Latin culture clash

WITH good reason, Latin American nations were long reluctant to give serious consideration to the art produced during centuries of often brutal colonial rule. Mexico, to cite one prominent example, elevated folkloric culture, the remnants of Aztec, Mixtec, Mayan and other pre-Columbian eras, and Modernism (especially with a political edge), while looking askance at most everything made between 1492 and the first stirrings of revolution early in the 19th century.

During the last quarter-century, those misgivings have begun to dissipate. Art of the colonial era is being reclaimed, often as a distinctive New World expression not to be measured with an old-world yardstick. Exhibitions and museum collections have started to flourish. The most thrilling example to date is “The Arts in Latin America, 1492-1820,” a survey of about 250 paintings, sculptures and decorative objects, which had its debut last fall (under a different title) in Philadelphia, then traveled to Mexico City. The show concludes its tour at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which helped organize the extravaganza.

“The Arts in Latin America, 1492-1820” opens Aug. 5 and runs through Oct. 28 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. (323) 857-6000, www.lacma.org