The Salón Nacional de Artes Plásticas [National Salon for the Visual Arts] of Argentina was founded in 1911; its regulations varied over time, depending on the needs of the moment. The Salón Nacional for the years 1968 and 1969 included a section called “Visual Arts Research.” The category sought to include the new formats of experimental art (kinetic objects, Pop art, and the like). In 1970 and 1971, it led to the implementation of Certamen Anual de Investigaciones Visuales.
The Certamen Nacional de Investigaciones Visuales—which was held during the de facto government of General Alejandro Agustín Lanusse (1971–73)—resulted in the censorship of the artworks that had won the Grand Prize and the First Prize. By means of Executive Order 5696/71, the authorities excluded those prize-winning works from the exhibition, stating they were “not accepted” due to their “manifest ideological intent.” Thus they declared the grand and first prizes awarded by the jury null and void. These deeds fostered the repudiation of artists as well as some cultural organizations, and gave rise to various legal actions.
This article was selected because it documents the different circumstances upon which the artists would base their demand for adherence to the Reglamento’s stipulations. In other words, they demanded that the clause (added in 1966) that prevented the treatment of “themes detrimental to the principles of Argentinean cultural tradition” not be included; and that November 12 serve as the day of inauguration as well as the recognition of the Nómina de Autores Premiados [List of Artists Awarded Prizes]—and that the decision to declare the first two prizes, which had been legally selected by the jury, “null and void” be disregarded.