#Epic | FEATS OF ARGENTINA DESIGN 1970-1980

#EpicAnniversary | Military coups +  1978 World Cup
Military coups
The militarization process experienced in Latin America between the 60’s and 70’s reached its climax in Argentina during the State Terrorism (1976 - 1983). Alejandro Agustín Lanusse became the de facto president in 1971 by promoting the Great National Agreement (GAN). After an unstable period of short-lived governments led by Héctor J. Cámpora (1973), Juan Domingo Perón (1973 - 1974), and María Estela Martínez de Perón (1974 - 1976) —known as “Isabelita”, she ruled the country after Perón’s death in July of 1974—, the Army organized a new coup d’etat in March 24, 1976. The Military Government was formed by General Jorge Rafael Videla (Army), admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera (Navy), and Brigadier Orlando Ramón Agosti (Air Force). The Secretary of Economy, José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz (1976 - 1981), implemented an economic reform, that caused the closure of several factories and generalized unemployment. The dictatorship resorted to repression as a disciplinary measure to control social, political, and cultural demands. The “Night of the Pencils” (16 de septiembre de 1976): a group of teenage and young activists members of the La Plata Students Union was kidnapped and killed by the local police, was one of many crimes against humanity of the period. During 8 long years, the military government forced countless Argentine citizens into political exile in other Latin American and European countries, most of them intellectuals and businessmen. The systematic oppression against those who opposed the dictatorship resulted in the disappearance of 30.000 people. By the mid-70’s and early 80’s the government enforced the Operation Condor, a coordinated system, supported by the USA, aimed at repressing the society and backing South American dictatorships. By the end of 1983, once the country had returned to democracy under the presidency of  Raúl Alfonsín, the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) compiled information about repression experienced during the dictatorship. The investigation lasted 9 months and was carried out in the Commission 's headquarters, on the 2nd floor of the CCGSM. Writer Ernesto Sabato, as president of the organization, delivered the report of over 50 thousand pages to Alfonsín in September 1984. Two months later, Eudeba published the book Nunca más, a 500 page summary of the report’s testimonies. The first 40.000 copies were sold out in 48 hours.

1978 World Cup
In the midst of the civic-military dictatorship, Argentina organized the 1978 World Cup, which took place from June 1st to the 25th. The mega-event greatly impacted host cities, since airports, bus stations, hotels, and green spaces were modernized at a fast pace. The “1978 World Cup Operation” enabled the restoration of stadiums River Plate, Vélez, and Rosario Central and the construction of new venues in Córdoba (designed by the Sánchez Elía Peralta Ramos Architecture Firm in partnership with the architects Hugo Oviedo and Alberto Ponce, alongside Pedro Facchin and Luis Marchesini), Mar del Plata (designed by Sebastián Maronese and Sons and Crivelli Cuenya Construction Company), and Mendoza (designed by Rafael Viñoly). In order to properly promote the event in mass media, Channel 7 was remodeled and renamed as Argentina Televisora a Color. MMB Studio (1973 - 1980), by Carlos Méndez Mosquera and Giu Bonsiepe, alongside Engineer Felipe Kumcher, produced the equipment that complemented sports venues and press centers during the championship. The furniture, seats and the semi-architectonic modules were conceived as integral systems that were easy to assemble. The studio also designed the signage system and posters that were displayed in the stadiums, using Puntograma system. In 1972, the AFA organized the first national contest to select the World Cup emblem. The winners were Guillermo González Ruiz and Ronald Shakespear, which was exclusively implemented in the previous promotion. In 1973, under the leadership of López Rega (Secretary of Social Welfare), young artist Juan Riera designed the representative brand that would be known worldwide, by creating an abstraction of the Hammer planisphere. During the last dictatorship, the design and promotion of the championship was delegated to 78 World Cup Autarchic Entity. Contests were organized to select the posters. Eduardo López was the winner. Despite this, his image was not displayed much in urban centers, since it was seen as a “pro-Perón poster”. Uncuyo designers Gladys González and María Inés López, won the 1st and 2nd award in the poster contest for the Mendoza World Cup locations. A “mascot” was also created for the event: a young gaucho created by the draughtsman Néstor Córdoba. The image of the creole soccer player was promoted in sticker albums and other merchandise. With the goal of “making Argentina famous”, Videla’s military government hired the American advertisement company Burson-Marsteller to devise a campaign, focused on the slogan: “Argentinians are lawful and humane”. In 1977, a group of activists organized the Committee to Boycott the World Cup in Argentina (COBA). 

