Verónica Cortínez and Manfred Engelbert , Evolución en libertad: el cine chileno de fines de los sesenta (Santiago, Chile: Editorial Cuarto Propio, 2014), Vols 1 & 2, pp. 975 + 2 DVDs, pb.
that too many modernists left unanswered: the interconnection between changing technology, communications and the built environment. This volume would have been even stronger if the editors/organisers emphasised and deconstructed a selection of themes, including the poetics of art/design frontiers, high vs. low art, architecture and the environment, and the impact of foreign architects. Since the collected essays, apart from the first three, are generally specialised narratives, often about one or two designers in one city, and a single building or project, the reader may not be able to grasp the larger significance of the book’s collective messages. Indeed, a concluding chapter might have tied these loose ends together. The volume could have also been enriched by more illustrations, or, at least, larger black-and-white images. These would have added greater depth to the visual art/architecture narratives. That said, this is a lively and readable volume that Latin Americanists interested in art, architecture and cities will want to have in their libraries.