Bienal Americana de Arte records, 1961-1969, 1977, bulk 1961-1969

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Summary

Title:

Bienal Americana de Arte records

Dates:

1961-1969, 1977, bulk 1961-1969

Creators:

Lanza, Alcides, Brown, Earle, 1926-2002, Vega, Jorge de la, 1930-1971, Sorenson, Magda, Moretto, Nelly, 1925-1978, Villanueva, Carlos Raúl, 1900-1975, Pellegrini, Aldo, Sorenson, Christian, Cage, John, Bienal Americana de Arte, Hunter, Sam, 1923-2014, Read, Herbert, 1893-1968, Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981, Bode, Arnold, 1900-1977, Apollonio, Umbro, 1911-1981, and Industrias Kaiser Argentina

Abstract:

The Bienal Americana de Arte records document the series of art salons and biennials sponsored by Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA). The biennials were important events for exhibiting contemporary art in Latin America in the 1960s. Although regional in focus, they attracted significant international attention. An experimental music section in 1966 featured John Cage among several Latin American composers. The archive documents the planning, realization, and reception of the biennials, as well as two contemporary Latin American art salons.

Extent:

20.61 Linear Feet (26 boxes, 9 flatfile folders, 1 roll)

Language:

Collection material is in Spanish with some English.

Preferred citation:

Bienal Americana de Arte records, 1961-1969, 1977, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 970074.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa970074

Background

Scope and content:

The Bienal Americana de Arte records provide partial documentation of the planning, realization, and reception of Salons IV and V and Bienales I, II, and III. The Salons are grouped into one series, each Bienal into its own series, and there is a separate series for the Experimental Music section.

All of the series include administrative papers and ephemera. The third and fourth series have more extensive and varied records -- including correspondence, photographs, and slides -- which reflect the growing scope and impact of the second and third biennials. The series for the Experimental Music section includes correspondence with and a score by John Cage, and audio recordings of works by the following composers: Earle Brown, Alcides Lanza, Nelly Moretto, and Jorge de la Vega in addition to two compilations.

Biographical / historical:

The Bienales Americana de Arte were important events for exhibiting contemporary art in Latin America in the 1960s. Although regional in focus, the biennials attracted significant international and critical attention.

Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA) began taking an interest in arts and cultural sponsorship in 1958, when it organized the first of five contemporary visual arts salons in Córdoba, Argentina. The salons were held until 1963 and featured Argentine artists working in a number of mediums. Inspired by the success of the salons, IKA organized the first Bienal Americana de Arte in 1962 and expanded its scope to include artists from the neighboring countries of Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, in addition to Argentina. The jury was composed of a representative from each of these four countries, a representative from the Organization of the American States (OAS), and headed by British critic Sir Herbert Read.

The second Bienal, in 1964, expanded further to include artists from ten Latin American countries. Umbro Apollonio, director of the Venice Bienale, presided over a jury comprised again of representatives from each participating country and an OAS representative. Selections from the second Bienal later toured North America.

The third and final Bienal took place in 1966. By this time, the event had grown to include artists from 13 Latin American countries in addition to an Experimental Music section featuring John Cage and Earle Brown along with other contemporary musicians and composers from all over the Americas. In a departure from previous years, the jury was restricted to a small pool of internationally known art experts: Alfred Barr Jr., (Director of MoMA, N.Y.), Arnold Bode (Director of Documenta of Kassel, West Germany), Sam Hunter (Director of the Jewish Museum, N.Y.), Carlos Raul Villanueva (an internationally known Venezuelan architect), and Aldo Pellegrini (a highly respected Argentine writer and art critic). Christian Sorenson directed all three biennials and his wife, Magda, coordinated the Experimental Music section.

Acquisition information:

Acquired in 1997.

Processing information:

In 2010 and 2011, Alexis Adkins processed the collection and wrote the finding aid under the supervision of Andra Darlington.

Arrangement:

Arranged in five series:

Series I. Salons, 1961-1967; Series II. I Bienal Americana de Arte, 1961-1963; Series III. II Bienal Americana de Arte, 1963-1967; Series IV. III Bienal Americana de Arte, 1961-1969, 1977; Series V. Experimental Music, 1962-1969, 1977.

Physical location:

Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Art, Latin America -- 20th century
Avant-garde (Music)
Sound recordings
Photographic prints
Photographs, Original
Black-and-white photographs -- Latin America -- 20th century
Color slides -- Latin America -- 20th century
Proceedings

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:: Alexis Adkins
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-10-10 17:07:47 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for use by qualified researchers, except for unreformatted audio visual materials.
Terms of access:: Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.