#EpicContext | Factories and technology. Made in Argentina
In the 1960’s and the 1970’s, some visionary, national factories created internal design departments aimed at producing locally, previously imported electronic appliances. Developmentalist policies and renewed internal consumer dynamics defined the period. Noblex Argentina operated from 1935 to 1966 under the name Nobleza Radio. Founded by Armando Pla in a small repair shop, the firm 's first product was the radio “Noblesse”. In 1956, Armando and his brother Alfredo produced the first black and white TV sets and the transistor table radio. From the beginning, the company used graphic campaigns developed by Nahuel Publicidad. After changing its name, the company hired the agency led by Ricardo de Luca, Publicidad Tan, to redesign its logo and create a corporate image: instructives, publicity, and internal publications like  NotiNoblex magazine and the annual report. Due to its economic growth, Noblex expanded its catalogue of products, which now included the portable TVs Micro 9 (1964) and the radio Giulietta (1966), acknowledged by the CIDI. In 1970, Roberto Napoli became the director of the Design Department. Napoli focused on renewing the style of TV cabinets and modernized the frames. He launched a color framed version of the portable TV 14 NT (1972), created by the artist Eduardo Pla -who was studying design in Italy at the time-, the Noblex 17 (1974), and the radios 7 Mares (1972) and Giulia (1983). In 1979, Noblex relocated the manufacturing sector of the company to Chaco. With the aim of improving the workers’ training process, supported the creation of electronics courses at the University of the Northeast. In 1984, under the lead of Carlos Pla, the manufacturing plant relocated once more due to tax issues in Tierra del Fuego. During the 80 's, using imported pieces, the firm began producing VCRs and color TVs, the radio recorder, and the portable mini component, and had an exclusivity agreement with AIWA, General Corp, Yamaha y Samsung. After barely surviving the official policies that opened internal markets to imported products, the company was sold to Newsan in 1999. Tonomac, a company specialized in producing transistor radios, was founded in 1951 by Marcelo Diamand, electronic engineer and businessman. Tonomac launched the radio receiver, a small and portable transistor device used by Argentinians to follow soccer matches while being outdoors. Hugo Kogan joined the company in 1960: first, as a designer, then, he became the manager, and, finally, he was appointed the director of the corporation. In the late 60 's, he updated the appearance of  the black and white television set “TV 14M”. Aurora was founded in 1928 with the name Vainer and Co. by the factory worker León Vainer and his son Mauricio. Renamed as Aurora in the late 50’s, the firm expanded by producing mass consumed electronic appliances with US license. When the founder’s grandson, Ernesto Vainer, became president of the company, he implemented an industrialist international approach, and he hired Kogan. As director of the Design Department (1968 - 1971), Kogan developed kitchens and heaters, as well as TVs, sets, and radio receivers for Delm Electrónica —a new, subsidiary company of the Aurora Group—. He produced his most renowned product for Aurora: the manual piezoelectric lighter  Magiclick (1968), made of ABS thermoplastic and stainless steel, the practical item quickly became an icon of national industry, produced until 1988. Héctor Compaired directed the design department at Aurora from 1971 to 1974; Roberto Napoli from 1975 to 1977; and Carlos Garat from 1976 to 1996. Many of the artifacts manufactured by Aurora, such as portable radios and TVs, heaters, and kitchens received CIDI awards. Fate Electronics Division (1969 - 1976), an area of the tire factory Fate, manufactured electronic calculators with a high degree of integration of its components, accounting systems and, even, the prototype of an Argentine computer. Manuel Madanes, manager of the company, and his friend, Mathematician Manuel Sadosky came up with the idea. Madanes hired scientific and technological knowledge. In 1971, Lanusse passed a law that enabled companies to import pieces with reduced taxes if they were to be integrated into products that included nationally manufactured parts. FATE Electronics Division made the bold decision to compete against Olivetti and began offering its products throughout Argentina’s internal markets, while exporting them to Latin American and European countries. Company members, Silvio Grichener and Compaired developed the series of electronic desk calculators “Cifra 311” (1971) and “Microcifra”. The company experienced an amazing boom during its brief existence, It had almost 1000 workers. However, the dictatorship changed the country’s economic policies in a radical way and, as a result, this branch of the company closed. The advertisement agency Cícero Publicidad, designed both the corporate image of Fate and its subsidiary Fate Electronics. During the 1970’s, the company Televa, which manufactured mostly record players and TVs, enhanced its production due to the collaboration of the industrial technician and designer Julio Colmenero; who had studied at the HfG of Ulm and a the Royal College of Art in London. In Argentina, he designed the portable TV “Televa 14-D” (1973), product that received the First Solid Copper Award by the CIDI in 1973.

