Presentation Title

Reframing Aesthetic Theory in the Caribbean through Derrida’s Theory of Deconstruction

Presenter Information

Micaela DeograciasFollow

Degree Program

Undergraduate

Major

Art History, Spanish

Abstract

There has been an ongoing struggle to pinpoint the definition of Caribbean aesthetic. Although still framed through Western values of beauty and significance, the Caribbean has been making strides towards breaking out of the artistic definitions of the Eurocentric art history canon. A means of doing so is evident in the works of Livia Ortiz Ríos, a Puerto Rican abstract expressionist artist who frames her art through the Chaos Theory and Derrida's Theory of Deconstruction. The latter's discussion of binary comparisons beautifully mirrors the present binary comparison of Caribbean art to Western art. This work will focus on Derrida's Theory of Deconstruction and explain how its argument fits within Caribbean aesthetic theory.

Key Words: Derrida's Theory of Deconstruction, Chaos Theory, Puerto Rico, Caribbean art, abstract expressionism, cultural frontiers

Start Date

8-2-2019 10:30 AM

End Date

8-2-2019 11:45 AM