Advertisement and society in graphic magazine: La Esfera (1920-1930)

In the first third of the 20th century, Spain entered into modernity thanks to the positive state of its economic, cultural and social domains after the First World War. The objective of this article is to understand the role of artistic advertisements in the transformation of Spanish society that occurred during the decade of the ‘20s. My study of the illustrated magazine La Esfera has revealed that illustrated advertisements spread fashion, fostered sports and outdoors life, created the habit of smoking among women and had an educational influence that was powerful enough to change hygienic practices among children.

AUTO-RUINS. Thinks about automobile into the contemporary landscape

The article analyses the evolution of the representation of the automobile inserted in the natural and urban environment in the Contemporary Art, from the appearance of the first cars in the beginning of the 20th century until the present day. The text compares the diverse attitudes and analysis of some representative artists who have used the image of the machine in general and the car in particular in their aesthetic discourse, using as a conductive thread the metaphor of the life cycle (birth, growth, feeding, reproduction and death). It deals with the discovery, the development and the coexistence between human and the automobile and its interpretation as a basic element of the artistic work. The text connects the image of the automobile located in the contemporary industrial landscape utilizing the artist references who have integrated the car in their work inside the natural or artificial environment characteristic of each moment. At the same time, the article goes deeply into the relationship of romantic ruin and natural landscape and the evolution of the industrial and architectural modern environment, through the work of the artists who has used the car as an inhabitant of the landscape.

Performatividad y arte computacional. Hacia una “DIY society”

El artículo analiza la figura del prosumidor desde los estudios visuales a partir de la combinación de la teoría de los actos de habla y los nuevos medios. El objetivo es evaluar si la distinción entre productores y consumidores, estrategias y tácticas de Michel de Certeau continúa siendo operativa en las interfaces gráficas de la cultura global de la información de Scott Lash. Para ello distingue dos tipos de performatividad de los actos de habla: la performatividad top-down del software, y la bottom-up de los juegos del lenguaje y las formas de vida. Estos tipos se aplican al análisis del discurso de los eslóganes que aparecen en los sitios web de las iniciativas “open” y de economía colaborativa, ya que las primeras están dedicadas a la producción de bienes inmateriales y las segundas a la producción de bienes materiales. El desarrollo muestra cómo los dos tipos de performatividad transforman el análisis textual de los estudios literarios y cinematográficos en una metodología capaz de investigar acciones materiales, humanas y no humanas. Las conclusiones describen el surgimiento de nuevas convenciones narrativas de poder y control ajenas a la ficción que apuntan a una “DIY society”.