Collectivism after Modernism - autonomous learning - Blogs

It was against this background of repression and violence that the
groups made their appearance in the 1970s. They shared an interest in communicating
with people on the streets and exposing the criminal actions
of the Mexican regime. Out of all the groups, Proceso Pentágono was the
longest-lived, and the one that managed to articulate the most coherent
artistic and political program. I would like to devote the rest of this chapter
to analyzing three projects that demonstrate this group’s working methods
and political concerns: a 1973 street action, the group’s project for the 1977
Paris Biennale, and a 1980 book publication.
PROCESO PENTÁGONO
The Mexican Pentagon 169
Proceso Pentágono was founded in 1973, the year of the military coup in
Chile, by Felipe Ehrenberg, Carlos Finck, José Antonio Hernández, and Víctor
Muñoz (Figure 6.2). Initially, the group was formed to search for alternatives
to the government-run museums and galleries in Mexico City—
locales that Proceso Pentágono denounced as complicit, however indirectly,
FIGURE 6.2. Proceso Pentágono, 1977. Left to right, Víctor Muñoz, Carlos Finck, Felipe
Ehrenberg, José Antonio Hernández. The members left an empty seat to represent the place “chance”
occupies in their activities. Photograph courtesy of Víctor Muñoz.