In October and November 1966, the Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo (IAC) in Lima and the Asociación Cultural Jueves organized the Festival Americano de Pintura as part of the Festivales de Lima. It became known as the I Bienal de Lima, or the Bienal de la Feria del Pacífico, and it underscored the radical split between so-called “traditional” art and avant-garde experimental art.
The event was criticized for being untimely and exclusive. It had an international jury, including the Argentinean critic Jorge Romero Brest (1905–1989), the Venezuelan collector Inocente Palacios (1908–1996), and the Peruvian architect Luis Miró Quesada Garland (1914–1994). The Grand Prize of $3000 was awarded to the Chilean artist Roberto Matta (1911–2002). Other prizes were also awarded to the Peruvian Gerardo Chávez (b. 1937) and the Argentineans Delia Puzzovio (b. 1946) and Eduardo Rodríguez (b. 1934).
Some Peruvian artists, most of whom were members of Grupo Señal, decided to organize Arte Nuevo (in Lima) as a protest and a provocation—an exhibition where Pop Art, Op Art, Happenings, and “environmental installations” were presented at a semi-abandoned space in the historical center of Lima, just a few meters from the Government Palace, which they called El ombligo de Adán [Adam’s Navel].
Claude Dieterich, who designed the poster, is a French graphic designer, calligrapher, and typographer. He is one of the founders of the graphic design career in Peru and a role model for students of graphic design. From 1961 to 1986, he lived in Lima, where he had a studio that provided graphic design services to Peruvian companies. He currently lives in California, USA.