ADVANCED STUDIES IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY LATIN AMERICAN ART
Transatlantic Encounters in Twentieth-Century European and Latin American Art
(ARTH 472 001/599 001)
Class time: Wednesday 4:30-7:10
Location: Research I 202
Professor: Michele Greet
Email: mgreet@gmu.edu
Phone: (703) 993-1250
Office: Robinson Hall B 371A
Office Hours: Wednesday 3:00-4:00, Thursday 1:30-2:30, or by appointment
Course Description: Classifying twentieth-century art in geo-political terms (i.e.
European, American/Latin American, Asian art) obscures the impact of global
interchange on artistic production. This course proposes an alternative vision. In the first
half of the twentieth-century, European and Latin American artists cultivated inventive
means for both the exploration of international currents and the transmission of their own
ideas. Forms of intellectual diffusion, such as manifestos, journals, extended
international sojourns, interactions with visiting artists or intellectuals, the formation of
collections, the circulation of exhibitions, the creation of exhibition spaces, and the
foundation of groups, became sites of critical dialogue, serving to generate a sense of
interconnectedness or to counteract geographic separation. This course explores these
forms of intellectual diffusion through case studies of the artists who contributed to their
formation.
Course Format: This class will consist of seminar-style discussions of assigned
readings. In the first half of each class I will lecture on the topic assigned for that week.
The second half of class will consist of critical assessment of the readings led by different
students in the class. Written assignments will complement in class discussions.
Writing Intensive requirement:
This course fulfills all/in part the Writing Intensive requirement in the Art History major.
It does so through 6 300-word reading response papers and the 2000 to 2500-word
research paper. The research paper will be completed through a draft/feedback/revision
process. I will provide commentary on the draft, and the revised draft.
Objectives:
 To reassess the classificatory schemes that shape our understanding of twentiethcentury art
 To examine spaces of interchange rather than exclusion
 To understand how historical context influences how art is understood and
interpreted
 To perform specialized research using the ideas discussed in class and resulting in
a class presentation and research paper
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Course Requirements:
Undergraduates:
 Readings: Complete all reading before the class. If a reading is listed under
February 1, for example, it should be completed before class on the 1st.

Participation: (10% of your grade) Participation refers to both the content of
your verbal contributions as well as your attention and response to others’
comments. The GMU catalogue reads: “Students are expected to attend the
class periods of the courses for which they register…instructors may use
absence, tardiness, or early departure as de facto evidence of nonparticipation.” To get an A for participation you need to actually contribute to
class discussions. Your participation grade will be reduced according to
attendance after 2 absences. You will not pass the class if you miss more than
50% of the class sessions no matter how well you do on other assignments.

Blog postings: (20% of your grade) Specific instructions to be handed out in
class. (you must submit at least 6 out of 8 response papers).

Paper topic proposal: (15% of your grade) One page abstract, which
summarizes the ideas to be discussed in your paper and an annotated
bibliography of at least 8-10 sources.

Presentation: (20% of your grade) 20-minute presentation of your research topic
to be followed by class discussion. The issues raised in the discussion following
your presentation should inform the final revisions to your research paper.

Final Research Paper: (35% of your grade) 8-10 page research paper, specific
assignment to be handed out in class. You are required to turn in a draft of
your paper for review one week before your presentation. You final paper
will be marked down one letter grade per week the draft is late.
Graduate Students:
 Readings: Complete all reading before the class. If a reading is listed under
September 1, for example, it should be completed before class on the 1st.

Participation: (10% of your grade) Participation refers to both the content of
your verbal contributions as well as your attention and response to others’
comments. The GMU catalogue reads: “Students are expected to attend the
class periods of the courses for which they register…instructors may use
absence, tardiness, or early departure as de facto evidence of nonparticipation.” To get an A for participation you need to actually contribute to
class discussions. Your participation grade will be reduced according to
attendance after 2 absences. You will not pass the class if you miss more than
50% of the class sessions no matter how well you do on other assignments.
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
Lead discussion: (10% of your grade) Each student will be required to lead a
discussion of the assigned readings in one class. On that day you will also hand in
a 3-4 page critique/discussion of that weeks readings (15% of your grade).

