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Carol Damian: Pioneer in Caribbean and Latin American Art Scholarship

Introduction to Carol Damian. 1:56 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Editing & Production: Andrea Zelaya. Recorded Via ZOOM: 8/19/2020, Miami.

CAROL DAMIAN is an art historian, pioneer, and expert on Caribbean and Latin American art. She is the former director of the Frost Art Museum and chairperson of Florida International University’s Department of Art and Art History. Dr. Damian is also the curator of the art collection at the Chapel of La Merced in Allapattah.

A graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, MA, Dr. Damian also received her M.A. in Pre-Columbian Art and her Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of Miami. A specialist in Latin American and Caribbean art, she taught classes in Pre-Columbian, Colonial, Spanish, and Contemporary Latin American Art, Modern Art Surveys, and Women in Art.

Dr. Damian is the author of Neorealism and Contemporary Colombian Painting (2000) and The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial Cuzco (1995), as well as the co-editor of Popular Art and Social Change in the Retablos of Nicario Jiménez Quispe (2005). She has also written articles and art catalogs about many Cuban and Cuban-American artists such as Wilfredo Lam, Cundo Bermúdez, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Agustín Fernández, Emilio Sánchez, and Humberto Calzada. Dr. Damian is the Miami correspondent for ArtNexus and Arte al Día. She lectures frequently on Latin American and Caribbean art and has curated numerous exhibitions.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom and are organized by topic and run between 30 seconds and 9 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:00 min.

Where did you grow up and what is your earliest memory of art of any discipline?

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 4:25 min.

What was your focus in college and what did you learn that still informs you today?

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 5:54 min.

Describe the arc of your career.

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 4:05 min.

Tell us about talented contemporary Latin artists who are inspired by indigenous art.

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 4:11 min.

How did you continue your scholarship regarding Latin American art after you received your PhD?

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 2:09 min.

The Mayan, Aztec, and Incan empires were vast. Since their art was a source of inspiration for many Latin American artists, did the artificial boundaries of countries have an impact on shaping the vision of artists as well?

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART : 2:57 min.

Has there been a big boom in the market for Latin American art?

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART: 0:44 sec.

Talk about the transition from a Latin American focused art fair to the more all-inclusive art fairs, because the artists didn’t want to be pigeon-holed.

COLLABORATION: 8:43 min.