#EpicContext | Design Groups

The professionalization of industrial and graphic design took place within university circles and programs and was supported by the push of self-organized groups. These groups generated social awareness through the exhibitions, contests, publications, and congresses they organized. Alongside the foundation of the Industrial Design Research Center (CIDI, 1962), led by Basilio Uribe, the Argentine Association of Industrial Designers (ADIA), was also created. Directed by the engineer Pablo Tedeschi, it operated from 1962 to 1970 with the goal of gathering experts, artists, and technicians who practiced design related activities. Organized competitions for companies and the curatorship of Argentine industry products. Also, they promoted the Industrial Design Conference. In 1965, was a member of the International Council of Industrial Design Societies (ICSID). At the initiative of CIDI together with 7 local design institutions, the Argentine Industrial Design Committee (CADI) was formed —with the objective of representing Argentina in the Latin American Industrial Design Association (ALADI, 1979)—, and for the 1st joint congress of the three international entities ICSID/ICOGRADA/IFI (1981). In 1978, the Western Argentina Designers Association (ADIOA) was created with the aim of opening a space to connect local Mendoza production. Hugo Petrich was the founding president of the association. In 1984, it co produced the collective exhibition Argentine Design at the Municipal Modern Art Museum, alongside the Buenos Aires Graphic Designers Association (ADG) and the La Plata Industrial Designers Association (ADI). The latter association was created in 1979 in La Plata, with the goal of making a network of Industrial Design university graduates and advanced students alongside Argentina. It addressed social and professional issues and represented its members in national and international organisms. ADG was created in 1981 with the aim of reactivating the graphic profession at a time of crisis in the country and worldwide. It promoted designers’ work by publishing every two or three years books/compilations that were distributed in public and private entities. Not long afterwards, the association joined ICOGRADA and created its own headquarters in downtown Buenos Aires. The association began issuing its ADG Newsletters and launched “Documents to keep updated”, a publication which included collaborations by design experts in Colombia, Mexico, Canada, and Scotland. Among other activities, the institution gave birth to graphic design contests in connection with such entities as the United Nations, the National Ministry of Culture, and diverse private companies. In 1985, the Design Biennials began to be organized at the Recoleta Cultural Center and, that same year, the Mar del Plata ADG branch was opened with the goal of uniting the creators of that seaside city, which had a powerful group of creators. During its first years of existence, the leadership team was constituted by Ronald Shakespear, as president, and Eduardo Cánova, as secretary; afterwards, Carlos Varau and Laura A. Lazzaretti took their places. During the 90’s, the Biennial was directed by Ángela Vassallo. In the 5th, the ‘95 ADG Design Biennial, she created the 1st International Poster Biennial in Buenos Aires.

