the ‘New Peruvian Man’: José Sabogal’s frescoes at the Hotel Cuzco,” Art History 33, no. 1 (February 2010): 124-49.

Nov. 13 **Meet at Blanton Print Room Latin American Realisms

Nov. 15 Debating Indigenism Canvas: David Craven, “Postcolonial Modernism in the Work of Diego Rivera and José Carlos Mariátegui, or New Light on a Neglected Relationship,” Third Text 15, no. 54 (2001): 3–16. Michele Greet, Beyond National Identity: Pictorial Indigenism as a Modernist Strategy in Andean Art (University Park: Penn State University Press, 2009), TBA.

THE 1930S–1940S: SURREALISMS Nov. 17 Surrealism in & out of Latin America Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 113–18. Canvas: Dawn Ades, Rita Eder, and Graciela Speranza, “Introduction,” in Ades, Eder, and Speranza, eds., Surrealism in Latin America: Vivísmo Muerto (Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2012), only 1–2.

Nov. 20 Wifredo Lam Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 132–36. Canvas: John Yau, “Please Wait by the Coatroom: Wifredo Lam in the Museum of Modern Art,” Arts Magazine 63, no. 4 (December 1988): 56–59.

Nov. 22–24 No class (Thanksgiving holiday)

Nov. 27 Roberto Matta Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 129, 138. Canvas: Jacqueline Barnitz, Twentieth-Century Art of Latin America (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001), 118–21. Martica Sawin, Surrealism in Exile and the Beginning of the New York School (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1995), TBA.

9 Nov. 29 Frida Kahlo and Manuel Alvarez Bravo Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 118–30. Canvas: Margaret Lindauer, Devouring Frida: The Art History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo (Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1999), 144–49. André Breton, “Frida Kahlo de Rivera” (1938) in Surrealism and Painting (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2002), 141–44.

Dec. 1 Debating Surrealism Canvas: Holliday R. Day, et al., Art of the Fantastic: Latin America, 1920–1987 (Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1987), 38–40. Mari Carmen Ramírez, “Beyond ‘the Fantastic’: Framing Identity in US Exhibitions of Latin American Art,” Art Journal, 51, no. 4 (Winter 1992): 60–68.

1930S & 1940S: ABSTRACTION Dec. 4 Joaquín Torres-García & Universal Textbook: Barnitz/Frank 2015, 139–47. Canvas: Joaquín Torres-García, “The New Art of America” (1942) in Ramírez and Olea, Inverted Utopias, 472–75.

Dec. 6 Joaquín Torres-García, continued Canvas: Margit Rowell, “Torres-García and ‘’ in Paris,” in Mari Carmen Ramírez, ed., Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 118–29.

Dec. 8 Debating Primitivism and Latin American Modernisms Canvas: Geraldo Mosquera, “Africa in the Art of Latin America,” Art Journal 51, no. 4 (Winter 1992): 30–38. James Clifford, “Histories of the Tribal and the Modern,” in Clifford, The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988), 189–214, only 189–200.

Dec. 11 How to be Modern in Latin America? FINAL PAPER DUE Canvas: Andrea Giunta, “Strategies of Modernity in Latin America,” in Gerardo Mosquera, ed., Beyond the Fantastic: Contemporary Art Criticism from Latin America (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1996), 52–66.

TBA Final Exam

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