Art, which often takes on an unassuming appearance only to challenge conventions, has found fertile ground in Latin America for expression and open protest. Over decades of creation and experimentation, numerous instances have gone down in history for questioning established norms and shaking up certain sensibilities. Today we look back at some of those moments that were as uncomfortable as they were memorable.
Carlos Zerpa’s Performance “La Carta”: Questioning Nationalism
In the 1980s, Venezuelan society was scandalized by the unsettling visual provocation of artist Carlos Zerpa, who took aim at one of the sacrosanct dogmas of that pre-Chavist era: nationalism. The work sparked controversy because it iconoclastically parodied Venezuelan military symbols and historical figures to strip them of their solemnity, introducing for the first time on a massive scale the kitsch movement and the “bad taste” aesthetic—in which performance was an essential component—into traditional Venezuelan art. Still active today, the artist continues to create provocative works from Mexico and other recent places of residence.
The Attack on Botero’s Sculpture: Scars of Memory
Few Latin American works of art have been so deeply marked by violence as Fernando Botero’s *El pájaro *. Installed in Medellín, the sculpture became—perhaps unintentionally—a permanent symbol of one of the darkest periods in Colombia’s recent history when, in June 1995, a bomb exploded next to it during a massive public event. The horrific attack killed 23 people and partially destroyed the sculpture. But Botero did not remove it; he asked that the remains stay in place as a testament to the event and donated a new sculpture to stand alongside the damaged original. Together, they form a powerful monument to the memory and resilience of the local community in the face of an attack that various accounts have attributed to drug traffickers and guerrilla groups, who justified the act by claiming that the work was a bourgeois symbol that “made people uncomfortable.”
Naked Protests Against Animal Cruelty: ADLA’s Actions in Quito
In 2015, the streets of Quito, Ecuador, became the scene of one of the most controversial protests by local animal rights activists. Members of the Association for the Defense of Animal Life (ADLA) staged performances in which they appeared naked and painted to resemble cuts of meat—an image designed to confront the public with the consequences of animal consumption and exploitation. The intervention sparked controversy due to the use of the naked body in the streets and public spaces, challenging the conservative values of Ecuadorian society. Amid a mix of outrage and support, the action succeeded in sparking an intense debate about animal abuse and the role of performance art as a tool for change. British musician Morrissey, a radical vegan who has performed in Ecuador only once, in 2015, would be proud.
Marta Minujín’s Parthenon of Banned Books: A Monument Against Censorship
When it comes to shaking people’s consciences, Argentine artist Marta Minujín has made that a specialty on her resume. Internationally recognized for her irreverent art, the South American artist created *The Parthenon of Banned Books* in 1983 to celebrate the return of democracy in Argentina following a terrible military dictatorship. This provocative conceptual art installation consisted of a full-scale replica of the Greek temple in Athens, built from tens of thousands of books that had been censored or banned throughout history. It was a massive collaborative project in which citizens donated the books. Thirty years later, in 2017, Minujín recreated the work on a much larger scale for the Documenta 14 exhibition in Kassel, Germany. The installation was erected on Friedrichsplatz, the exact same spot where the Nazis burned more than 2,000 books in 1933 during the so-called “Action Against the Un-German Spirit.”
Ana Mendieta: The Body as a Trench and Ritual Rawness
On a different scale from Minujín’s monumental architecture, but with an equally provocative political charge, we find Ana Mendieta. In the 1970s, the Cuban-American artist challenged the limits of representation with her Silhouettes series, in which her own body became both the canvas and the tool for creating art. By imprinting her figure on nature—often using blood, earth, or fire—Mendieta did not merely create a work of art; she performed personal rituals of resistance. Her works addressed systematic violence against women, the loss of identity and roots, and migration, exuding a raw intensity that, for years, made the most purist and patriarchal sectors of the art market uncomfortable and established her as a pioneer of feminism in art. Her technique of using the body’s fragility to confront violence became a benchmark that, at the time, made people uncomfortable.
These works share something that many preferred to ignore. At the end of the day, they demonstrated that art continues to serve an activist and provocative function that goes beyond aesthetic contemplation.
Learn more about provocative art and Ibero-American activismin AW Magazine.
