Only three members of the group were involved in the publication of the second expansionist manifesto: Omar Carreño and Rubén Márquez, both of whom were painters and sculptors, and the graphic designer Álvaro Sotillo. The text of the manifesto addresses the important role of technology in the development of art and, therefore, discusses the methodology of the expansionist movement. The document underscores the importance of knowledge and ideas in the creation of expansionist works; it also expresses hope in a “rational” approach as regards an improvement in every aspect of life. Despite their interest in technological progress, the members of the group are all keen on ensuring the viewer’s involvement in the transformation of the work of art. The manifesto also addresses the concept of “time,” meaning the dimension that facilitates the viewer’s perception of a work that can be manipulated and transformed. In closing, the members of the group restate their willingness to participate in an exchange of knowledge as a strategy for changing the relationship between art and society.    

This manifesto was the Grupo Expansionista’s second statement concerning their ideas about the transformation of art and life. It was published in October 1967 during the second expansionist exhibition at the Ateneo de Caracas, nine months after their first exhibition and the publication of their first manifesto. In general terms, the manifesto expressed the group’s views on specific subjects, such as the role that technology would play in the expression of their aesthetic ideas, keeping in mind the movement’s goal of producing mobile alternatives that represented a departure from traditional two- and three-dimensional works. The discursive thrust of the manifesto was in perfect synch with the ideas of the avant-garde in the first half of the century, who believed that the transformation of life and society through art was a real and accessible possibility. The members of the group were also sympathetic to the ideals of constructivism and functionalist architecture, in that they considered reason to be the ordering principle in the world. Seen from that perspective, it could be said that the group was a little behind the times when they expressed their goals in 1967. It should be noted, however, that Omar Carreño (1927?2013) had come up with some of the ideas for manipulatable works of art some years earlier, and had been working on them since 1951, when he was a member of the Los Disidentes group in Paris. He had arranged meetings with other artists in Venezuela in 1956 to discuss the founding of the expansionist group, but nothing came of that initiative in the short term. 

The manifesto also suggests that perception is the fundamental dynamic in a manipulatable work of art. The members of the group distance themselves from the conventional retinal approaches embraced by Venezuelan Kinetic art, as well as from works that use a motor to generate motion (that were far more common in Europe). The second manifesto once again advocated an interaction between the viewer and the work to achieve the desired perceptive and creative results.      

Regarding the group’s first proclamation, see “Expansionismo: Manifiesto 1” [doc. no. 1157270]; for thoughts on the visual language developed by Omar Carreño, see the essay by Víctor Guédez “La construcción de lo visual en Omar Carreño” [doc. no. 1157401]; and for an interview by Teresa Alvarenga with the artist, see “Llegó el momento de decir: Omar Carreño lo hizo primero” [doc. no. 1157657].