ARTISTIC CAPITALISM AND LIQUID MODERNITY IN CONTEMPORARY FICTION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HOUELLEBECQ'S EL MAPA Y EL TERRITORIO (2010) AND MAIER'S PIÑA (2022)

Abstract

This article presents a comparative reading of the novels Houellebecq's El mapa y el territorio (2010) and Maier's Piña (2022), aiming to situate them within the broader cultural transformations associated with artistic capitalism and liquid modernity. Drawing on an analysis of critical reception and key theoretical interpretations, it examines how both works problematize the aestheticization of experience, the precariousness of subjectivity, and the symbolic circulation of art in the neoliberal context. While Houellebecq represents the simulacrum of art as a spectacular commodity, Maier proposes an aesthetic of minimalism and residue. The study identifies a gap in comparative criticism that it seeks to address through a rigorous theoretical approach, articulated from the perspectives of art sociology, cultural theory, and contemporary literary studies.