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On explaining his statement that the political and art are linked by artistic work, Suazo clarifies that this relationship does not have to be visible in a work —although it may form part of its contextóbut that it covers "the choice of technical and expressive media, and the strategic adoption of a particular language." He concludes that "these elements not only have their own meaning and history, but also carry an assigned value and hierarchy that can be used in a political sense (...)" His reasoning on the former is based on the supposition that, in given historical circumstances, the acceptance or rejection of any artistic media has political implications and he exemplifies this through the selection of non-canonical production methods on the part of emerging artists of the sixties and seventies opposed to the fetishism of objects. In reference to specific artistic movements, he emphasizes the abolition of the figure by the abstract and constructionist avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century, which politically would mean " the refutation of a society bent on holding on to the traditional values that assigned a moral, doctrinaire or religious role to art".
On summarizing Félix Suazoís book, I would say that its greatest flaw may be that one reaches the end waiting for the author to systematically develop the thesis that guides his reflections —since by doing so he would go beyond the partial explanations he provides in a part of his bookóand that its greatest virtue is that in every step of our reading we see how this thesis is bombarded and attacked with a rich, complex and anti-doctrinaire vision. Although we must inevitably acknowledge numerous other voices behind Suazoís- in the final analysis the issue he addresses is one of the most dominant in twentieth-century art- there can be no doubt that he tackles his subject with intelligence and vigor, while backing his arguments with a convincing selection of artistís work with highly diverse backgrounds, developments, and degrees of public recognition, as can be seen from the examples quoted above. Left and Right...is easily a seedbed of suggestive, stimulating ideas.
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