UNPREDICTABLE ARCHITECTURES

The claim behind the essays in this volume is that gardens are, by definition, heterogeneous and unpredictable. They can be spaces of peace and quietness, but also of upheaval and political rebellion; they can be an idealized literary or artistic topos, but often conceal forms of racialized and gendered violence; they can seem to be atemporal, but are deeply embedded in history. Above all, gardens might be designed to appear still, but they are always changing. Gardens might even show up where we least think they will be. They are not only unpredictable but unexpected: they are bound to surprise us. In a time of rapid degradation of fundamental green spaces and accelerating climate change, Unpredictable Architectures: The Aesthetics and Politics of Gardening in Latin America reflects on the cultural, political, and aesthetic relevance of the vegetable world through spatial, artistic, and discursive practices from prior the first contact with European settlers to the present. From architecture and landscape history to comparative literature, and from urban parks and botanical gardens to horticultural magazines and contemporary artworks, the range of disciplines and objects of inquiry represented in this volume illustrate the multifocal ways in which gardens are conceived and rendered visible.