Estrategias pop en España : Estética, política e identidad (1962-1992)

Spanish art linked to the Pop movements of the 1960s has traditionally been viewed as an anomaly, both within the international landscape and within the context of Spain’s era of rapid economic development ("desarrollismo"). It is its political nature that appears to have lent it a special, distinctive character—both at the time and today. Yet, as the author of this essay asks: what if we were to consider Pop not merely as a style, but as a critical mode of engaging with reality through the structures and media of mass culture? Such a perspective —viewing Pop as a strategy rather than a style— allows us to challenge the Anglo-Saxon canon and examine the concerns revealed by the use of mass media in Spanish artistic practices. Drawing on Pop artworks and designs from groups and movements such as Estampa Popular, Crónica de la Realidad, Nuevos Comportamientos Artísticos, and Neo-Pop, Julio Pérez Manzanares brilliantly navigates the eras of "desarrollismo" and the Transition to democracy. Ultimately, he traces an analysis of the self-image Spain has constructed—both for the outside world and for itself—through art, art criticism, and art’s capacity (and limitations) to transform society.