Collections

Reinventing the Américas: Construct, Erase, Repeat

America is a European invention. Between 1492 and the late 1800s, European conquistadors, travelers, and artists produced prints, books, and objects that illustrated the natural resources and Native peoples of the Americas, often constructing fantastic and fictional ideas. Mixing reality with their own conventions and interpretations, they created portable and reproducible images that circulated around the world, fueling the spread of stereotypes and prejudices.

This exhibition reframes the colonial and nineteenth century materials in the Getty Research Institute collections, challenging European representations of the American continents. Featuring the creative interventions of Brazilian artist Denilson Baniwa, Reinventing the Américas: Construct, Erase, Repeat offers a multiperspectival approach. Baniwa’s work prompts us to critically reevaluate the materials from the past. He proposes that we listen to the ancestral voice of the pajé (shaman), whose words can help us navigate the colonial traumas, generating new reinventions of the Americas.

Idurre Alonso | Curator