#EpicContext | Massive Migration. Chapter  1: Spain and Catalonia 
During the 1970’s, boosted a massive migration flow of designers and architects who went into exile, most of them settled in Spain and Italy. Due to personal and professional connections, some of them joined studios and work groups as an employment strategy in those foreign countries. In the region of Catalonia, the Berenguer Group (1977 - 1984) was one of the industrial design agencies that opened the door to Argentine creators like Norberto Chaves, Alberto Lievore, Jorge Pensi, who worked alongside the Catalonian Oriol Pibernat. They produced furniture for companies such as Perobell, Indartu, and Kron. Later, its members continued their professional careers on their own. Pensi opened Pensi Studio, a firm specialized in furniture and object design, lighting, and exhibition sets. Its designs are part of prestigious collections, for example, the Vitra Design Museum. Lievore also opened his own company, which offered services related to product design, consultancy, and art direction to several firms, like Arper. After collaborating with Berenguer Group, Chaves specialized in corporate image. Alongside Carles Pibernat and Raúl Belluccia, he worked for four decades as a consultant. He gave identity and communication related advice to institutions and corporations in Spain and Argentina. His theoretical perspectives feature in several books published, like "Six Argentine Designers in Barcelona" (2006). Graphic designer, photographer, and self-taught illustrator  América Sánchez moved in 1967 with the expectations of founding his own studio, specialized in institutional identity and cultural and commercial graphic design. He received the National Design Award in 1992 and the Ciutat de Barcelona Award in 2001. Also teaches design and conducted research about popular graphic design expressions. Rousellot, calligrapher, printer, and designer, migrated in 1975, where he boosted the renewal of container design, branding, and lettering. He founded his own studio in 1978, produced design material for the great industrial brands like El Corte Inglés and the Gala-Dalí Foundation. Born in Rosario, Rolando, studied plastic and graphic arts, photography, and architecture and emigrated to Barcelona in 1967. There, he specialized in publicity and worked for multiple firms inside and outside Spain. Alongside Frank Memelsdorff —who had migrated to Spain in 1978—, he founded the studio “Rolando & Memelsdorff”. Memelsdorff also worked as a professor in Argentina, Spain, and Italy; and he wrote many books about design theory and management. In the late 80’s, he founded in Madrid the company “Memelsdorff Ibérica”, which kept producing well into the XXI century. Then, he returned to Argentina. 

Graphic designers Mario Eskenazi, Raúl Pasquali, and Victor Viano, who had worked during the ‘60s in Radio and Television Services of Córdoba also migrated. Eskenazi settled in Barcelona in 1971 and, by 1979, he had already opened his own studio, based on his geometric synthesis legacy. In 2000, he received the National Design Award in Spain. He developed corporate identity for private and public clients such as the City of Barcelona. Pasquali, worked as a graphic designer in the Spanish alternative theatre circles as part of the group La Cubana and he also worked as a professor at the EINA. Viano migrated to Venezuela, where he design cover pages for State-owned publishing houses. Later, he continued his design career in Madrid, where he was able to merge his expertise in branding with publication design. He made book covers for Paidós and  Mandorla Publications. The Iberian Peninsula also opened its doors to Fanny Fingermann and Eduardo Joselevich in 1977. They took with them their invention Fototrama (1964), an innovative poster system for advertisement architecture. They opened their studio MetaDesign, specializing in institutional identity and signage systems. They won the Delta ‘79 Industrial Design Contest for their participation in the Miró Foundation. They commercialized services and licences linked to their Fototrama system in Spain, United States, France, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. They created iconic pieces such as the one displayed at the exhibition Spain: 200 years of technology (1988) and the Republic of India Pavilion at the Universal Exhibition of Seville (1992). In the field of textile design, Argentinian Irene Saslavsky moved to Barcelona in 1977. From 1965 to 1975, she designed for the company Stilka and produced limited editions for Maple, Argentine Factory of Canvas Shoes, and for Amat. In Spain, she collaborated until 1990 with textile design studios by creating collections and market strategies with Catalonian firms like Yutes, Mattes, and Amadeo Banqué. Born in Uruguay, Melgarejo —visual artist, illustrator, and self-taught graphic designer— became renowned due to the work he produced for the store Madame Frou-Frou, the record label Mandioca, and the newspaper La Opinión during the 1960’s. In the late 70 's he moved to Spain and collaborated with the publications La Vanguardia and Playboy. In the late 80’s he moved to the USA, where he worked for Disney and animated Madonna’s video Who’s That Girl? (1987) de Madonna. He died in 1989. Gatti, a Visual Arts graduate at Mar del Plata, designed some of the most emblematic album covers in the history of Argentine rock. After a brief stay in New York, in 1979, he moved to Madrid. From 1979 to 1985 he worked as an art director for the record company CBS. Later, he opened his own design and art direction studio. He began collaborating as a graphic designer for films in 1988. He designed the movie, openings, credits, and some of the most renowned posters of films by director Pedro Almodóvar.

