Telenovela Pocket Book

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Telenovela explores the cultural significance of telenovelas across the Western Hemisphere through the lens of visual art. With over 50 artworks produced between the 1970s and the present day, the exhibition demonstrates that telenovelas are an enduring Pan-American phenomenon that transcends geography, social stratification, or cultural categories.

The exhibition posits that the genre has been instrumental in conveying Latin American social, political, and economic values to inter-American audiences, while serving as a cultural touchstone for individuals throughout the region. Telenovelas are the most circulated cultural product of postwar Latin America, and a key part of inter-American dialogue with shows from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil becoming Hemispheric hits. Subverting traditional discourses through their use of camp, telenovelas subtly challenge the boundaries of class, gender, and taste in the largely rigid and machista societies of the Americas.

The artists participating in this exhibition include: Alexander Apóstol, Amelia Bande, Miguel Calderón, Sol Calero and Dafna Maimon, Stephen Callis, Leslie Ernst, Rubén Ortiz-Torres, and Sandra Ramírez, Déborah Castillo, Leda Catunda, Alex Červený, Phil Collins, Miriam Inez da Silva, Wilson Díaz, Andrés Duque, Enrique Flores, Coco Fusco and Nao Bustamante, Julio Galán, Dalton Gata, Camilo Godoy, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Martine Gutierrez, Pablo Helguera, Katalina Iturralde, Christian Jankowski, Maripaz Jaramillo, Silvan Kälin, Leandro Katz, Juan David Laserna, José Leonilson, Lolo y Lauti, Daniela Lovera and Juan Nascimento, Arnulfo Luna, Antonio Manuel, Lucas Michael, Jessica Mitrani, Luis Molina-Pantin, Rachelle Mozman Solano, Vik Muniz, Hélio Oiticica, Yoshua Okón, Bernardo Oyarzún, Wanda Pimentel, Luciana Pinchiero, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Abigail Reyes, Reynaldo Rivera, Fátima Rodrigo, Daniela Rossell, Marco Rountree, Stefan Ruiz, Teresa Serrano, Rodrigo Valenzuela, Yvonne Venegas, Erika Verzutti, Francesco Vezzoli, Márcia X and Aimberê César, and Bruce and Norman Yonemoto. 

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Table of contents 

• Foreword by Susan Segal
• “Telenovela: Pasión Panamericana" by Aimé Iglesias Lukin
• "Visualizing Melodrama: How Fotonovelas Defined the Telenovela Aesthetic" by Tatiana Marcel 
• "Reality vs. Fiction: Behind the Scenes" by Sarah Lopez
• Works. Texts by Emma Huerta
• Author Biographies
• Credits
• Acknowledgments

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Price: $5. To purchase this catalog, please contact: art@as-coa.org or order on Amazon. 

Curated by Aimé Iglesias Lukin

Visual Arts exhibition series editors: Aimé Iglesias Lukin and Karen Marta

Associate editor: Tatiana Marcel