Lorca and Salinas in New York: Mannequins and the Modern Landscape

Abstract

Representations of mannequins and mannequin-like forms appear as occasional yet very vivid creations in key poetic and prose works of Lorca and Salinas. These images, rooted in early Twentieth Century vanguard currents, add a powerful visual dimension to both authors' portraits of modernity and the city, particularly in the setting of New York. Mannequins impersonate the human figure and at times bear a special resemblance to trees, also projected as human-like forms. Through these portrayals, as well as through other column-like constructions such as skyscrapers and statues, Lorca and Salinas offer forceful expression of the deliverance they sought from the excesses, the coldness, and the captivity of modern life, epitomized in the metropolitan setting. While Lorca expresses a bleaker and more sorrowful denunciation, Salinas appeals more optimistically to the redemptive powers of love and understanding.