#EpicContext | Urban Signs: brands, pictographs, and signage
In the early 70’s, cities began showcasing a vast array of visual signs: brands, pictographs, and signage systems aimed to reshape public spaces. Pioneer creators of big scale graphic signs and symbols were Guillermo González Ruiz and the siblings Ronald and Raúl Shakespear. The studio González Ruiz-Shakespear (1969-1973) produced and developed the Buenos Aires Visual Plan for the city Municipality during ‘71 and ‘72. Using a scale that had never been featured before in the region, they designed the street name signs, bus stops and taxis, and poster displays for squares and promenades. The system implemented a dynamic interaction with urban spaces based. The technology displayed in different locations revealed design creations of high complexity that became a milestone in Latin America. For the career of González Ruiz, that experience opened the door to relevant projects developed by his firm González Ruiz and Asociados, founded in 1974 alongside María Solanas and Gabriel Ezcurra Naón, among others: the National Pediatrics Hospital (1974), the Buenos Aires Central Market (1980), and most of the bank institutions in the country. For 25 years, the siblings Ronald and Raúl led the Shakespear Studio, where they developed multiple commercial brands and urban mega-projects oriented towards public spaces, for example, signage systems for school, sports facilities, and hospitals. The visual plan to develop the sign system of Buenos Aires Municipal Hospitals (1978/1982) was selected by the Georges Pompidou Center to participate in the exhibition "Graphisme Public". In 1986, a compilation of the siblings’ work was published in the book Grafopuntura: Señas particulares en el espacio público, which featured prologues by Jorge Frascara and Giu Bonsiepe. The studio split in 1997, giving origin to Shakespear Design (led by Ronald and, later, his son Juan) and Shakespear Studio (Rául in association with his daughter Victoria). Another renowned creator of the period was Eduardo Cánovas. He opened his own studio in 1974, specialized in visual communication and developed projects related to identification systems, brands, signage, stands, archigraphy, packaging, and editorial design. In a few years the company designed power house brands, due to its fierce visual conceptualization. His creations have been included in such publications from Tokyo, Milan, London, Zûrich, New York and Münich. Cánovas showcased his work in several design exhibitions, locally, at the CAyC and, internationally, at World Symbol Festival (1994). Nicolás Jiménez studied at the School of Fine Arts in Mar del Plata. Such a complete training enabled him to begin his career as a graphic designer with a well-rounded profile. Some of his signage projects and urban graphic pieces stand out, for example: the signage system he developed for INTI labs at Migueletes (Buenos Aires Province, 1969-1971) and the visual image of the General Pueyrredón Municipality (1981), alongside La Plata native, Jorge Pereira. The graphic designer and typographer, Victor García, worked as an art director in several publicity agencies in Buenos Aires from 1968 to 1988; then, he did freelance work until 2015 (the year of his death). He created the brand of the Las Leñas Ski Center (Mendoza, 1983) and for the company Diners Club in association with the Argentine Wildlife Foundation, he designed he logotype of the ecological campaign “For Lifetime” (1984). The fonts used in that logo, gave birth to designs connected to the “Zootype” font family, the first Latin American font acknowledged at the 2nd International Linotype Font Design Contest (1997). García’s “non alphabetic” and pictographic way of thought is revealed in that work. Specialized in typographic and iconographic font design, he began designing digital fonts in the mid 90’s. Many of these cases were exposed in Latin American Expomarca and Made in Argentina, Helsinki (1981).

