Grupo Mira, A Counter-History of the Seventies in Mexico tells the story of a group of artists who were active between 1965 and 1982. The main members were Arnulfo Aquino, Melecio Galván, Eduardo Garduño, Rebeca Hidalgo, Silvia Paz Paredes and Jorge Pérez Vega.The exhibition aims to present the output and critical potential of the Mira Group and contribute to the history of the 1970s in Mexico. This project was concerned with refounding a political art far away from the stereotypes of committed art, in dialogue with the struggles and thinking of its time. The group produced an art directed both towards workers and more specialised audiences, using historical forms of public art such as muralism and political graphic art, and at the same time the neo-avant-garde, conceptualism and institutional criticism.
The 300-page catalogue is printed dos-à-dos (back-to-back and inverted), acknowledging the two languages (Spanish and English) as a noticeable structure. Each side has its own cover and an introductory section with black and white archive photographs, essays and a conversation giving context to the Group’s visual works. The core of the publication showcases a comprehensive selection of these works, accompanied with fac-similes, short essays and interviews produced at the time.