Esther Gabara | Scholars@Duke

Esther Gabara Faculty Member

Esther Gabara works with art, literature, and visual culture from modern and contemporary Latin America. Her teaching in the departments of Romance Studies and Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University covers visual theory, Latin American modernism, photography, Pop Art, Mexican feminism, and contemporary art and cultural production in the Americas. She was the faculty guest curator of the exhibition, Pop América, 1965-1975 (McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC; Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2018-2020), which was awarded the inaugural Sotheby’s Prize for curatorial innovation. She also edited and wrote for the bilingual exhibition catalogue, Pop América, 1965-1975 (Nasher Museum of Art/Duke University Press, 2018). Gabara is the author of two monographs: Errant Modernism: The Ethos of Photography in Mexico and Brazil (Duke University Press, 2008), and Non-Literary Fiction: Art of the Americas Under Neoliberalism (University of Chicago Press, forthcoming 2022). Other recent publications include essays for Un arte sin tutela: Salón Independiente en México, 1968-1971 (MUAC/UNAM), La Raza (Autry Museum of the American West), and Revolution and Ritual: The Photographs of Sara Castrejón, Graciela Iturbide, and Tatiana Parcero (Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery/Getty Foundation).

Office Hours

Thursdays 3-5 pm and by appointment. 212 Languages

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Associate Professor of Romance Studies, Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2008
Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2011
Associate Professor in Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2021

Contact Information

212 Language Center, Department of Romance Studies, Durham, NC 27708-0257
Box 90257, Department of Romance Studies, Durham, NC 27708-0257
egabara@duke.edu (919) 660-3100

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Stanford University 2001
- Helena Rubenstein Fellow in Critical Theory, Independent Study Program, Whitney Museum of American Art 1998 - 1999
- M.A., Stanford University 1997
- B.A., University of Pennsylvania 1993
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor, Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2017 - 2019
- E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor, Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2012 - 2017
- Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2004 - 2009
- Assistant Professor of Romance Studies, Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2005 - 2008
- Assistant Professor of Romance Studies, Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2001 - 2005
- Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Romance Studies, Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2003 - 2004
Recognition
In the News
- MAR 22, 2019 Franklin Humanities Institute
  
  Exploring the Grammar of Pop Art at the Nasher Museum
- FEB 18, 2019
  
  When Latino Artists Went Pop
- SEP 28, 2017
  
  Sotheby's Prize Recognizes Forthcoming Nasher Museum Exhibit on Latin American Influence on Pop Art
- MAR 13, 2014
  
