Anunciamos, 1973
‘WE ANNOUNCE the appearance of 27 advertisements in this section of this newspaper conducted by 9 people from 1–26 July.’ Grup de Treball proposed that its members invent a series of advertisements following the narrative pattern of those in the advertising and contacts pages of the newspaper. Jordi Benito, Manuel Rovira, Carles Santos, Francesc Abad, Antoni Mercader, Alicia Fingerhut, Dorothée Selz, Muntadas and Morera (the latter collaborated with the group at the time of its constitution) individually drafted and signed seventeen advertisements published in the newspaper La Vanguardia Española between June and July 1973. The series, which comprised the work Anunciamos (We Announce), proposes, on the one hand, an act of interference in the area of the press, and on the other, a kind of ironic parody of the characteristic visual signs of censorship.
Using a similar discursive register, every advertisement focused attention on one aspect or another. Some were ironic, others critical, others played with the element of surprise. On Thursday 28 June, Muntadas signed the following announcement: ‘IN THE TEMPORARY absence of the country, we require information on its situation.’ It is not without significance that someone living abroad for political reasons should ask for an appraisal of the country’s situation. Antoni Mercader, meanwhile, ironically highlights the professional status of art and artists in the following announcement: ‘LOOKING for work. Not compatible with artistic activity.’
The series Anunciamos is part of the first phase of Grup de Treball, a moment of consolidation ranging from autumn 1972 until summer 1973. It is the stage in which the theoretical bases of discussion, consolidation and group awareness were established. Moreover, as in some works of the Anglo-Saxon group Art & Language and Joseph Kosuth, Grup de Treball situated part of its production at the intersection between art and language. The series of advertisements in La Vanguardia Española leaves it up to the linguistic and discursive register to structure the critical message: the word is used to agitate consciousness. Another aspect that is reflected in this work is the role that the group gives to the press. Aware of the fundamental role of the media as articulators of opinion, Grup de Treball repeatedly interacted with them. Anunciamos inaugurated this practice.
Technical details
- Original title:
- Anunciamos
- Registration number:
- 0491
- Artist:
- Grup de Treball (Grup d'artistes)
- Date created:
- 1973
- Date acquired:
- 1997
- Fonds:
- MACBA Collection. Government of Catalonia long-term loan
- Object type:
- Graphic material
- Media:
- Printed ink and felt-tip pen on paper
- Dimensions:
- 13 fulls 49.5 x 34 cm c/u (height x width)
- Credits:
- MACBA Collection. Government of Catalonia long-term loan. National Collection of art and gift of Grup de Treball
- Copyright:
- © Grup de Treball
- It has accessibility resources:
- No
The MACBA Collection features Catalan, Spanish and international art and, although it includes works from the 1920s onwards, its primary focus is on the period between the 1960s and the present.
For more information on the work or the artist, please consult MACBA's Library. To request a loan of the work, please write to colleccio [at] macba.cat.
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