Auerbach Lecture | 28.06.2021 | 18 Uhr

Graciela Montaldo (Latin American Cultural Studies, New York): Territory and Bureaucracy: Fiction and Politics in the Pampas
Moderation: Wolfram Nitsch (Romance Studies, Cologne)

In Latin American cultures, the aesthetic representation of territories abounds in "empty spaces." In this project, we focus on the idea of spatiality as both an aesthetic and an ideological issue. What culture calls “empty spaces” are spaces not colonized by previous meanings but they are also spaces "emptied" of meanings. Art and literature find there a great opportunity to explore new topics, contents, and aesthetic reformulations.

In Argentina, the memory of the radical emptiness that founded the nation helped to unfold an imaginary of exploration and fictionalization. In contemporary Argentinian works representing emptiness, we find new ways of politicizing the territory and rethinking history. We will focus on Mariano Llinás’ films and his politicization of the pampa. The empty spaces are plenty of stories; they activate lost memories and update the national topics. In a complex view of neoliberal Argentina, Llinás creates a radical landscape of the present.

The lecture will take place virtually via Zoom. Guests are very welcome!