Beatnik Buenos Aires by Diego Arandojo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m not a fan of the Beatnik movement. I appreciate the place in art history this movement had but for me it’s too disjointed, tears things down with no solution, and seems too chaotic. It’s also too existential and cynical for me to enjoy. So why read about Beatniks in Buenos Aires? Curiosity. I’ve never been to Argentina but I do know that Buenos Aires has been influential in various artistic movements, it is the home of Tango after all. There’s also Borges and many famous painters. Several of my friends have been to Buenos Aires and told me about the unique vibe the city has. It’s on my bucket list to visit someday. Just like New York was home to many U.S. Beatniks, Buenos Aires was the center of the Argentine Beatnik scene. This graphic novel balanced parts of the art with the history of the artists. There were some pretty wild characters, some I had heard of, and many I had not. If you are interested in art and art history I would recommend this. For everyone else, maybe not.