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Equipo Crónica : a case study on the art work as an "object of criticism"

This paper will look back on the work of Equipo Cronica, who worked between 1964--1980, to reveal a production of art that centered on issues of originality and value that were grounded in attempts at social activism and a redefinition of the role of art vis-a-vis society. To achieve their goals, I will argue and describe how the two man team of artists used serialism, objectivity, hybridity, appropriation of mass media iconography and techniques, and parody to produce something that was neither an art object nor an ordinary object, but an object of criticism. The historical relevancy of such an art lies in its claims of participating in a political critique of the culture industry controlled by the oppressive Franco regime, and its wary outlook on the rapid modernization of Spain into the neo-capitalist state it is today within the multinational world order. / The relevance of such an examination lies in how their intentions to create a new relationship between art and society is still pertinent today in modern Spain. Since the death of Franco in 1975 there has been a feeling in Spain that the eyes of the world have been on its new democracy, leading to a campaign, led until recently by the Socialist government, to prove Spain is a modern state that has recuperated from 40 years of isolation. It has tried to demonstrate that it is progressive, not only economically and technologically, but culturally. Over the last twenty years a veritable culture industry has boomed in Spain which has been generously backed by its federal and regional governments. As Spain zealously and rapidly finds its place in the globalized multinational world order, I will demonstrate that the issues of identity pertinent to Equipo Cronica, and the tactics they used to address it, can still contribute a critical position to present-day discussions.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.21211
Date January 1998
CreatorsGabriel, Clara Gonzalez de Miranda.
ContributorsRoss, Christine (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Arts (Department of Art History.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001657189, proquestno: MQ50514, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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