The Arte abstracto, del arte figurativo al arte abstracto [Abstract Art: From Figurative Art to Abstract Art] exhibition at the Instituto de Arte Moderno in July 1949 was organized by Léon Degand. Marcelo De Ridder (1923–1973) founded the institute that same year with the goal of preserving the arts and stimulating their development. The institute’s program indicates an eclectic style but it was an important space for abstract art in particular, since it hosted exhibitions such as Arte abstracto, del arte figurativo al arte abstracto (1949) [Abstract Art: From Figurative Art to Abstract Art], Exposición Arte Concreto: Pinturas / Esculturas / Dibujos [Concrete Art Exhibition: Paintings / Sculpture / Drawings] (1950), and Joaquín Torres García: pinturas [Joaquín Torres-García: Paintings] (1951).
Léon Degand (1907–58) was a French art critic. He was actively involved in left-wing politics and a defender of abstraction. He lost his column in Les Lettres Françaises in 1947 when social realism dominated the magazine’s editorial perspective. In 1949 he was appointed Director of the Museo de Arte Moderno in São Paulo, Brazil.
This article was chosen because it refers to the essay that led to Degand’s exhibition, and chronicles Julio E. Payró’s writings in Sur [South] magazine, in particular as they concerned abstract art, which subsequently generated a debate over the terminology abstract, concrete, nonfigurative, and nonobjective art that was reported on in the same magazine.
The content of this document is related to the responses to the debate over the name of abstract, concrete, nonfigurative, and nonobjective art which can be review at the following files: ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [“Arte abstracto es y no es un término adecuado.”] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: Abstract Art is and is not a suitable term] (document no. 757530), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [“¿Agregamos algo a la pintura si decimos arte abstracto o arte no figurativo”] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art? : Do We Add Something to the Painting if we say Abstract Art or Non-Figurative Art?] (document no. 757649), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [En la sesión inaugural del primer congreso de la “Escuela de Altamira”] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art? : At the opening session of the First Conference of the “School of Altamira”] (document no. 757489), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [En su minuciosa “Respuesta a Julio E. Payró” publicada en el no. 202] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art? : In the detailed “Response to Julio E. Payró” published in issue number 202] (document no. 762983), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [la expresión “arte abstracto” utilizada para referirse a las tendencias…] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: The expression “abstract art” used to refer to the tendencies…] (document no. 742825), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [no creo en la posibilidad de cambio en la actual terminología de que…] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: I do not believe that it’s possible to change the current terminology that… ] (document no. 742858), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [opino que la palabra “abstracto”, tratándose de arte, es impropia de…] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: In my opinion the word “abstract” is unsuitable in the field of art…] (document no. 742171), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [Prefiero el término “arte abstracto” como término generalizador y ya…] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: I prefer the term “abstract art” as a general term and that’s that…] (document no. 742187), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [Resulta harto desagradable poner un nombre a cada cosa. Desde el bebé al…] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: It is so unpleasant to name each and every thing. From a baby to a…] (document no. 757674), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [“Sin el ánimo de disentir gratuitamente en la cuestión entablada entre Gui-…”] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: With no intention to gratuitously disagree on the issue being discussed by Gui-…], ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [“Sin el ánimo de disentir gratuitamente en la cuestión entablada entre Gui-…”] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art? With no intention to gratuitously disagree on the issue being discussed by Gui-…] (document no. 742202), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : [Toda denominación de una tendencia artística es convencional, sirve pa-…] [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: Every name of an artistic tendency is conventional, it’s fo-…] (document no. 742156), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : Carta abierta a Guillermo de Torre [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: An open letter to Guillermo de Torre…] (document no. 742838), ¿Arte abstracto o arte no objetivo? : en su minuciosa “Respuesta a Julio E. Payró” publicada en el no. 202 [Abstract Art or Non-Objective Art?: In the detailed “Response to Julio E. Payró” published in issue number 202] (document no. 742837), Carta a Guillermo de Torre [Letter to Guillermo de Torre] (document no. 742834), La revista Sur [South magazine] (file number 742715), and Madí o el arte esencial : En torno a la controversia sobre el arte no-figurativo [Madí or essential art: Concerning the controversy over non-figurative art] (document no. 742696).
