Hey Friends!!
Let’s take a journey to South America, all the way from your home!
South American countries have a rich history of art and culture that goes all the way back to the 1400s! That’s over 500 years!
Here you can see all of the countries in South America! Try to point out Venezuela to your mom or dad. We will be talking about that country a little bit later. But for now, let’s talk about the art history of these cool places!
Latin America went through many cultural changes over the years because many countries gained their independence during the 1900s. In South America, you can see a mixture of influences from Europe and more traditional styles. Today, they are even changed by American culture as well because we can connect over the internet and social media. We are influenced by what they create as well.
Culture: The history and practices that a group of people share
Influence: An influence is something that has an effect on something else, changing it in some way
Traditional : This means it’s similar to how things were a long time ago in a specific country
Culture: The history and practices that a group of people share
Influence: An influence is something that has an effect on something else, changing it in some way
Traditional : This means it’s similar to how things were a long time ago in a specific country
Who is Oswaldo Guayasamin?
Below is a great piece of work made by South American painter Oswaldo Guayasamin. He was a skilled artist from Ecuador and his work is now in the Museum of Latin American Art!
Guayasamin was born in Ecuador. He has loved to paint and draw since his early childhood. Growing up, his family was poor--his father was a carpenter and he had 10 brothers and sisters in his family! Do you have a lot of siblings? He loved to paint his friends, family and teachers. He would sell his paintings to tourists to make money so that he could attend school.
| Although his family did not agree that he should be an artist, he enrolled at the School of Fine Arts! He spent seven years there, until 1941. He was the best student in his class! In 1942, he had his first exhibition of his artwork. Shortly after this exhibition, he moved to Mexico for several months for more inspiration! This piece is titled Madre y hijo, which is Spanish for mother and son. Can you see a loving look on her face? It kind of looks like she’s trying to keep him safe, right? Guayasamin uses bright colors so that everyone stops to look when they see it. Bright and warm colors are all around South America, and you can see them in works from a lot of Latin artists. |  |
The Albany Museum of Art is currently showing the work of a very creative South American Artist named Lucha Rodríguez!
Lucha Rodríguez is a modern day South American artist who works with paper. She is in our gallery right now in an exhibition titled Cut & Paste: Works of Paper. She creates beautiful sculptures out of paper.
She had been shown in museums all around the world, and we are so excited to have her work here at the AMA. Just like other artists, she brings more culture with her South American background.
She had been shown in museums all around the world, and we are so excited to have her work here at the AMA. Just like other artists, she brings more culture with her South American background.
| Take a look at this piece! What do you see? This piece is made from just paper! Notice the colors. We mostly see the white, but what other colors can you find? How are they hidden? The artist used a knife to create those long strips of paper that look like they are coming out of a cloud! The artist titled this Bursting. Why do you think she called it that? What would you have named this piece? |  |
