Ever since it was founded, the CAYC (Centro de Arte y Comunicación), helmed by the cultural promoter, artist, and businessman Jorge Glusberg, was intended as an interdisciplinary space where an experimental art movement could flourish. The establishment of collaborative networks connecting local and international artists and critics played a key role in this process. The exhibitions shone a light on these exchanges, in which overviews of trends or individual artists introduced the innovations of international contemporary art and made Argentine and Latin American artists better known on the global scene.
Arte en cambio was an exhibition of works by the Grupo de los Trece at the CAYC. The list of participants confirms that Horacio Zabala had officially joined the group by then. He came up with the title of the exhibition, thinking of a broad approach to the idea of freedom, which was in short supply during that period of multiple coups d’états and authoritarian military regimes. Zabala was referring to the fact that artists were free to change the focus of their work rather than doing what they had already done and repeating themselves over and over again. Edgardo Antonio Vigo (1928–1997) also participated in the exhibition; he was never a member of the Grupo de los Trece, but was a frequent guest artist at their events. [Ver GT-39 (doc. no. 1476286) y GT-49 (doc. no. 1476289)].
Glusberg’s introductory essay for the exhibition [GT-239 doc. no. 1476434)] is based on a semiological analysis. Though he describes art as a “communication system,” he does not say much about the procedural aspect, instead focusing on the codes that must be shared for such an exchange of signs to take place, as well as the connections and effects that are created, for both human behavior and its controlling relationships. This concept of art as a model for social change—which was an integral component of the CAYC’s activities and works during that period—is a product of the rampant political unrest in Argentina at the time. The general elections in March 1973 brought an end to the military dictatorship that had taken power in 1966 through a series of coups d’états (Onganía, Levingston, and Lanusse). Midway through that year the reinstatement of democratic voting, the inauguration of Héctor J. Cámpora as president of the country, and the return from exile of Juan Domingo Perón all contributed to a mood of optimism. At the same time, the country was experiencing an escalation of violence as a result of the struggle between opposing political factions and armed groups.
