This article by the researcher Felipe González (b. 1984) draws on primary sources and personal critical comments to weave together the events and conditions that defined the sociopolitical environment under the various governments that were in power in Colombia from 1950 through 1960. Within the parameters he has set, he explains the assimilation strategies and rejection tactics of the emerging intelligentsia, among whose ranks he singles out the artist Judith Márquez (1925–94) for special attention. The article is the result of a research project sponsored by the Universidad de los Andes and the Gilberto Alzate Avendaño Foundation (both of which are in Bogotá), called “Judith Márquez: en un lugar de la plástica, 1954−1960”. The goal was to combine an exhibition of Márquez’s artistic and editorial work with the publication of an extensive catalogue, Plástica dieciocho (which includes the essay by González, among others, plus a selection of articles from Plástica magazine, and a chronological history of Colombian art from 1954 to 1960). The objective of the project was to acknowledge Márquez’s artistic, editorial, and political work, since her active involvement in twentieth-century visual arts appeared to have been ignored by the major narratives (until then) of the history of Colombian art.
In the specific case of this essay, Felipe González should be recognized for his meticulous research and his efforts to question the connections between political ideologies and working conditions for artists in a country like Colombia.
The research group En un lugar de la Plástica was formed in 2007; its goal was to conduct the curatorial and editorial research and development for the exhibition Judith Márquez: en un lugar de la plástica, organized by the Gilberto Alzate Avendaño Foundation (Bogotá). Some members of the group subsequently continued working together and assumed the name En un lugar de la Plástica. They have handled the research and curatorial responsibilities for exhibitions such as: Carlos Rojas: una visita a sus mundos (Museo Nacional, Bogotá, 2008) and La vuelta a Colombia: artes plásticas 1948–1965 (Museo Nacional, Bogotá, 2010). They have also worked together on publications such as the catalogue for the exhibition Salón de Arte Moderno 1957: 50 años de arte en la Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango (2008), and Elemental: vida y obra de María Teresa Hincapié (Bogotá: Laguna Libros and Ministerio de Cultura, 2010).