The Lacuna spans two periods of history that capture different elements of The Complex Relationship Between Art and Politics. In Part 3, protagonist Harrison Shepherd finds himself in the middle of a milieu of Communist artists engaged in the conflict between Stalinist Communism and an “alternative” represented by Trotsky. In Parts 4-7 of the novel, Shepherd, now a writer, finds himself caught up in the heightened moral panic of the Red Scare. Although Shepherd does not have any explicit political dogmas, he finds himself implicated in this complex web of ties nevertheless.

In the 1930s in the Stalinist USSR, artists were charged with creating art that would support the regime and could be punished if their work was seen as bourgeois. By contrast, Soviet exile Leon Trotsky advocated for the artist’s right to express themselves freely. Although Shepherd does not directly engage in these debates, he is influenced by them through his time spent with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, supporters of Trotsky at the time. He is impressed by Diego Rivera’s murals, which he assists in creating and depicting the history of Mexico, including the ancient civilizations like the Maya and the Aztecs, as well as the workers.