Representations of Latin American art through curator

• In Event: Lo Contemporáneo: Arte y Curaduría

Abstract

Mundialization developed since the 1980s has left behind a concept of Latin American art based on identity structures, situating it within a hegemonic international language of contemporary art. In this context, the figure of the curator of Latin American art goes decisively beyond the making of exhibitions, but rather curators have become a knowledge administrator, and articulator of institutional policies, who promotes multiple representations and discourses on Latin American art in global circuits.

This research proposes a critical reading of contemporary Latin American art based on the figure of the curator as an agent of representations, placements and recognitions of Latin American Art practices into the international scene. By examining, comparing, and analyzing the figure of Justo Pastor Mellado (Chile) and his concept of curator as producer of infrastructure; Mari Carmen Ramírez (Puerto Rico - USA) and her idea of curator as a cultural broker, and finally Ivo Mesquita (Brazil) his idea of curator as a cartographer.

This research states that Mellado, Ramírez and Mesquita's curatorial models have constructed and administered an art history of Latin American art practices in recent decades by establishing an official narrative what it means Latin America. In this sense, they act as intermediaries between hegemonic rules and Latin America, denying structural differences among the geopolitical categories: center, semi-periphery and periphery.

Author

• Pablo S Berríos, Universidad de Chile