Counterpoints and aspirations in the formation of art in Chile: Institute and Museum of Modern Art (1959-1965)

Abstract

This text examines the trajectory of the Institute of Modern Art (IAM), a prominent private institution in the Chilean art scene during the second half of the 20th century. It focuses on the IAM's areas of influence, such as the organization of the Plastic Arts Fair and the management of the Museum of Modern Art (MAM). The period of study begins with the founding of the School of Arts at the Catholic University after the restructuring of the teaching of architecture (1959) and concludes with the holding of the seventh edition of the Plastic Arts Fair (1965). It is therefore about investigating the role of the institution and the convergence between the plastic arts and popular cultural expressions within the cycle of modernity. From a methodological point of view, the proposal adopts a qualitative approach, establishing a chronological analogy through historiographic reviews. Under these parameters, the artistic productions and efforts widely disseminated in the magazines Pro Arte and Revista de Arte, which have become the spokesperson for the generation of the fifties, will be analyzed. Thus, this research addresses the importance of evolution in the cultural panorama, based on the holistic understanding of artisanal and contemporary practices in the formation of the modern institution.