Lucy Lippard's '2,972,453' in Buenos Aires: A Reassessment
In an essay for Afterall's Exhibition Histories series, Pip Day reflects on Lucy R. Lippard's 1970 exhibition '2,972,453' at the Centro de Arte y Comunicación in Buenos Aires. This showcase featured thirteen international conceptual artists who focused on providing instructions rather than physical artworks. Day argues that the exhibition didn't receive much attention in Argentina, overshadowed by the politically charged avant-garde movement of the late 1960s. During her visit to Argentina in 1968 to judge the Materiales prize, Lippard encountered corporate influence and a vibrant art community responding to the military coup of 1966, which later shaped her activism, including the Braque prize boycott and the 'Experiencias 68' exhibition.
Key facts
- Lucy R. Lippard curated '2,972,453' at CAYC in Buenos Aires in 1970.
- The exhibition was part of her 'numbers shows' series, titled after Buenos Aires's population.
- Thirteen artists submitted instructions rather than physical works, dematerializing the show.
- Lippard's 1968 trip to Argentina as a juror for the Materiales prize politicized her.
- The Materiales prize was sponsored by manufacturers who tried to influence awards.
- Lippard and co-juror Jean Clay awarded first prize jointly to David Lamelas, Inés Gross, and Jorge Carballa.
- Jorge Carballa's 'Requiem para la libertad' referenced political prisoners under Onganía's dictatorship.
- The Braque prize in June 1968 was boycotted and protested, with twelve arrests.
- Roberto Plate's 'El baño' at 'Experiencias 68' was closed by police; artists destroyed their works in solidarity.
- The 'Tucumán arde' project (November 1968) exposed living conditions of sugar workers in Tucumán.
- Lippard joined the Art Workers' Coalition in 1969 and later feminist groups.
- The essay notes conflicting accounts of Lippard's meetings with the Rosario Group.
Entities
Artists
- Lucy R. Lippard
- Pip Day
- Jorge Glusberg
- Ana Longoni
- Mariano Mestman
- Andrea Giunta
- Roberto Jacoby
- Jean Clay
- David Lamelas
- Inés Gross
- Jorge Carballa
- Julio Le Parc
- Mario Demarco
- Margarita Paksa
- Roberto Plate
- Graciela Carnevale
- Juan Pablo Renzi
- Jaime Rippa
- Eduardo Ruano
- Oscar Bony
- Victor Burgin
- James Collins
- Christopher Cook
- Ira Joel Haber
- Eleanor Antin
- Siah Armajani
- David Askevold
- Stanley Brouwn
- Pier Paolo Calzolari
- Don Celender
- Gilbert & George
- Richards Jarden
- Buckminster Fuller
- Gertrude Stein
- Claude Lévi-Strauss
- Jorge Romero Brest
- Enrique Oteiza
- Horacio Verbitsky
- Pablo Suárez
- Tito Fernández Bonina
- Eduardo Favario
- Ursula Mayer
- Bob Huot
- Ron Wolin
- Kynaston McShine
- Vincent Bonin
- Anthony Hudek
- Julia Bryan-Wilson
- Kristin Ross
- Alexander Alberro
- Mari Carmen Ramirez
- Okwui Enwezor
- Rudolf Baranik
- Leon Golub
- Nancy Spero
- May Stevens
- Dore Ashton
- Max Kozloff
- Kate Horsfield
- Lyn Blumenthal
- Aldo Bortolotti
- Noemi Escandell
- Luis Pazos
- Joost Smiers
- Carlos Ginzburg
- Hans Haacke
- Allan Kaprow
- Joseph Kosuth
- Richard Long
- Mario Merz
- Dennis Oppenheim
- Ed Ruscha
- Lawrence Weiner
- Jacques Bedel
- Luis Benedit
- Victor Grippo
- Oscar Masotta
Institutions
- Centro de Arte y Comunicación (CAYC)
- Afterall
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
- Instituto Torcuato Di Tella
- Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires
- Art Workers' Coalition (AWC)
- Guerrilla Art Action Group
- Ad Hoc Women Artists Committee
- Women Artists in Revolution (WAR)
- Artists and Writers Protest
- Paula Cooper Gallery
- Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Vancouver Art Gallery
- CalArts
- Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) London
- Confederación General del Trabajo de los Argentinos (CGTA)
- Grupo de los Trece
- Grupo CAYC
- Grupo de Arte de Vanguardia de Rosario
- Agence France-Press
- Archives of American Art
- Biblioteca Nacional de Buenos Aires
- Whatcom Museum of History and Art
- Independent Curators International
- Queens Museum of Art
- Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC)
- Tate Modern
- Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
- Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
- New York University
- Loeb Student Center
- New York Cultural Center
Locations
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- New York
- United States
- Rosario
- Santa Fe
- Tucumán
- Seattle
- Washington
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Valencia
- California
- Chicago
- Illinois
- Houston
- Texas
- San Francisco
- Paris
- France
- Memphis
- Tennessee
- London
- United Kingdom
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- San Nicolás
- Plaza Roberto Arlt
- Trelew
Sources
- Afterall —