Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Casting Nets, Constructing Networks: Leo Matiz and Latin American Artistic Exchange, 1940-1960150 views
Author
Moore, Cecilia, Art History - Art Department, University of Virginia
Advisors
Robbins, Christa, AS-Art (ARTD), University of Virginia
Abstract
This paper traces the artistic production of Colombian photographer Leo Matiz over the course of two decades and three cities: Mexico City, Bogotá, and Caracas. I examine how Matiz’s photography reflects the cultural exchanges, artistic debates, and social realities of each urban space. Drawing on Colombian intellectual Jorge Zalamea’s theory of “arte testimonio,” I argue that each of Matiz’s photographs act as witnesses and form a network of artistic exchange across the political and social landscape of Latin America. By tracing the circulation of these images through social spaces and periodicals, I challenge narratives of Latin American art as belated or peripheral, and center the interconnected communities of cities across Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela.
Degree
BA (Bachelor of Arts)
Keywords
Latin American art; Colombia; Bogotá; Mexico City; Mexico; Leo Matiz; Caracas; Venezuela; photography
Moore, Cecilia. Casting Nets, Constructing Networks: Leo Matiz and Latin American Artistic Exchange, 1940-1960. University of Virginia, Art History - Art Department, BA (Bachelor of Arts), 2024-05-17, https://doi.org/10.18130/q3xc-6683.