  Global Brazil Humanities Lab to Debut
Awards & Honors
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - Brazil (Country)
  - Mexico (Country)
- Research
  - Brazil (Country)
- Teaching
  - Brazil (Country)
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Gabara, Esther. Pop América, 1965-1975, 2018.
  - Lasch, by Pedro, essays by Srinivas Aravamudan, Arnauld Maillet Jennifer Gonzalez, Walter Mignolo, and Peter Sigal. Black Mirror/Espejo Negro. Nasher Museum of Art and the Franklin Humanities Institute, distributed by Duke University Press, 2010.
  - Gabara, Esther. Errant Modernism: The Ethos of Photography in Mexico and Brazil. Duke University Press, 2008.
  - Gabara, Esther. Non-Literary Fiction Art of the Americas Under Neoliberalism. University of Chicago Press, n.d.
    Link to Item
- Academic Articles
  - Gabara, E., and I. Adey. “The Bermuda Triangle of Madrid’s Museums: The Prado, the Museum of the Americas and the National Museum of Anthropology.” Art in Translation 12, no. 2 (January 1, 2020): 128–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/17561310.2020.1831747.
    Full Text
  - Gabara, E. L. “El triángulo museológico de las Bermudas: El Prado, el Museo de América y el Museo Nacional de Antropología.” Revista Sur/Versión. Investigación Y Creación De América Latina Y El Caribe 2 (2013).
  - Gabara, E. “Fictions of emancipation: Collaborations with and against the law.” English Language Notes 51, no. 1 (January 1, 2013): 173–81. https://doi.org/10.1215/00138282-51.1.173.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Gabara, E. “El triángulo museológico de las Bermudas: El Prado, el Museo de América y el Museo Nacional de Antropología.” Edited by Jorge Luis Marzo Y Tere Badia. El D Efecto Barroco: Políticas De La Imagen Hispana, June 2012.
  - Noble, Andrea. “Review of Errant Modernism.” A Contracorriente 8 (2012): 442–47.
  - Oldfield, Pippa. “Review of Errant Modernism.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 31 (2012): 409–10.
  - Delgado, Zarza, and Martha Patricia. “Review of Errant Modernism.” E.I.A.L. 22 (2011): 179–81.
  - Edwards, Elizabeth. “Relocating Photographies, Histories and Modernisms.” Art History 34 (January 2011): 211–13.
  - Folgarait, Leonard. “Seeing Mexico Photographed: The Work of Horne, Casasola, Modotti, and Álvarez Bravo,” 2011.
    Open Access Copy
  - Gallo, Rubén. “Review of Errant Modernism.” Modernism/Modernity 18 (2011): 201–3.
  - Herlinghaus, Hermann. “Review of Errant Modernism.” Mln 26 (2011): 418–20.
  - Prado, Sánchez, and M. Ignacio. “Estrategias para mirar la nación. El giro visual de los estudios culturales mexicanos en lengua inglesa.” Mexican Studies/ Estudios Mexicanos 27 (2011): 449-469–449–469.
  - Preciado, Carlos Daniel. “Review of Errant Modernism.” Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 15 (2011): 216–17.
  - Rawson, Kristy. “Review of Errant Modernism.” Aztlán. a Journal of Chicano Studies 36 (2011): 223–28.
  - Segre, Erica. “Review of Errant Modernism, etc.” History of Photography 35 (2011): 85–88.
  - Flaherty, George. “Review of Errant Modernism and National Camera.” Caa on Line Reviews, August 2010.
  - Castro, Melo E., and Melo E. Paul. “Review of Errant Modernism.” The Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 87 (2010): 894–95.
  - Foster, David William. “Errant Modernism: The Ethos of Photography in Mexico and Brazil.” Luso Brazilian Review 47 (2010): 227–29.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Fighting It Out: Being Naco in the Global Lucha Libre.” Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. 26 (2010): 277–300.
  - Gabara, E. “Gestures, Practices, and Projects: [Latin] American Re-visions of Visual Culture and Performance Studies.” E Misférica 7 (2010).
  - Gallo, Rubén. “Mexican Photography: From the Daguerrotype to Digital Images.” Hispanic Review 39 (2010): 135–41.
  - Galvez, Alyshia. “Review of Errant Modernism.” E Misférica 7 (2010).
  - Krippner, James. “Errant Moderism: The Ethos of Photography in Mexico and Brazil.” The Americas 66 (January 2010): 416–18.
  - Carranza, L. E. “Errant Modernism: The Ethos of Photography in Mexico and Brazil.” Choice 47 (September 2009).
  - O Toole, Gavin. “The Errors of the Avant-Garde.” The Latin American Review of Books, July 2009.
  - Fraser, Benjamin. “Review of Errant Modernism.” Chasqui 38 (2009): 185–87.
  - Gabara, E. L. “"Cannon and Camera": Photography and Colonialism in the Américas.” Eln 44 (2006): 45–64.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Facing Brazil: The Problem of Portraiture and a Modernist Sublime.” Cr: The New Centennial Review 4 (2004): 33–76.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Review of Primitivism and Identity in Latin America: Essays on Art, Literature, and Culture. Eds. Erik Camayd-Freixas and José Eduardo González.” Latin American Literary Review 61 (2003): 113–15.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Review of Fragments of a Golden Age: The Politics of Culture in Mexico since 1940. Eds. Gilbert Joseph, Anne Rubenstein, and Eric Zolov.” Nepantla: Views From South 4 (2003): 201–7.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Engendering Nation: Las bellas artes públicas and the Mexican Photo-essay, 1920-1940” 49 (2001): 139–54.
  - Gabara, E. L. “La ciudad loca: An Epistemological Plan.” Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 9 (2000): 119–35.
  - Gabara, Esther, and Joy Conlon. “Moving the Avant-Garde.” Stanford Humanities Review 7 (June 1999): vii–xii.
  - Santiago, Silviano. “Two Strangers in Mexico.” Stanford Humanities Review 7 (June 1999): vii–xii.
  - Conlon, Joy. “Two Strangers in Mexico, by Silviano Santiago.” Stanford Humanities Review 7 (1999): 79–87.
  - Gabara, E. L. ““Crossing the Border: Whether Real or Imagined.”.” What It Means to Be American, n.d.
    Link to Item
  - Situaciones, Colectivo, Buenos Aires, and Buenos Argentina. ““Disquiet in the impasse: Coming from the Latin American Situation,”.” Http://Micropolitics.Wordpress.Com/, n.d.
- Book Sections
  - Gabara, E. L. “Photography, Avant-Garde and Modernity.” In A Companion to Modern and Contemporary Latin American & Latino Art, edited by Alejandro Anreus, Robin Greeley, and Megan Sullivan, 2015.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Landscape: Errant Modernism and Aesthetics in Brazil.” In Modern Art in Africa, Asia and Latin America: An Introduction to Global Modernisms, edited by Elaine O. Brien, Everlyn Nicodemus, Melissa Chiu, Mary K Coffey Benjamin Genocchio, and Roberto Tejada, 353–61. Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Orientalism Unmoored.” In Orit Raff: Shangri-La, n.p.-n.p. Tel Aviv, Israel: A’ Point Books/ Noga Callery of Contemporary Art, 2011.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Perspectives on Scale: From the Atomic to the Universal.” In Art and Globalization, edited by James Elkins, Alice S. Kim, and Zhivka Valiavicharska, 200–204. Penn State Press, 2010.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Modernist Ethics: Really Engaging Popular Culture in Mexico and Brazil.” In The Ethics of Latin American Literary Criticism: Reading Otherwise, edited by Erin Graff Zivin, 63–104. Palgrave MacMillan, 2007.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Recycled Photographs: Moving Still Images of Mexico City, 1950/2000.” In Double Exposure: Photography and Literature in Latin America, edited by Marcy Schwartz and Mary Beth Tierney-Tello, 139–72. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
  - Gabara, E. L. “’Nunca olhei tão olhado em minha vida e está sublime’: O (auto)retrato e a fotografia na obra de Mário de Andrade.” In A Historiografia Literária e as Técnicas de Escrita. Do Manuscrito Ao Hipertexto, edited by Flora Süssekind and Tânia Dias, 169–90. Vieira e Lent/ Edições Casa de Rui Barbosa, 2004.
- Other Articles
  - Gabara, E. L. ““El laberinto de la hermandad: Me-Xicano Photography and Protest.”.” La Raza. Seattle: University of Washington Press/ Autry National Center/ Chicano Studies Research Center, February 1, 2020.
    Link to Item
  - Gabara, E. L. ““Missing Body Art: Absent Identity in the Work of Tatiana Parcero.”.” Revolution and Ritual: The Photographs of Sara Catrejón, Graciela Iturbide, and Tatiana Parcero., January 31, 2017.
  - Gabara, E. L. ““Crossing the Border: Whether Real or Imagined.”.” What It Means to Be American. Smithsonian Institute/ Zócalo Public Square, May 26, 2015.
    Link to Item
  - Gabara, E. L. “Arte y colonialidad: Arte latinoamericano en España,” 2012.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Non-Literary Fiction: Invention and Interventions in Contemporary Latin American Art,” 2012.
  - Gabara, E. L. “Orit Raff: Inside Drawing.” Pamphlet, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, and Galerie Paula Boettcher, Berlin, February 2000.
Artistic Works & Non-Print Media
- Exhibits
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Advising & Mentoring
- Dissertations Directed:
  
