NUEVAS HISTORIAS: A NEW VIEW OF SPANISH PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO ART (BILINGUE ESPAÑOL-INGLES)

Timothy Persons

For years, contemporary photography and video art have played a substantial role in Spain's avant-garde culture. As curator Estelle af Malmborg writes in this volume, In just a few decades, a closed society, trapped in its past, has been transformed into a multifaceted country in which contemporary culture enjoys a strong position. Spanish photography does not shy away from the personal expression. We who lived in Spain in the 1980s experienced first-hand the major political, social and cultural changes. The sociocultural movement La Movida, with the film director Pedro Almodovar as its front figure, released a wave of suppressed creativity and tested the boundaries of freedom. The explosive Spanish culture of the 1980s expressed itself in many ways, but a common feature was an interest in capturing the intellectual currents of the rest of Europe, while, at the same time, relating to one's own cultural heritage." This volume collects works addressing issues of cultural identity, heritage and history by 31 contemporary artists--including Ignasi Aball', Sergio Belinchon, Carmen Calvo, Alicia Framis, Dionisio Gonzalez, Angel Marcos, Aitor Ortiz, Montserrat Soto and Valentin Vallhonrat."