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Bienal Americana de Arte records
970074  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Acquisition Information
  • Arrangement
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Processing History
  • Preferred Citation
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Separated Materials
  • Biographical/Historical Note

  • Contributing Institution: Special Collections
    Title: Bienal Americana de Arte records
    Creator: Lanza, Alcides
    Creator: Brown, Earle, 1926-2002
    Creator: Vega, Jorge de la, 1930-1971
    Creator: Sorenson, Magda
    Creator: Moretto, Nelly, 1925-1978
    Creator: Villanueva, Carlos Raúl, 1900-1975
    Creator: Pellegrini, Aldo
    Creator: Sorenson, Christian
    Creator: Cage, John
    Creator: Bienal Americana de Arte
    Creator: Hunter, Sam, 1923-2014
    Creator: Read, Herbert, 1893-1968
    Creator: Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981
    Creator: Bode, Arnold, 1900-1977
    Creator: Apollonio, Umbro, 1911-1981
    Creator: Industrias Kaiser Argentina
    Identifier/Call Number: 970074
    Physical Description: 20.61 Linear Feet (26 boxes, 9 flatfile folders, 1 roll)
    Date (inclusive): 1961-1969, 1977
    Date (bulk): 1961-1969
    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.
    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 .
    Language of Material: Collection material is in Spanish with some English.

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired in 1997.

    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.

    Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers, except for unreformatted audio visual materials.

    Publication Rights

    Processing History

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

    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

    Scope and Content of Collection

    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.

    Separated Materials

    Six monographs and eight serials were transferred to the library. These publications may be found by searching the Library Catalog  for the provenance, Bienal Americana de Arte Collection.

    Biographical/Historical Note

    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.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

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