The Politics of Taste

“Ana María Reyes tackles an important but understudied subject that is absolutely essential to understanding contemporary Colombian politics, culture and society: the relationship between aesthetics and the Cold War in Colombia. Her analysis of Beatriz González's artistic practices, Marta Traba's art criticism, the institutions where they worked and exhibited, and Colombia's cultural politics and Cold War policies during the National Front period is brilliant and compelling.” — Mary Roldán, author of Blood and Fire: La Violencia in Antioquia, Colombia, 1946–1953

“In this exciting and enlightening book, Ana María Reyes provides an entirely new perspective on the art of Beatriz González, on Latin American engagements with Pop, and on Marta Traba's assessment of her work. By offering a clear sense of the cultural dynamics of the Cold War in Colombia and class politics within Bogota during this period, Reyes allows readers to better appreciate González's subject matter, style, color sensibility, and use of appropriation.” — Mary Coffey, author of Orozco’s American Epic: Myth, History, and the Melancholy of Race