Immanent Vitalities

"Through the close study of works by select artists, including Gego, Otero, and Djanira, Kaira M. Cabañas constructs a true genealogy of the art of Latin America through--to use her own very precise expression--immanent vitalities, questioning and reformulating its supposed specificity in a truly fascinating way."--Manuel Borja-Villel, Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid "Cabañas is a vigorous voice in modern art history, and this book, with its theoretical edge, asks crucial questions not only about art history but also about identity, power, and modern alienation through its trailblazing analysis of Latin American cultural expressions. Bringing together her knowledge of world art and history, Cabañas instills new vitality into our understanding of our uncanny world."--Serge Guilbaut, author of How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art: Abstract Expressionism, Freedom, and the Cold War "With characteristic brilliance and clarity, Cabañas demonstrates the value of the new materialisms for art history--and vice versa--through incisive analyses of modernist and contemporary artistic practices in, of, and from Brazil and Venezuela. This theoretically rigorous study will resonate in disciplinary and interdisciplinary conversations alike."--Jennifer Josten, author of Mathias Goeritz: Modernist Art and Architecture in Cold War Mexico "Cabañas offers a welcome counterpoint to the superficial assimilation of complex philosophical discussions, building her category of 'immanent vitality' from a theoretically informed (but not determined) reading of art from the last seven decades. Her book functions as a manifesto for the epistemological actuality of art history."--Sérgio B. Martins, author of Constructing an Avant-Garde: Art in Brazil, 1949-1979