Latin American Forum: Better Homes and Subjects: The Politics of Taste

Ana María Reyes, Associate Professor of History of Art in Latin America at Boston University, will discuss her book The Politics of Taste: Beatriz González and Cold War Aesthetics (Duke University Press, 2019) in relation to the Colombian artist’s furniture assemblages. González repurposed domestic furniture to frame her enamel-on-metal paintings, drawing inspiration from Catholic altar-making traditions and engaging with global artistic practices like assemblages and ready-mades. Critics labeled González's furniture pieces as "cursi," reflecting societal anxieties about changing class structures and social practices during the Cold War, particularly in response to the artist's humorous and satirical approach to cultural and artistic norms. González's art practice, marked by a baroque sensibility, stands apart from the ephemeral and dematerialized gestures of her contemporaries in Latin America, challenging notions of taste, authenticity, and the porous boundary between public and private in the construction of subjectivities.

The program will be presented onsite at the James B. Duke House and live-streamed to those who join by Zoom. For in-person attendance, please RSVP here. You may register for Zoom livestream here.

ABOUT THE LATIN AMERICAN FORUM

The Latin American Forum is a platform sustained in partnership with ISLAA that brings artists, scholars, and critics of the arts of the Americas to the Institute of Fine Arts, providing a platform for discussions and debates about diverse issues pertaining to contemporary arts and visual cultures throughout the hemisphere.

This series of public programs and events is coordinated by Edward J. Sullivan, Helen Gould Shepard Professor in the History of Art, the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and organized by graduate students. Since partnering with ISLAA in 2011, NYU’s Latin American Forum has hosted more than thirty events.