Interested in Copi

Abstract

A lecture series given by novelist César Aira in 1988 on author, cartoonist, dramaturge, and actor Copi (Rául Damonte Taborda), inspires questions regarding what it means to be interested in queer people, places, and things. A critical analysis of Copi’s early cartoon production in humor magazine Tí a Vicenta during the late 1950s, as well as his first representations of his famed Seated Woman in Paris’ Le Nouvel Observateur from 1964 to 1966, demonstrates that being interested in Copi is synonymous with looking away from nationhood, patriarchy, and traditional notions of family life. A discussion of his 1974 dramatic comedy, Loretta Strong, and his first novel, Le bals des folles (1977) argues that not only is Copi dedicated to non-normative frameworks, but that society as a whole is fascinated with paths and subjectivities that lead to queer spaces.