#EpicFeatured | CEPAD
CEPAD (Advanced Design Projects Center, 1969 - 1988) was an industrial design studio founded by Mario Mariño alongside the engineers Pedro Backis and Héctor Ferrari, with the original objective of developing scientific equipment for the Argentine Antarctic Institute. Mariño (Buenos Aires, 1934), trained at the University of Buenos Aires, the International Styling Studio de Chrysler (USA), and the Royal College of Art (England), is one of the main supporters of highly complex production in the country. Besides his vast career as an academic researcher, he has wide experience working for enterprises such as Philips Argentina, Chrysler, Ford, Braun, Orbis, Fate, and Techint. CEPAD has become a center of technological and material innovation that provides solutions for transportation, habitat, education, and health related issues. Among its most significant creations are: the modular helicopter hangar at Marambio base (1972) —it was the biggest structure made of glass fiber reinforced  plastic at the time—, the amphibian SUV (1974) —the 6 wheel vehicle, used for agricultural purposes and to manage natural catastrophes, was order by the company VESA—, the mobile hospital units(1983), and an elevated train system designed for the firm Techint (1987). In the field of military design, they produced a “parachute for tanks” which was conceived in record time due to the political tension that originated during the Falklands War (1982) with Chile. Another renowned project was the furniture set they designed to cater the Plan for Schools implemented by the Municipality of Buenos Aires City(1980), which they co-produced with Ricardo Blanco. The 30 Schools Plan —which later grew into the 60 Schools Plan— was a program launched by the de facto intendent of the municipality of Buenos Aires, Osvaldo Cacciatore (who held that position between 1976 and 1982). Even though only 24 buildings out of the total were fully finished before he was removed from office, the plan is still remembered as the last big scale elementary school building plan implemented in the city. The equipment designed systematically merged components’ pieces and use with. 

#EpicFeatured | Limbo
The firm Limbo was conceived in the 1970 's by musician Federico Moura, frontman of the band Virus. Showing his provocative and bohemian spirit, he designed the first male fashion label that dared to contrast with traditional English and Italian tailoring of the moment. His stand was located in a store owned by his father in the Galería Jardín shopping center. In that working space, the artist designed a complete repertoire of garments that foreshadowed near future global trends: a vibrant color palette, slim fit pants, printed shirts, and leather belts. As part of a campaign produced in New York in 1976, photographer José Luis Perotta took pictures of him modeling his own creations. In 1976 Charlie Thornton and Claudio Martínez bought Limbo since Moura did not have the required time to keep managing it. They kept producing until 1999 and Limbo offered an exclusive proposal that renewed the dressing habits of the capital city residents: shirts, pants, blazers, jackets, and vests. During the 1980’s, they experimented with volume and color in the pieces they tailored. They produced short jackets, included a fragmented chromatic palette, and stripes in their designs. They innovated by producing super size suits made of linen and cotton; they created intervened fabrics, and, during the 90’s, they launched shirts with geometric and combined prints. Limbo’s success was due to its unique products, which were entirely different to similar items available in the market. For that reason, the company acquired a loyal clientele that craved their original models. Besides managing the store under, at the shopping mall, the associates opened stores in Maipú street, Santa Fe Ave., and a showroom in the corner of Beruti y Salguero. The store, located at 2636 Santa Fe Ave., was designed by Dalila Puzzovio in 1988. She decorated the boutique’s 200 square meters using a black and white palette, turning the space into a haven of oriental purity that stood out from other establishments in the capital city. 

#EpicFeatured | Varanasi
Varanasi is an avant-garde garment company that merges fashion and body architecture. It was founded in Rosario, in 1983, by Mario Buraglio and Víctor Delgrosso, architects trained during the 1970’s in the National University of Rosario. The creative couple had its first contact with fashion design in 1971, when they produced accessories and shoes for the brand Dopo (alongside other Architecture students). The products were sold at The Pink Angel, a clothes shop located in the underground of the Buenos Aires shopping mall Galería del Este, Interdisciplinary practices enabled them to innovate in terms of tailoring, creating garment design influenced by art nouveau and art decó trends, and producing pop accessories that were sold in avant garde boutiques, such as La Solderie and the store owned by Mary Tapia at the Galería Promenade shopping mall. Varanasi was born after a journey through India. Both creators showed great material, formal, chromatic, technological, and typographic audacity in that endeavor, in an attempt to stay independent from hegemonic market trends. In the late 90’s, the company developed fabrics for Italian brands and, a year later, Varanasi was chosen by Vogue Argentina to collaborate with a high couture proposal for the magazine’s first issue. In the year 2000, responding to a call by the Austrian firm Lenzing, Varanasi created a collection made of organic fabrics, which was showcased at the BAF week, at Argentina’s capital city, and in other European cities. At the same time, the firm stood out from others due to its graphic communication, promotional campaigns, fashion shows, and the innovative window displays of its stores located in Buenos Aires and Rosario. For more than three decades, Varanasi participated in fashion shows and exhibitions in different places, such as     Nueva York, Viena, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, and Berlin. The firm received multiple awards, among them, the first place at the Givenchy Hot Contest (2001), the Silver Scissors (2001), and the Merit Diploma in the Garment Design category granted at the Konex Awards (2002 and 2012). The company’s history was reviewed in the exhibition Varanasi/Pérez Sanz: between synthesis and ornamentation (2012), curated by María Laura Carrascal and presented at the OSDE Foundation Art Space in Rosario.

