Latin American Culture In The 1960's

Art has always been a major part of humanity and it’s culture. From old cave paintings, to the Renaissance, to William Shakespeare, to Van Gogh, to The Beatles, and to film, art has been surrounding us since the beginning of mankind. It’s always around us, even in the simplest things like our homes, furniture, and clothes. It’s more important than how it’s commonly portrayed, and can give us a deeper insight into a society and it’s history. During the 1960’s in Latin America, culture was beginning to change, and can be easily seen through the art shift that was starting to unfold at the time.
Before the 1960’s, Latin Americans were very literal in their artwork. They were considered social realists, and lacked the kind of creativity that …show more content…
Rivera went on a scholarship in Europe for painting, and when he returned to Mexico after the revolution he was surprised by the how much it had changed. Although there were still a mass of semi-illiterate people, so the education minister named Jose Vasconcelos gathered many painters, including Rivera, in order to create a huge mural that would reshape their ideas about Mexico and its history. The Union of Technical Workers also helped infuse art with education and declared, “Art must no longer be the expression of individual satisfaction, but should aim to become a fighting, educative tool for all.” Fernando Botero considered the murals “overly political”, although even he went back to pre-Columbian culture to create his own Latin American style. He believed that, if you were Latin American, your style in painting should reflect one from Latin America. Robert Matta disagreed with Botero’s views, and favored the surrealist style of painting that many people during the time in New York adored. Botero’s work couldn’t get into any galleries in Europe or the US because he stuck to his Latin American roots; but now his artwork are held in many museums and sell for millions of dollars