Huachafo architecture between kitsch and aesthetic innovation

Abstract

One way of theorising the fundamental reorganisation of the aesthetic coordinates that modernism brought about is to understand modern and post-modern artistic creation as phases of a dialectical movement. As Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek pointed out, modernism may well be understood as the negation of pre-modern art, whereas post-modernism acts as the moment of sublation – the final synthesis – that preserves and combines elements from both stages. Admittedly, this is Plumpes Denken at its best – there is no room for finesse here – although it does work surprisingly well in the field of architecture. After all, the advent of the modern upended the lavish styles of the late nineteenth century by producing their polar opposite (think of Adolf Loos, who went as far as to criminalise the use of ornaments), whereas post-modern architecture succeeded in blending both traditional and modern elements in a jocular, casual and often parodistic fashion. Against this background, this article proposes an in-depth exploration of an even more recent phenomenon: huachafo architecture, an emerging cultural trend in Bolivia and Peru. Although frequently dismissed, or even derided, by its detractors, with the term huachafo itself being translated as ‘tacky’ or ‘tasteless’, it has already established itself in many neighbourhoods of the countries’ largest cities, often in less affluent, or even informal, areas. Much like its Western counterpart, huachafo architecture approaches its subject with a sensitivity to traditional and modern stylistic codes; however, its results differ considerably from most classically post-modern designs. This article posits huachafo architecture as a kind of alternate post-modernism that draws heavily on regional influences, while challenging some of our preconceived notions about the importance of good taste and the implicit assumptions about class that often accompany this type of reasoning.