Paper topic proposal: (10% of your grade) One page abstract, which
summarizes the ideas to be discussed in your paper and an annotated
bibliography of at least 15-20 sources.

Presentation: (20% of your grade) 20-minute presentation of your research topic
to be followed by class discussion. The issues raised in the discussion following
your presentation should inform the final revisions to your research paper.

Final Research Paper: (35% of your grade) 15-18 page research paper, specific
assignment to be handed out in class.
Grading Standards:
C is the average expected performance of a college Student. To receive a C you must
complete all readings and assignments on time, demonstrate a basic knowledge of the
material, and write competently (all assignments must be well organized and have correct
spelling and grammar). To receive a B your work must be substantially better than
average and to receive an A truly exceptional. A work is meticulously researched, well
written, and imaginative and goes above and beyond the assignment.
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
98-100
93-97
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
C+
C
CD
F
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77-79
73-76
70-72
60-69
59 and lower
Technology Requirements:
 GMU requires you to activate your GMU e-mail account to receive official
campus communications. If you prefer to use another address, you must activate
the e-mail forwarder. I will use GMU addresses exclusively.
 Blackboard
 Web access and searching ability
 All written work must be word-processed, spell-checked, and printed on a quality
printer
Important dates:
Feb. 8
Feb. 9
Feb. 25
Mar. 14-20
May 4
May 11
Last day to add classes
Library class
Last day to drop classes
Spring Break
Last day of class/ Paper due for all but those who present on May 4
Paper due for those who presented on May 4/No Class
Policies:
 Students are responsible for all material covered in class (announcements,
lectures, discussions) whether you are present or not.
 Late assignments are not acceptable. Any work turned in late without a valid
written excuse (i.e. doctor’s note) will be graded down one grade per class late. If
an assignment is not turned in by the last day of class you will be given a 0 for
that assignment. If you are having difficulty completing an assignment please see
me well before the assignment is due. If I am aware of your circumstances I am
more than willing to work with you.
 Make-up presentations or extensions will be granted only in the case of
documented emergencies.
 GMU operates with an Honor Code. It is clearly defined in the catalogue
(http://www.gmu.edu/mlfacstaff/findex.html) Plagiarism (presenting someone
else’s ideas or words as your own without proper acknowledgement) violates the
Honor Code. I will notify the Honor Committee concerning possible infractions.
 All work must be submitted in hard copy. E-mailed assignments will not be
accepted.
 GMU requires you to activate your GMU e-mail account to receive official
campus communications. If you prefer to use another address, you must activate
the e-mail forwarder. I will use GMU addresses exclusively.
 Cell phones, etc. must be turned off during class.
 Accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities, in
accordance with law and university policies. Students requiring accommodations
must register with the University’s Disability Resource Center and produce
documentation. Please do this well before the first test or presentation in case
alternate arrangements need to be made.
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
If English is your second language, I encourage you to turn in a rough draft of
your paper at least one week before it is due. If needed I will recommend that you
