Felipe Ehrenberg's 1985 Essay Revisits Mexico's 1970s Grupos Movement

Felipe Ehrenberg authored "In Search of a Model for Life," an essay originally published in 1985 as part of the catalog for the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil's retrospective exhibition "De los Grupos los individuos." The text examines los Grupos, an autonomous and experimental art movement active primarily in Mexico City during the late 1970s. Ehrenberg, a central participant in the movement, critiques the teleological narrative presented in the main catalog text, which framed the Grupos' evolution from collective rebellion to individual artists entering the art market. His essay instead theorizes the potential for a critical art practice that operates independently from both state institutions and commercial markets. The Grupos movement itself was defined by its opposition to academicism and state-supported commercial experimental art within Mexico's institutional landscape. The essay was made available through MIT Press, offering full access to its content. This republication or analysis appeared on ARTMargins Online in 2012, authored by Karen Benezra.