In this essay, published in the catalogue for Un lector, algunos diseñadores gráficos, una década, the exhibition organized by the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, José Luis Guevara (b. 1954) provides a didactic review of an important chapter in the history of Venezuelan graphic arts: press production in the 1950s. Guevara approaches his task from a reader’s perspective which, he says, is necessary because the exhibition is held in the Museum’s library (a reading room). The Venezuelan researcher’s essay is free of expert knowledge, while reporting on the major changes of the decade. He refers to the designers Rafael Rivero Oramas (1904–92), Carlos Cruz-Diez (b. 1923), Mateo Manaure (b. 1926), Nedo M. F. (1926–2001), the Lithuanian-born designer who lived in Venezuela Gerd Leufert (1914–98), and the North American Larry June, noting their contributions and the changes they introduced in the field of design. Though subtle and gradual, these changes had a profound influence on the look of Venezuelan publications. Guevara’s essay is based on statements made by the artists he chose to include, on authors such as the Venezuelan Alfredo Armas Alfonzo and the Spaniard Enric Satué (who have spent time working on the history of design), and most of all on articles in the magazines El Farol and Cal and the catalogues published by Museo de Bellas Artes in the 1950s.
