ABSTRACT This dissertation interrogates how the Caracas-based collective El Techo de la Ballena (active 1961−69) vacillated between the sociopolitical concerns that provided the basis for its proposals and the wide array of mainstream tendencies that informed its anti- aesthetic stances. El Techo dialogued with a variety of global currents in a multifaceted practice that encroached upon the realms of the aesthetic, the political, and the literary. In spite of evident convergences with au courant tendencies in these spheres, a fundamental retrograde stance anchored the proposals of these radicalized writers, artists, poets, and art critics. As I argue, their compulsion to return to the past reflected an aversion towards a critical Cold War moment marred in Venezuela by several key factors: a far from peaceful transition to democracy during the government of Rómulo Betancourt, a rapid physical transformation fueled by increasing oil revenue, persistent underdevelopment, and a less than equitable distribution of wealth. In Part I, I establish the socioeconomic and cultural conditions upon which El Techo based its multidisciplinary interventions. Two chapters investigate the critical issue of the Venezuelan petro-state at midcentury: the unbalance between a rapid officially- sanctioned socioeconomic development and the slower agricultural temporalities that continued to determine the rhythms of vast sectors of the population. I contend that the collective responded to the problems unleashed by a national economy built on petroleum and the parallel development of a fad aesthetic, Informalism, which emerged from the cultural excesses of that unstable developmentalist model. I organize Part II around three case studies that closely examine El Techo’s deliberate inversion of an internationally aligned modernity that hinged on the need for constant evolution and progress in the visual arts. I maintain that the collective’s overarching interest in the retrograde was the chief value that held its work together during the critical 1961 to 1964 period when it questioned the weight of Informalism and in later years when it turned to an alternate political lineage in its proposals. © Copyright by María C. Gaztambide, 2015 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With the hindsight afforded by years of chipping away at this, there is no question in my mind that a dissertation is, foremost, a collaborative effort. Mine would not have been possible without the wise and at times also invaluable practical counsel of Thomas Reese and Marilyn G. Miller of Tulane University and Fabiola López-Durán of Rice University. I will be eternally grateful to them for their confidence in me and willingness to support my work at critical moments during a process that began, it seems to me, an eternity ago. In between a hurricane, a migration, the death of my mother, the birth of two sons, and the consequent tribulations that each of these life-changing events brought I held on to the hope of one day finishing this project. I wish to thank the many people who encouraged me and shared this dream. First, I would like to acknowledge my late mother, Flora Vales Lecároz, and the pleasure that she would have taken in seeing this dissertation to its completion. Also, I must wholeheartedly thank that incredible network of extended family and friends that, over the years have sustained me in multiple ways, reassured me of my strengths, and loved me unconditionally. In the many years since I left Puerto Rico, they have often reminded me of where I come from, and most importantly uttered the deeply comforting words “tranquila que no estás sola” when I most needed to hear them. Among family members, I am referring to las Vales (that wonderfully complex kin of which I am so very proud to belong) and of course the rest of the Lecároz family, los Gaztambide (in ii all of its ramifications), and los Busot (the family that I have chosen). I also wish to thank the countless friends who have been patient with me and waited until I was able to, again, speak my mind and literally write these words. You know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t dully credit Isaac Esparza for offering fundamental advice during the stages prior to writing the manuscript without which it would have been difficult to complete the dissertation. There have also been a number of colleagues that have played an important role in this dissertation. In Caracas I would like to thank Roldán Esteva Grillet, María Elena Huizi, Josefina Manrique, and Tahía Rivero Ponte. Our mutual affinities over the years were certainly at play in transforming early working relationships into lifelong friendships. But, perhaps more importantly, their early advice, continued