The Introduction explores how the history of postwar Western art (e.g., film, art exhibitions, literature, paintings, jazz, material sculptures, readymades, theater, graphic art) has been constructed and written about. The collected chapters excavate a brief period of historical time and provide thick descriptions of the years 1959 and 1960 that drill down into layers of artistic activity in Western Europe and the Americas. The chapters examine what is gold and what is kitsch, what shines and what does not. By focusing on the crucial years of 1959 and 1960, they bring to light lateral and often surprising connections between divergent artistic milieus. In the exploration of cross-disciplinary topics on art produced in Western Europe (primarily France and Italy) and the Americas (primarily the United States, Brazil, and Cuba),the editors argue that the goal is to remap the cultural and geopolitical commonalities and differences that define each region and national situation.