b-inspired Exhibitions
La Movida. A chronicle of turmoil. 1978-1988
Foto Colectania, till 16/02/2020
The Foto Colectania Foundation brings together in an ambitious exhibition the work of four key photographers from Madrid's Movida: Alberto García-Alix, Ouka Leele, Pablo Pérez-Mínguez and Miguel Trillo. Curated by Antoine de Beaupré (founder of Galerie 213 in Paris), Pepe Font de Mora and Irene de Mendoza (director and artistic director of Foto Colectania), La Movida. Crónica de una agitación (A chronicle of turmoil). 1978-1988 arrives in Barcelona after having being presented at the 50th anniversary of the most important photography festival in the world, Les Rencontres d'Arles.
The exhibition presents a multifaceted look at this movement, in which you can see authentic one-offs such as the vintage copies of García-Alix, the coloured originals of Ouka Leele, or the cibachromes of Pérez-Mínguez and Miguel Trillo. The exhibition also includes a selection of materials such as vinyl, fanzines and posters, as well as a recorded musical performances which complement the world of the photographers with the other fields such as music or cinema. The exhibition pieces belong to the photographers themselves and the Adolfo Autric Collection.
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Miguel Trillo, 'En la sala Rock-Ola. Madrid, 1982' Cibachrome, original vintage print © Miguel Trillo/VEGAP
La Movida is considered one of the most unique and spontaneous eras of contemporary Spanish culture, which took place mainly in Madrid during the early 1980s, coinciding with the mayor's office of Enrique Tierno Galván. After several decades of dictatorship and social exclusion the Spanish transition witnessed a new generation fascinated by modernity and ‘the idea of the new’, which would crystallize in creators from different fields such as music, fashion, design, cinema, painting or the photograph. This cultural golden era was distinguished from other European cities by being directly inspired by the daily life of the time.
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Ouka Leele, 'El beso', 1980, digital copy (Vitra) ©Ouka Leele/VEGAP
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Alberto García-Alix, 'Gabriel Fix', 1980. Gelatin and silver on barite paper, tinted with tea. Original vintage print © Alberto García-Alix/VEGAP
Madrid was changing and there were more people on the streets at night than during the day. Concert halls such as The Pentagram or the mythical Rock-ola become meeting points on the underground scene; numerous fanzines and magazines were founded, such as La Luna de Madrid (The Moon over Madrid) and Madrid me mata (Madrid kills me); thousands of young people from all over the country began following TV programmes that were at the vanguard of Europe, such as La edad de oro (The Golden Age), where national and international artists and musical groups played live, or La bola de cristal (The Crystal Ball), a programme aimed at kids who starring the renowned Alaska and that included musical performances by stars of the time like Santiago Auserón of Radio Futura. It wasalso the time when Pedro Almodóvar's first films appeared such as Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón, filmed wherever he could with the means he had available.
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Miguel Trillo, 'Junto a Rock-Ola'. Madrid, 1983. Cibachrome, original vintage print © Miguel Trillo/VEGAP
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Pablo Pérez-Mínguez. 'Camerinos del Marquee. Concierto de Alaska y los Pegamoides', 1981. Digital copy © Pablo Pérez-Mínguez/VEGAP
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Pablo Pérez-Mínguez, 'Póster Rock-Ola: Alaska, Pedro y Fabio, 1983'. Cibachrome, later copy © Pablo Pérez-Mínguez/VEGAP
In this historical context of great energy and optimism, of seeking freedom and individual revindication after a long period of repression a series of photographers coincided at a time of great creativity in their careers. The four photographers who are included in the exhibition, Alberto García-Alix, Ouka Leele, Pablo Pérez-Mínguez and Miguel Trillo, were indisputable protagonists of La Movida and, at the same time, each of them was, in his own way, a chronicler of La Move. The exceptional nature of the photography of that period is precisely their individual contribution, reflecting the diversity of the worlds in which they turned and their rich personalities from the photographic point of view and that result in a multifaceted look at that time in history.
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Alberto García-Alix, 'Autorretrato con el cuerpo herido', 1981. Gelatin and silver on barite paper, original vintage print © Alberto García-Alix/VEGAP
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Ouka Leele, 'Madrid, 1984', Cibachrome from a black and white photograph painted with watercolors. Original vintage copy ©Ouka Leele/VEGAP
- From 18 October to 16 February
- Fundación Foto Colectania
- Passeig de Picasso 14 08003 Barcelona
- www.fotocolectania.org/