The Unfinished Art of Theater: Avant-Garde Intellectuals in Mexico and Brazil by Sarah J. Townsend (review)

Sarah Townsend’s book, The Unfinished Art of Theater, provides an important contribution to the study of the avant-garde as expressed in theatrical forms in both Mexico and Brazil. Townsend explores the ways in which avant-garde aesthetics, as part of a larger global form of artistic contestation, manifested itself in those two countries, focusing on two intellectuals of the modernist period: Mario de Andrade and José Vasconcelos. Besides offering an overview of the history of the avant-garde, the book fills a void in comparing these two Latin American countries. Though the book is very specific and detailed in its analysis, it aims for a broader understanding of the period and the type of archival material analysis found in what the author calls “unfinished theater” (6). The term “avant-garde” proves hard to define, paralleling the unfinished ideas embedded in the archival material of unfinished works, writings, and performances.

Townsend starts by giving us an overview of her research and its philosophical backbone. There is an emphasis on ideas that would make the parallels between Mexico and Brazil explicit, using terms such as “periphery” or “semi-periphery,” as well as Roberto Schwarz’s “ideas out of place” to refer to modern liberal economic principles applied to countries like Brazil, where remnants of slavery and patronage were also present. This mish mash of unrelated economic and social concepts gave rise to countries that were on the one hand ready to modernize, and on the other living with the same social structures as when they were colonies. Though compelling, some of these associations could use more revision. Schwarz’s work, for example, is taken out of its specific context in concerning ways. It is also problematic that the differences between Spanish and Portuguese colonization are glossed over, or even de-emphasized, considering the vast literature that establishes the importance of those differences. The same issues present in the introduction continue throughout other sections, as the author applies a variety of European theories of the avant-garde to an essentially nationalistic and Brazilian phase of development. Though well-explained and conscious, this part would benefit from references to a more culture-specific set of critics from Brazil itself. However, these small oversights do not take away from the well-written and thorough introduction on the level of theory and historical background.

The book is essentially divided into two parts: three chapters on Mexico and three chapters on Brazil. In the lengthier Mexican part, Townsend examines different performances, theatre groups, and intellectuals of the modern period. In the case of Brazil, she focuses on the modern art period and two of its most well-known intellectuals, Mario de Andrade and Oswald de Andrade. In both cases, there is extensive analysis of musical renditions, sounds, and radio programs as part of the archival analysis. In fact, the author affirms in the introduction that “several moments along the way I almost decided I was writing a book about theater and sound” (23). The book offers original analysis of the modern period’s vast collection of unfinished, hard-to-define performances that would otherwise remain forgotten. For its vast application and theoretical exploration, Townsend book deserves careful attention, not just from academics and artists, but also from students, offering an almost encyclopedic value.