Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1713

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.4 linear feet (1 box)

Language Note:

The bulk of this collection is in Spanish but English, French, and German are also present.

Preferred Citation:

Centro de Arte y Comunicación newsletters and ephemera, 1971-1980, Ms. Coll. 1713, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1971-1980 (inclusive)

Creator:

Centro de Arte y Comunicación (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Form:

Newsletters and Printed ephemera

Abstract:

The Centro de Arte y Comunicación (CAYC) was a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based organization founded by Jorge Glusberg in 1968 to promote systems art and Argentinian experimental art internationally. The CAYC newsletters and ephemera date from 1971 through 1980 and comprise .4 linear feet mostly containing the organization's newsletters and exhibition-related ephemera.

The Centro de Arte y Comunicación (CAYC) was an organization founded in Buenos Aires in 1968 committed to the promotion of "systems art" and to the combining of contemporary art and communication. CAYC's founder and only director was Jorge Glusberg, who intended to create an experimental art movement by leveraging his network of Argentinian and international artists and critics.

Glusberg was a known figure in the Argentinian art world due to his regular columns in Análisis and his correspondent role for Leonardo, an art and technology-centered academic publication. He was also trained as a commercial agent and brought that commercial approach to the organization.

The CAYC was created in response to Argentina's 1966 coup d'état and resulting censorship, occupation of universities, and firing of academics that affected culture and education. It was modeled after contemporary art-promoting institutions such as London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and research projects, namely the North American group, Experiments in Art and Technology and absorbed the innovative and politically active avant-garde artist community from the Instituto Torcuato Di Tella, which shuttered in 1970.

Glusberg's goal for the CAYC was to introduce Argentinian art to the world, largely by organizing international exhibitions showcasing Argentinian experimental and avant-garde art and artists. Among these exhibitions were, Arte y Cibernética at Bonino Gallery in 1969, which featured computer-assisted graphic art; Argentina-Intermedios at the Teatro Ópera in 1969, which was an interdisciplinary production including electronic music, stage performances, films, and kinetic sculpture.

One of the organization's major outputs was its newsletter, which was first distributed in 1970. It was titled "GT," possibly meaning "gacetillas de trabajo," and included surveys, discussion prompts, activity reports, programming, and policy information. From 1970 through 1974, the newsletters were mailed to every continent for free. The newsletter was described as "a powerful instrument designed to communicate, promote, and educate… Exhibitions, productions, symposiums, seminars, manifestos, art projects, and artworks came to life in the 900-plus editions, which were printed on thin paper so that several of them could fit in an envelope… Each newsletter, with its distinctive design, included the CAYC's logo printed in a sans-serif font and a border that made it look like a computer card with the upper righthand corner sliced off. The lower lefthand corner was also sliced off, providing a sense of perspective and giving the impression of volume, an illusion that was probably meant to suggest a file full of content, a "sculptural" newsletter. The conventional typewritten text and cursive fonts made the newsletter look like a "work document"—a draft copy of the intended message." (MFAH)

Sources:

"The Centro de Arte y Comunicación: Its History," The CAYC Files, Museum of Fine Arts Houston. https://icaa.mfah.org/s/caycfiles/page/cayc

"McC 759 Centro de Arte y Comunicacion," Special Collections and Archives, Iowa University Libraries. https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/scua/msc/tomsc800/msc759/msc759_cayc.htm

The Centro de Arte y Comunicación newsletters and ephemera date from 1971 through 1980 and comprise .4 linear feet mostly containing the organization's newsletters and exhibition-related ephemera.

The collection contains 370 numbered editions of the newsletter and an additional 63 unnumbered editions dating from 1971-1977. The newsletters start at No. 54 with significant gaps until No. 348. There are missing editions between No. 348 and 801, but this collection appears to contain most of the newsletters in that run.

The collection also contains articles written by the CAYC's founder, Jorge Glusberg; event fliers, printed material, and pamphlets, mostly related to exhibitions; and press releases published in conjunction with other arts institutions and organizations.