#Epic #ExpertOpinion | Gemin + Grassi
Mario Gemin is a graphic designer who graduated from the Mar del Plata Superior Studies Visual Arts School. He collaborated with Edgardo Antonio Vigo to create the Zimmerman Studio in Barcelona (1986 - 1989). In California, he worked as the art director of the clothing company Reef (1990-2005). He founded the Gemin Studio in 1991, specialized in catalogue and art books design. In 1999, he founded and became the co-director of the International Contemporary Art Fund (Mar del Plata) and, since 2002, he has also co-directed the Drawing Club alongside Claudia del Río and América Sánchez. Since 2016 he has worked as the art director of World Sport SRL. During October, we will chat with Gemin about the migration flows of iconic Argentine designers to Spain.

Juan Carlos Grassi is a specialized journalist, publicist, and historian. Since 1970 he has directed the publishing house Editorial Ferias & Congresos S.A. He is the organizer of the Advertisement Industry Exhibition. As an author and editor, he has published books such as: "Exposición Nacional de Córdoba de 1871" (2017) and "Una Historia del Progreso Argentino" (2011). He was president of the Argentine Technical and Specialized Press Association and an active member of the Argentine Association of Journalism Entities. He has been an advisor of the Argentine Rural Society and the Buenos Aires International Book Fair for more than 40 years. We will talk with Grassi about the features of modern fairs in Argentina, since their boom, first, in the capital city and, later, nationwide during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Extension. Argentine Seal of Good Design 
To the SBD Permanent Collection made up of 45 pieces from previous editions, 16 outstanding products and supporting files are added corresponding to the 10th edition (2020 and 2021). This time, companies involved in different productive areas distinguished by the Seal of Good Design awarded by the National Production Ministry, contribute to expand the patrimony safeguarded by IDA Foundation with the objective of being studied, preserved, and promoted nationally and worldwide. Among the patrimonial income are the firms: AtomProtect KOVI S.R.L.; Bouzat Santiago; CANESTRARI Hnos; Lembu; Lola y Chango, Chikitoys Industrias FYL S.R.L.; Eximel S.A.; Mutan; Peabody; Vasser Grifería; Vesta Parillas; Cano Rolón Estudio; Entretelas Americanas S.A., Kaser Comunicación South S.R.L. y ZkySky. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of SBD, 330 award-winning products from the most recent showcase created in different parts of the country will be displayed in an exhibition, which will include a retrospective review of pieces acknowledged in previous years. The exhibition, organized by Emmanuel Pan, representing the National Design Plan of La Nación, will be presented at Tecnópolis from October 28 to November 2, 2021.
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Bibliography
-Correa, M. E. (2018). “La profesionalización del Diseño Industrial en torno a la constitución de la disciplina en Argentina” en Entre la industria y la autogestión. Buenos Aires: Teseo Press.
-Quiroga, W.; Ruades, J. (2020), Intermitencia. Diseño mendocino, Mendoza: Fundación del Interior.
-VV.AA, “`Tiren papelitos´: Mundial 78 entre la fiesta y el horror”. (Exposición realizada en Sala PAyS del 15.06.2018 al 20.08.2018). Buenos Aires: Parque de la Memoria, 2018.

Images | Fundación IDA, Fondos Patrimoniales: 1. Oscar Smoje | 2. Eduardo López | 3. Hugo Kogan | 4. Silvio Grichener | 5. Noblex | 6. A.D.G. | 7. A.D.I.O.A | 8. A.D.G. | 9. Jorge Pensi | 10. Norberto Chaves | 11. Metadesign | 12-14. Guillermo González Ruiz | 15-17. Mario Mariño-C.E.P.A.D. | 18-19. Limbo | 20-21. Varanasi | 22. Retrato Mario Gemin  | 23. Retrato Juan Carlos Grassi | 24-26. Sello Buen Diseño