''América Invertida'' is a 1943 pen and ink drawing by the Uruguayan artist
Joaquín Torres García
Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim.
Given name
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...
.
Image
The image features a depiction of South America that has been turned from its standard depiction and is instead oriented
with the south at the top.
Context and purpose
Torres García's creation of the image was connected to his efforts to form a theory of "constructive universalism", meaning contemporary art that was influenced by the traditions of the
indigenous Americans.
With his depiction of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
, Torres García is proposing the creation of an autonomous Latin American art movement. That is closely related to his manifesto "The School of the South" in which he stated, "I have called this 'The School of the South' because in reality, our north is the south. There must not be north for us, except in opposition to our south. Therefore we now turn the map upside down, and then we have a true idea of our position, and not as the rest of the world wishes. The point of America, from now on, forever, insistently points to the South, our north."
Critics have interpreted the image as a sociopolitical artistic work that was intended to counter US
cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism (also cultural colonialism) comprises the culture, cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" describes practices in which a country engages culture (language, tradition, ritual, politics, economics) to creat ...
and other cartographic and cultural norms rooted in the
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale colonization of the Americas, involving a number of European countries, took place primarily between the late 15th century and the early 19th century. The Norse explored and colonized areas of Europe a ...
.
Legacy
The work has become an icon in Uruguayan popular culture.
References
{{reflist
External links
*https://uruguayeduca.anep.edu.uy/efemerides/504
*http://www.torresgarcia.org.uy/bio.php
*https://historiasdasamericas.com/america-invertida/
Uruguayan art
1943 drawings