Ludic Recycling in Latin American Art : From Remixing the City to Sampling Nature

Abstract

In this chapter I foreground an ecologically aware, ludic approach to crafting public art experiences, drawing primarily from interviews with four prominent Latin American artists. Conditions observable in the global South that influence these artworks include urban sprawl and shanty towns, electronics waste sites accumulating from the rapid production cycles of electronic hardware, and the environmental damage of natural habitats. My intent in this chapter is to offer a view into a field of public art production in Latin America where artists and critics have over the past few decades developed a sophisticated, yet inclusive visual, interactive, and playful dialogue with the public.