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Radical Form

Modernist Abstraction in South America

Megan A. Sullivan

$103.95

Hardback

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English
Yale University Press
28 June 2022
A timely look into how abstract art in South America aimed to envision a better society 

Emphasizing the open-ended and self-critical nature of the projects of abstraction in South America from the 1930s through the mid-1960s, this study focuses on the painting practices of Joaquín Torres-García, Tomás Maldonado, Alejandro Otero, and Lygia Clark. Megan A. Sullivan positions the adoption of modernist abstraction by South American artists as part of a larger critique of the economic and social transformations caused by Latin America’s state-led programs of rapid industrialization. Sullivan thoughtfully explores the diverse ways this skepticism of modernization and social and political change was expressed. Ultimately, it becomes clear that abstraction in South America was understood not as an artistic style to be followed but as a means to imagine a universalist mode of art, a catalyst for individual and collective agency, and a way to express a vision of a better future for South American society.

By:  
Imprint:   Yale University Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 254mm,  Width: 203mm, 
ISBN:   9780300254020
ISBN 10:   0300254024
Pages:   232
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Megan A. Sullivan is assistant professor in the Department of Art History and the College at the University of Chicago.

Reviews for Radical Form: Modernist Abstraction in South America

“Sullivan’s close reading, contextual sensitivity and sidestepping of grand simplifying narratives make this book an extremely valuable addition to the growing literature on art from regions outside the classic mainstream.”—Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, Art Newspaper “Beautifully constructed and convincingly argued, this book fills an important gap in published literature and will have a great impact on how scholars and students study Latin American modernism.”—Harper Montgomery, author of The Mobility of Modernism: Art and Criticism in 1920s Latin America “Radical Form is original and certainly very intelligent. It makes an important contribution to the field of Latin American art history.”—Abigail McEwen, author of Revolutionary Horizons: Art and Polemics in 1950s Cuba


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