work with the Writing Center. All final papers must be in good standard
English.
Texts: Articles on Electronic Reserve or blackboard
Jan. 26 Introduction
Feb. 2
Discussion: Transculturation and Travel in Twentieth Century Europe and Latin America
Readings: (undergraduates: Mercer, Nochlin, Spitta)
Mercer, Kobena. “introduction” in Exiles, Diasporas & Strangers. London: Iniva,
Institute of International Visual Arts, 2008, 7-27.
Nochlin, Linda. “Art and the Conditions of Exile: Men/Women,
Emigration/Expatriation.” Poetics Today 17.3 (1996): 317-337. JSTOR
Spitta, Silvia. “Transculturation and the Ambiguity of Signs in Latin America” in
Between two Waters: Literary Transculturation in Latin America, 1995, 1-28.
Thurner, Mark “After Spanish Rule: Writing Another After” in After Spanish Rule:
Postcolonial Predicaments of the Americas. Mark Thurner and Andrés Guerrero, eds.,
2003, 12-57.
Feb. 9 Library class-meet at Fenwick library second floor
Feb. 16
Discussion: Latin American Cubists: Pablo Curatello Manes (Argentina), Emilio
Petorutti (Argentina), Diego Rivera (Mexico), Angel Zarraga (Mexico)
Readings: (undergraduates: Harrison and one artist)
Harrison, Charles, Francis Frascina, and Gill Perry. Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction:
The Early Twentieth Century, 1993, 135-183. Blackboard.
Navarrete, Sylvia. “Diego Rivera, Cubist: Chronicle of an Interlude.” Diego Rivera: The
Cubist Portraits 1913-1917 2009, 15-39. E-reserve.
Robinson, William H. “Cubist Heresies: Diego Rivera and the Parisian Avant-Garde,
1913-1917” in Diego Rivera: Art & Revolution, 1999, 105-127. E-reserve.
Sullivan, Edward and Nelly Parazzo. Emilio Pettoruti (1892-1971), 2004, 31-78.
Blackboard.
Feb. 23
Discussion: 1924 Exhibition of Latin American art in Paris and Artistic Eclecticism:
Victor Brecheret (Brazil), Manuel Cabré (Venezuela), Carlos Alberto Castellaños
(Uruguay), Camilo Egas (Ecuador), Pedro Figari (Uruguay), Max Jiménez (Costa Rica),
Anita Malfatti (Brazil), Manuel Ortiz de Zarate (Chile), Vicente do Rego Monteiro
(Brazil), Alejandro Xul Solar (Argentina).
Readings: (undergraduates: Fer and one artist)
Fer, Briony, David Batchelor, and Paul Wood. Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism: Art
Between the Wars, 1993, 9-19. E-reserve.
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Gradowczyk, Mario. “Twelve Years in Europe” in Alejandro Xul Solar, 1994, 21-112.
Blackboard.
Greet, Michele. “Egas in Paris: The Vanguard Roots of Indigenism,” Beyond National
Identity: Pictorial Indigenism as a Modernist Strategy in Andean Art, 1920-1960,
2009, 38-48. E-reserve.
Manley, Marianne. Intimate Recollections of the Rio de la Plata: Paintings by Pedro
Figari, 1986, 9-23. E-reserve.
Peccinini de Alvarado, Daisy V. M. Brecheret: a linguagem das formas, trans. Charles
Richard Castleberry, 2004, 269-272. E-reserve.
Mar. 2
Discussion: Joaquín Torres-García (Uruguay) and the 1930 exhibition of Latin American
Art in Paris: Eduardo Abela (Cuba), Jaime Colson (Dominican Republic), German Cueto
(Mexico), Carlos Mérida (Mexico), Juan del Prete (Argentina)-associated with
Abstraction-Creation group, Amelia Pelaez (Cuba)-involved with constructivism, but not
in exhibition
Readings: (undergraduates: Britt and one artist)
Britt, David. “Constructivism” in Modern Art: Impressionism to Post-Modernism,
2003, 191-201. E-reserve.
Da Cruz, Pedro. Torres García and Cercle et Carré: The Creation of Constructive
Universalism. Paris 1927-1932, 31-136. Blackboard.
Rowell, Margit. “Order and Symbol: The European and American Sources of TorresGarcía’s Constructivism” in Torres-García: Grid-Pattern-Sign: Paris-Montevideo,
1924-1943, 1985, 9-20. E-reserve.
Vázquez Díaz, Ramón.“Amelia” in Tarsila, Frida, Amelia, 1997, 219-230. E-reserve.
Mar. 9
Discussion: Early Experiments with Surrealism: Tarsila do Amaral (Brazil), Antonio
