Norman Naroztky, I Am a Man, 1968-1969. Image courtesy of MNAC.
Art created in Catalonia during the second half of the 1960s shared the ideals of generational renewal and revolution that broke out in several international centers. The exhibit “LIBERXINA, Pop and New Artistic Behaviors, 1966-1971,” which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the events of May 1968, focuses on the creative output during this tumultuous time. Belgian writer Raoul Vaneigem spoke of entering “a whole new era” in his “Treatise on Living for the Use of the Young Generations” (1967). In “One-Dimensional Man” (1964), philosopher Herbert Marcuse asserted the emergence of the “great rejection” as the beginning of a cultural revolt that would transform society from top to bottom. It is a portrait of a period of tension and enthusiasm that opened the doors to a new sensibility.
Until now, this period has suffered from a certain lack of definition by historians, who have not always managed to find a place for it between the decline of Informalism and the irruption of the conceptual. This period saw the emergence of Pop Art and New Figuration, which went beyond post-war existentialism and attempted alternative forms of resistance. The art of those years shows a connection with international modernity associated with the new paradigms of freedom and revolution. The artists move between political militancy and hedonistic individualism, between the defense of figurative painting and new, unconventional methods. Pacifism, sexual revolution, a critique of capitalism, unlimited exploration of individual creativity — these are some of the fundamental challenges expressed, in addition to the resistance of Francoism.
Painters Francesc Artigau, Robert Llimós and the Valencians of Equipo Crónica used figuration with clear political intent, critiquing consumerism and authority. The work of Estampa Popular reflects some of the conflictive themes of the time, such as commentary on U.S. foreign policy. Some artists experimented with visions of psychedelia, while others explored Arte Povera on a path of radical renunciation. What Cirici called the “Grup del Maduixer” carried out essential experiments, such as the first work of video art in Spain, “Primera Mort” (1969). A new generation of artists who had points of reference and aspirations very different from those of the immediate post-war years (that of Dau al Set and Informalism) took on the new social and aesthetic problems, and names like Norman Narotzky and Amèlia Riera appear.
Art venues were also decisive in those years, not just the galleries, but also private homes such as Casa del Maduixer and the gardens in Vallvidrera of Arranz-Bravo-Bartolozzi, among others.
“LIBERXINA” is the first in a series of exhibitions that sets out to investigate specific temporal phenomena and frameworks in order to make an analytical interpretation of post-war Catalan art.
Text adapted from the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.