Artists from Latin American cultures : a biographical dictionary

Latin Americans have long been relegated to the cultural background, obscured by the dominant European culture. This biographical dictionary profiles 75 artists from the United States and 13 nations of Central and South America and the Caribbean, including painters, sculptors, photographers, muralists, printmakers, installation artists, and performance artists. Some of their works recall pre-Columbian times; others confront the cultural imperialism of the U.S. over Latin America; and many explore how the dominant elements of culture can affect identities of class, gender, and sexuality.

Profiled artists range from the renowned to the little-known: Frida Kahlo; Tina Modotti; Diego Rivera; Myrna Baez; Raquel Forner; Patrocino Barela; and many more. Color photographs are provided for many of the works. Each entry includes information about the artist's childhood, schooling, creative growth, and artistic styles and themes. Exemplary artworks and influences are described, along with a look at popular and critical responses. Supplemental features include artist cross references, a glossary of essential terms from the art world, and a number of vivid photos portraying the artists in their creative environments.

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

Profiling twentieth-century artists in a variety of genres, this biographical dictionary contains 75 alphabetical entries with two or three pages of basic information (date and place of birth and death), genre, places to view artist's works, and a bibliography for further reading. The clear, well-written essays discuss societal influences such as culture, politics, language, and economics. When available, quotations from the artist have been provided. Artists from the U.S. and 13 nations of Central and South American and the Caribbean and working in a variety of genres are included. Although many, such as Frida Kahlo, Wifredo Lam, and Diego Rivera, are well known, others are not as visible to the general public. Important works of each artist are described to help readers visualize them. Illustrations include black-and-white photographs in some of the entries and 13 color plates in the middle section of the book. Although many art terms are defined within the text, the glossary defines artistic styles and religious and political movements. Artists from Latin American Cultures would be a useful tool in high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries seeking an introduction to Latin American art. It supplements related works such as the Encyclopedia of Latin American & Caribbean Art (2000), the second publication in the Grove Library of World Art series, which not only includes artist biographies and influential art movements but also provides almost 500 illustrations and nearly 100 color plates.

Choice Review

The appearance of two publications on this subject in 2002 testifies to the timeliness of the topic. The rival work, St. James' Guide to Hispanic Artists: Profiles of Latino and Latin-American Artists, ed. by Thomas Riggs (2002), is the more comprehensive and scholarly of the two. The work of 73 contributors, it covers 375 artists, compared to Congdon and Hallmark's 75. Both titles include artists in various media, all from Latin American heritage, many with strong connections to the US. Congdon and Hallmark intend their book as an introduction to artists from Latin American cultures for high school and college students. The entry for each artist includes a narrative summary covering biography and career, a list of collections holding the artist's work, and a brief bibliography (mostly English-language titles, some ephemeral, and occasional Web sites). Portraits of artists and a handful of color plates brighten the book, which also includes a glossary. Since the St. James guide does not include all the artists listed here, specialized and comprehensive collections will want both volumes; Congdon and Hallmark will serve well smaller collections seeking a brief, inexpensive introduction. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General and undergraduate readers; professionals. M. Nilsen University of Delaware

Library Journal Review

Containing profiles of 75 artists from the United States, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, this work offers a general introduction to the subject. Congdon (art & philosophy, Univ. of Central Florida; Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales) and Hallmark, a doctoral student in art education at Florida State University, present a select mixture of artists both renowned and underrated (or unknown) owing to gender, geographical region, or artist's medium. They favor unknown women artists, however, claiming that they have been doubly ignored by virtue of their sex and by their choice of "low" media such as textiles, wood, or papier-mch. Attention to themes and styles supplement a concentration on biography in the entries, whose narrative form may hinder the quick checking of vital statistics. Ultimately, this dictionary falls short compared with a similar but much pricier work published last year, St. James Guide to Hispanic Artists: Profiles of Latino and Latin American Artists, edited by Thomas Riggs. Generally, the entries lack serious critical interpretation or consideration of an artist's reception. They were all written by Congdon and Hallmark, whereas the St. James guide boasts 60 contributors and nine advisers. Though bibliographies are given for all entries, they fail to include periodical articles. Finally, the St. James project had the support of the Association for Hispanic Artists and the Association for Latin American Art. Despite these drawbacks, this affordable work does cover the basics for the student audience it purports to address. An optional purchase for high school and college libraries.-Rebecca Tolley-Stokes, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xv
Lola Alvarez Bravo	p. 1
Manuel Alvarez Bravo	p. 5
Tarsila do Amaral	p. 9
Felipe Benito Archuleta and Leroy Ramon Archuleta	p. 12
Dr. Atl (Gerardo Murillo Cornado)	p. 15
Judith F. Baca	p. 19
Myrna Baez	p. 24
Patrocino Barela	p. 28
Jose Bedia	p. 32
Jacobo Borges	p. 36
Fernando Botero	p. 40
Maria Brito	p. 45
Luis Camnitzer	p. 48
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons	p. 53
Leonora Carrington	p. 57
Martin Chambi	p. 62
Lygia Clark	p. 66
Olga de Amaral	p. 70
Edouard Duval Carrie	p. 74
Raquel Forner	p. 78
Coco Fusco	p. 81
Julio Galan	p. 85
Gunther Gerzso	p. 88
Guillermo Gomez-Pena	p. 91
Luis Gonzalez Palma	p. 95
Felix Gonzalez-Torres	p. 99
Ester Hernandez	p. 103
Hector Hyppolite	p. 108
Graciela Iturbide	p. 111
Maria Izquierdo	p. 115
Alfredo Jaar	p. 118
Luis Jimenez	p. 122
Frida Kahlo	p. 126
Kcho (Alexis Leyva Machado)	p. 130
Guillermo Kuitca	p. 133
Wifredo Lam	p. 138
Linares Family	p. 142
Carmen Lomas Garza	p. 146
George T. Lopez	p. 151
Yolanda M. Lopez	p. 154
Anita Malfatti	p. 158
Marisol (Escobar)	p. 161
Maria Martinez-Canas	p. 165
Roberto Matta	p. 169
Cildo Meireles	p. 173
Ana Mendieta	p. 177
Amalia Mesa-Bains	p. 181
Tina Modotti	p. 185
Jesus Bautista Moroles	p. 190
Manuel Neri	p. 194
Helio Oiticica	p. 199
Jose Clemente Orozco	p. 203
Pepon Osorio	p. 207
Ramon Oviedo	p. 211
Amelia Pelaez	p. 215
Andre Pierre	p. 219
Jose Guadalupe Posada	p. 222
Martin Ramirez	p. 225
Armando Reveron	p. 228
Diego Rivera	p. 231
Frank Romero	p. 235
Jose Sabogal	p. 238
Doris Salcedo	p. 241
Mario Sanchez	p. 245
Andres Serrano	p. 249
David Alfaro Siqueiros	p. 254
Fernando de Szyszlo	p. 259
Rufino Tamayo	p. 262
Francisco Toledo	p. 268
Rigoberto Torres	p. 271
Joaquin Torres-Garcia	p. 275
Tilsa Tsuchiya	p. 279
Meyer Vaisman	p. 282
Kathy Vargas	p. 286
Remedios Varo	p. 290
Glossary	p. 295
Index	p. 303

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