CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 8/15/2022

Migration, identity, politics, exile and nostalgia in 'This Must Be the Place: An Oral History of Latin American Artists in New York, 1965–1975'

"The idea is not to make man into a robot, but to make him feel free in a world of machines," Chilean-born artist Enrique Castro-Cid is quoted in new release This Must Be the Place, the 432-page oral history of Latin American conceptual artists who moved to New York in the 1960s, published by Americas Society and the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art. Featured here is the poster for Robots, Castro-Cid's 1965 exhibition at Richard Feigen Gallery. "We are an alienated society," Castro-Cid continues. "In the tribal society, games were a bond, so if this art is successful it too will create a bond. There's a lonely relationship between a viewer and an orthodox painting, but if the kinetic sculptures do something unexpected the viewer turns to someone in the room and says: 'Did you see that?' It's like an accident that happens in the street—it causes people to turn to strangers and talk."