encouragement, help in locating key sources and images for me, and building anticipation as I made progress, alerted me of the responsibility that I carried with every chapter. It is for them and for so many other Venezuelans engaged in daily struggles that I have approached this project with objectivity, dignity, and respect. Here in the United States, I would also like to thank several colleagues who offered support and encouragement during those moments when I most needed reassurances. They include Alejandro Anreus, Olga Herrera, Melina Kervandjian, Harper Montgomery, Yasmín Ramirez, Víctor Sorell, as well as my New Orleans friends Pamela Franco, Ludovico Feoli and Stephanie Stone, and Steve Clayton and the late William Perry “Pepper” Brown, III. I cannot adequately express the gratitude that I feel for their many individual acts of kindness, heartfelt encouragement, and even menial favors that have enriched this project in multiple ways. iii In Houston, where I wrote this dissertation and I live and work, I also have many people to thank. Foremost, I wish to recognize the generous mentorship of Mari Carmen Ramírez through nearly ten years of collaboration at the Museum of Fine Arts. Certainly, her tradition of challenging entrenched representations of Latin America has transformed my own understanding of the region and its cultural production. Many other colleagues at the MFAH offered much support, but I am especially indebted to Jon Evans and Lynn Wexler at the Hirsch Library, whose own curiosity about the balleneros was sparked by my project in the course of helping me track down obscure sources. I would also like to acknowledge Bonnie van Zoest, Nora Heymann, María McGreger, Beatriz Olivetti and the rest of the team at the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA). Their constant generosity and daily enthusiasm is also reflected in this project. I would also like to thank Scott W. Boehm for carefully helping me to polish the manuscript during its last stages. After concluding the process that has been this dissertation, I am now firmly convinced that the universe has a very particular way of gifting you situations and people— living or living through their work, as in the case of El Techo—that hold keys for your own personal transformation. Regarding these collisions, and at the risk of entering into the realm of clichés, I have learned that the trick is to remain perceptive. On that note, my sincere appreciation and admiration is due to the balleneros, most of whom are now departed. The clarity of their pronouncements and steadfast posture reminded me in the difficult months that I spent writing this dissertation to stay true to my own beliefs. At that crossroads, their work reinforced something that I have always known but have not always had the courage to put into practice. I am referring to the importance of not allowing iv anyone or anything placate one’s truth or curtail one’s spirit. I do hope that, moving forward, the same incorruptible human force that they empathized with and fervently defended in their work will animate my own route. Finally, I wish to thank my two sons, Vincent and Federico Esparza, for challenging me and for compelling me to see life through different eyes. Vincent and Fede, even though you are only six and four years old as I write this, I have already learned much from you. Vincent, your principled and disciplined nature challenges me to observe, to make that extra effort, and to persevere especially when others bet against you. Fede, your blend of gentle ways and rebellious spirit inspires me to look closely, to remain kind, and to recognize the beauty that is within our reach. Needless to say, without you in my life I would have abandoned this project long ago. It is to you, then, that I dedicate this dissertation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii LIST OF FIGURES viii INTRODUCTION – Retrograde Modernity: The Deliberate Anachronism of El Techo de la Ballena 1 State of the Literature and Scope of Project 7 An Anti-Aesthetic Project 11 The Venezuelan “Make-Believe” 15 Upturned Modernity 20 PART I – The Venezuelan “Make-Believe” CHAPTER ONE – The Site of Paradise 26 An Emerging (North American) Physiognomy of Modernity 29 The Two-Story Country: Oil as the Driving Force for Venezuelan Development 33 The Mirage of Progress 41 A Blinding Gesamtkunstwerk 48 The Undoing of Order 60 CHAPTER TWO – Betwixt and Between: Informalism and the Passage to Art Terrorism 68 The Precedents of Venezuelan Informalism 70 Interlude: El Paso’s Spanish Contrarianism 80 Climax: Taking Up Arms in Venezuela 88 Dénouement: Opening the Floodgates 97 PART II – Upturned Modernity CHAPTER THREE –Why the Whale? 102 Kennings 105 Containment 107 Release 118 vi CHAPTER FOUR