Berni (Argentina), Agustín Lazo (Mexico), Cesar Moro (Peru), Ismael Nery (Brazil),
Emilio Pogolotti (Cuba), Manuel Rendon Seminario (Ecuador)
Readings: (Fer, Breton and Frank, and one artist)
Breton André, First and Second Surrealist manifestoes and “Surrealism and Painting” in
Art in Theory 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Charles Harrison and
Paul Wood eds., 1992, 432-439, 440-450. E-reserve.
“Anthropofagite Manifesto” (1928) in Readings in Latin American Modern Art. Patrick
Frank ed., 2004, 24-27. E-reserve.
Amaral, Aracy. “Tarsila Revisited” Tarsila Do Amaral, 2009, 59-65. E-reserve.
Amaral, Tarsila do. “Memories of Paris” (1952) Tarsila Do Amaral, 2009, 48-50. Ereserve.
Fer, Briony, David Batchelor, and Paul Wood. Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism: Art
Between the Wars, 1993, 171-204. Blackboard.
Greet, Michele, “César Moro’s Transnational Surrealism” unpublished essay.
Blackboard.
Rabossi, Cecilia. “Antonio Berni: Voyages Towards Reality,” Museo de Arte
Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Berni y sus contemporáneos, 2005, 173-177.
Blackboard.
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Mar. 16 No class, spring break
Mar. 23
Discussion: Latin Americans and Surrealism in the late 1930s: Wifredo Lam (Cuba) and
Roberto Matta (Chile) in Paris; Breton on Frida Kahlo and Manuel Alvarez Bravo
Readings: (undergraduates: Breton and one artist)
Breton, André. “Souvenir de Mexique” Review: Latin American Literature and Arts,
51, Fall 1995, 9-16. E-reserve.
Grimberg, Salomon. “Frida Kahlo: The Self as an End.” Mirror Images: Women,
Surrealism, and Self-representation. Whitney Chadwick ed., 1998, 82-104. Ereserve.
Kismaric, Susan. Manuel Alvarez Bravo, 1997, 11-39. E-reserve.
Matta, Roberto, “Sensitive Mathematics—Architecture of Time” and
“Hellucinations” in 167-171. Lucy R Lippard, Surrealists on Art, 1970, 167-171.
E-reserve.
Schneider Enriquez, Mary, “Roberto Matta: International Provocateur” in Matta:
Making the Invisible Visible, 2004), 29-40. Blackboard.
Sims, Lowery. Wifredo Lam and the International Avant-Garde, 1923-1982, 2002, 533. E-reserve.
Mar. 30
Discussion: André Breton and the 1940 Surrealist Exhibition in Mexico City
Readings: (undergraduates: Sawin and Katzew)
Castaneda, Luis M. “Surrealism and National Identity in Mexico: Changing
Perceptions, 1940-1968.” Journal of Surrealism and the Americas,Vol 3, No 1
(2009). Blackboard.
Katzew, Ilona “Proselytizing Surrealism: André Breton and Mexico” in Review:
Latin American Literature and Arts, 51, Fall 1995, 21-33. E-reserve.
Moro, César “Introduction to the International Exposition of Surrealism” in Review:
Latin American Literature and Arts, 51, Fall 1995, 7-8. E-reserve.
Sawin, Martica. Surrealism in Exile, 1997, 248-287. E-reserve.
Tythacott, Louise, “Mexico and the Caribbean” in Surrealism and the Exotic
(Routledge, 2003), pp. 173-197. (electronic resource available through the GMU
library catalogue).
Apr. 6
Discussion: European Surrealists in Latin America: Leonora Carrington (England) and
Remedios Varo (Spain)
Readings: (undergraduates: Fer and one artist)
Aberth, Susan. Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, 2004), 57-94. Ereserve.
Berland, Rosa. “Remedios Varo’s Mexican Drawings” Journal of Surrealism and the
Americas, Vol 4, No 1 (2010). Blackboard.
Fer, Briony, David Batchelor, and Paul Wood. Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism: Art
Between the Wars, 1993, 231-249. Blackboard.
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Apr. 13 Presentations
Apr. 20 Presentations
Apr. 27 Presentations
May 4 Presentations (Paper due for all but those who present on May 4)
May 11 Paper due for those who presented on May 4 (No class)
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