La teoría social del arte en América Latina. Una configuración transnacional (1967-1981)

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the emergence of a social theory of art in Latin America. To do so, it reconstructs the historical and institutional conditions that fostered the development of a series of questions regarding the relationship between aesthetics, politics, and culture between the late 1960s and early 1980s. We are interested in studying the theoretical discussions and debates among intellectuals such as Marta Traba, Néstor García Canclini, Rita Eder, Frederico Morais, Mario Pedrosa, Mirko Lauer, and Nelly Richard, among others. These controversies unfolded within a dense political and cultural framework that served as a precondition for the production, circulation, and exchange of ideas on a transnational scale. The text seeks to identify the central institutions,

organizations, and artistic formations taking part in this process. Particular attention is given to congresses and meetings, such as those promoted by UNESCO between the late 1960s and early 1970s; the Zacatecas International Colloquium (Mexico, 1975), the Austin Symposium (The United States of America, 1975), the São Paulo Latin American Biennial Symposium (Brazil, 1978), and the First Latin American Colloquium on Non-Objective Art and Urban Art (Colombia, 1981). These meetings were held in a variety of locations, including Mexico City, São Paulo, Medellín, Lima, Buenos Aires, and Caracas. At the same time, journals such as Plural and Artes Visuales, both published in Mexico, played a key role in shaping a transnational exchange of theoretical ideas on artistic production. We believe that accounting for the different theoretical positions and conceptual revisions that occurred within a segment of the art-related intellectual community will allow for a broader understanding of the reconfigurations of the links between aesthetics, artistic practices, culture, and politics in the second half of the twentieth century.