Oriana Baddeley, 'Foreword', In: Beyond the Fantastic: Contemporary Art Criticism from Latin America / edited by Gerardo Mosquera. London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 1995, p. 9
When I was asked by inIVA to collaborate on the preparation of Beyond the Fantastic for publication in English I was happy to agree, but mainly for the selfish reason of gaining access to many texts that I knew of only by reputation. Those people interested in the cultural manifestations of Latin America will know only too well how difficult it often is to remain in touch with new ideas across the geographic divide, a difficulty exacerbated by the complex web histories that unite Europe with Latin America. With this in mind I turned avidly to this impressive body of text, and many readings later I am still returning to the articles with interest and enthusiasm.
In the past decade there has been an enormous growth in the external recognition of a 'Latin American' art. Large international exhibitions and publications have attempted to categorize and define the existence of such a phenomenon. This shift in the concerns of the international art market has, however, only served to highlight the ambivalent position of many of the producers of culture within Latin America. The defining voice of the international 'Latin American Boom' has remained that of the outside observer.
In this anthology Gerardo Mosquera has selected a range of writings that offer a complex and multilevelled introduction to critical debates within (and without) Latin America. For the first time an English-language audience can have access to the writings of the most important cultural theoreticians of contemporary Latin America. Beyond the Fantastic offers an opportunity to review and reconsider some of the vital issues of contemporary artistic and critical practice.