ESCALA Collection: A British Collection and its Connections with the Internationalization of Latin American Art

Abstract

This article analyses the ESCALA collection (Essex Collection of Art from Latin America), maintained at the University of Essex (UK), and its global role in promoting Latin American art. By examining the trajectory and conceptual basis of the collection, the study seeks to illuminate its contribution, in conjunction with other British institutions, to fostering the construction of a more global and less stereotypical perspective of Latin American art, as established from 1970 onwards by the US critical tradition. This research incorporates insights from theoretical and interpretative interdisciplinary literature while benefiting from the author’s visit to the collection in 2022. By combining scholarly resources and firsthand experience, this study aims to deepen our understanding of the collection’s significance and impact, fostering a more comprehensive perspective on Latin American art.

Keywords:

• Latin American art
• collections
• public collections
• museology
• contemporary art

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgements

I would like to add my personal thanks to the staff of the ESCALA, Professor Dr Lisa Blackmore (Senior Lecturer in Art History and Interdisciplinary Studies/School of Philosophy and Art History), chief curator Dr Sarah Demelo and assistant curator Gisselle Giron, for their generosity in enabling much of the research that informed this essay. I am grateful to The Association of Hispanists of Great Britain & Ireland (AHGBI) for enabling my visit to the collection in October 2022 and to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Call No. 26/2021), Brazil, for the Postdoctoral fellowship, which allowed the completion of this article. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Thea Pitman (School of Languages, Cultures and Societies/University of Leeds/UK) and the University of Leeds for welcoming me as a Visiting Research Fellow. My special thanks to the Art in Translation editorial team for supporting this production.

Notes

1 The collection was expanded with the loan of works from the Cosac collection and the donation of works from the collection of Simone and Michael Naify. Simone and Michael Naify are the sister and brother-in-law, respectively, of Charles. Celso Fioravante, “Editor cria museu na Inglaterra,” Folha de São Paulo/Ilustrada (1997). Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/ilustrad/fq081004.htm.

2 Valerie Fraser, “Arte Latinoamericano desde el Reino Unido: política, ética y estética,” Arara 11.1 (2013): 1–10. Available at: https://www1.essex.ac.uk/arthistory/research/pdfs/arara_issue_11/fraser.pdf

3 The authors signed the "Mitos Vadios Manifesto," which accompanied the performance of the same name created by artists such as Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Pape, and José Roberto Aguillar, in protest against the First Latin American Biennial. Artur Barrio, Lauro Cavalcanti, and Dinah Guimarães, “Manifesto Mitos Vadios,” in I Bienal Latino—Americana de São Paulo—40 anos depois ed. Fabrícia Cabral de Lira Jordão (Rio de Janeiro: Edições Garupa, 2020), 49.

4 Silvia Montes, “Beyond Multiculturalism: A Comparison of Latin American Art in Britain and the USA,” Bulletin of Spanish Studies 84.4 (2007): 571–582.

5 Ibid., 572.

6 Ibid., 577.

7 Fraser, “Arte Latinoamericano desde el Reino Unido.”

8 Ibid.

9 The British art critic Guy Brett became a unique reference in Brazil through his writing and friendships with artists such as Sergio Camargo, Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Mira Schendel during the 1960s, and later with Cildo Meireles, Antonio Manuel, Lygia Pape, Jac Leirner, Waltercio Caldas, as well as many others. Michael Asbury, “Além do Brasil: lembrando Guy Brett através de seus próprios olhos,” Arte & Ensaios, 27.41 (2021): 350–408.

10 Fraser, “Arte Latinoamericano desde el Reino Unido.”

11 Cristiélen Ribeiro Marques, O Colecionismo de Arte Latino-Americana na América Latina: um Estudo das Coleções Cisneros e Costantini em Âmbito Transregional (São Paulo: USP, 2022), 42.

12 Gerardo Mosquera, “Good-bye Identidade, Welcome Diferença: da Arte Latino-Americana à Arte da América Latina,” Periódico Permanente (2020).

13 Guilhermo Gómez Penã, “The Multicultural Paradigm: An Open Letter to the National Arts Community,” in Beyond the Fantastic: Contemporary Art Criticism from Latin America ed. G. Mosquera (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1996), 190.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid., 192.

16 Marques, “O Colecionismo de Arte Latino-Americana na América Latina,” 48.

17 Fraser, “Arte Latinoamericano desde el Reino Unido,” 7.

18 Joanne Harwood, “ESCALA: an Open Invitation,” in S. Demelo, J. Harwood, and D. A. Montenegro Rosero (eds.), Connecting Through Collecting: 20 Years of Art from Latin America at the University of Essex (Colchester: University of Essex, Palladian Press, 2014), 4.

19 Fraser, “Arte Latinoamericano desde el Reino Unido,” 8.

20 Ibid., 12.

21 Ibid., 12.

22 Maria Clara Bernal and Isobel Whitelegg, Transit (Colchester: University of Essex, Palladian Press, 2002).

23 It is essential to emphasize the role of curator and collector Catherine Petitgas, who was a speaker at PINTA in 2020.

24 Tanya Barson and Juliana Lima Cunha, “A Internacionalização da Arte Brasileira,” Revista Select (Fall, 2013). Available at: https://select.art.br/a-internacionalizacao-da-arte-brasileira/.

25 Luis Rebaza-Soraluz, Dawn Ades, and Valerie Fraser, “The Beginnings of Latin American Art as a Subject of Academic Study in the UK: A Conversation,” Bulletin of Spanish Studies 84. no. 4 (2007): 551.

26 The data is recorded at: http://tateamericas.org/2022/09/06/celebrating-20-year-anniversaries-of-the-latin-american-acquisitions-committee-and-north-american-acquisitions-committee/.

27 Inti Guerrero, “Deslocando o Cânone da História da Arte: o Papel da Arte Latino-Americana na Tate Modern,” Instituto de Estudos Avançados/Universidade de São Paulo (2016). Interview (video). Available at: http://www.iea.usp.br/midiateca/video/videos-2016/deslocando-o-canone-da-historia-da-arte-o-papel-da-arte-latino-americana-na-tate-modern.

28 Andrés David Montenegro Rosero, “ESCALA: an open invitation,” in Connecting Through Collecting: 20 Years of Art from Latin America at the University of Essex.

29 This was a testimony from Professor Lisa Blackmore to the author during a personal conversation.

30 I participated in this process. After teaching a class to graduate students on decolonial and landscape in Brazilian contemporary art, we went to the collection so that Professor Blackmore could continue the class by analyzing works of art.

31 Fraser, “Arte Latinoamericano desde el Reino Unido.”

32 Edson Farias “Economia e Cultura no Circuito das Festas Populares Brasileiras,” Sociedade e Estado 20.3 (2005): 675.

33 Pierre Bourdieu, A Produção da Crença: Contribuição para uma Economia dos Bens Simbólicos, trans. Guilherme João de Freitas Teixeira and Maria da Graça Jacintho Setton (São Paulo: Zouk, 2002), 169.

34 Andreas Huyssen, Seduzidos pela Memória: Arquitetura, Monumentos, Mídia, trans. Sergio Alcides (Rio de Janeiro: Aeroplano, 2000), 21.

35 Pierre Bourdieu, As Regras da Arte: Gênese e Estrutura do Campo Literário, trans. Maria Lucia Machado (São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1996), 181.

36 Huyssen, “Seduzidos pela Memória,” 68.