The article by George Thomas includes a selection of quoted material that appeared in the Brazilian press on the Peruvian exhibition. This selection sent to the biennial led a group of intellectuals and people in the visual arts to again protest for considering that the so-called “native arts and crafts” lacked artistic validity, and secondly because they thought the INC (Instituto Nacional de Cultura) was acting against the development of “true” Peruvian Art.
In 1977 a selection of art work composed of Folk Art pieces was sent to the XIV Biennial of São Paulo as the only representation of Peruvian art. The decision was made by the Organizational Committee of the biennial, which had invited Peru to participate in the section of “anthological exhibitions”. The purpose of this section of the biennial, according to its regulations, was to exhibit works of art that would “enhance and appraise an already actualized cultural and artistic past” through works of a recognized artist or through a selection of works pertaining to a specific artistic movement, time or place [this data comes directly from the XIV São Paulo International Biennial under São Paulo: Prefeitura do Município, Governo do Estado, Governo Federal, 1977, pp. 3, 8]. In Peru, however, it was thought that the INC had locally determined the type of works to be sent. This led to a flare up on the debate that emerged towards the end of 1975 when the same institution awarded the Cultural National Award of Art to Joaquín López Antay (1897–1981), the prominent Peruvian altarpiece artist.
[Please refer to the ICAA digital archive for the following texts on this event: “Fundamentación para el dictamen por mayoría simple a favor del artista popular Joaquín López Antay” by Alfonso Castrillón, Leslie Lee and Carlos Bernasconi (doc. no. 1135896); “Premio a López Antay suscita controversias. Unos: consagración del arte popular. Otros: una cosa es arte y otra artesanía” by Alfonso Bermúdez (doc. no. 1135879); “Artistas plásticos cuestionan premio” by Francisco Abril de Vivero, Luis Cossío Marino and Alberto Dávila (doc. no. 1135960); and “‘No todos nos quieren ni en Lima ni en Ayacucho’: así comentó sobre cuestionamiento a premio” (without author) (doc. no. 1135930)].