  Romance Studies: Laura Cobian (2010), Beatriz Rodríguez Balanta (2010), Amanda Suhey, Candela Marini (co-directed with Ricard Rosa), Iván Vargas.
  
  Art, Art History & Visual Studies: Kency Cornejo (2014), Alfredo Rivera (co-directed with Rick Powell, 2015), and Camila Maroja (co-directed with Kristine Stiles, 2015), Rosalía Romero.
  
  Dissertation Committees:
  
  Romance Studies: Andrea Junguito (2008), Karen Serwer Secrist (2009), Ana Ugarte, Silvia Serrano, Stephanie Reist, Raúl Ferrera- Balanquet
  
  Art, Art History & Visual Studies: Sinan Goknur, Lidia Klein
  
  Literature: China Medel (2014)
  
  Undergraduate Theses:
  
  Director:
  
  Molly Superfine, awarded highest distinction (Art, Art History & Visual Studies, 2013)
  
  Committees:
  
  Kimberly Gordon, Lara Pomerantz (Spanish and Latin American Studies)
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Presentations & Appearances
Service to the Profession

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Awards & Honors

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Research

Teaching

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Other Articles

Artistic Works & Non-Print Media

Exhibits

Recent Courses

Advising & Mentoring

Presentations & Appearances

Service to the Profession