BCNDesign

The website Diseño Iberoamericano (disenoiberoamericano.com) has just published a short overview article by Spanish design historian Ainhoa Martin, on the poster designs for the 1929 Exposición Iberoamericana de Sevilla: Diseño gráfico en 1929. La promoción de la Exposición Ibero Americana de Sevilla . The event took place at the same time as Barcelona’s International Exhibition, and was co-ordinated jointly by the government of dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera under the umbrella organisation ‘Exposición General Española’.

Beyond the interest of its immediate subject matter, Martin’s article points out the difficulties design historians face when conducting archival research in Spain. In this particular case, Martin notes that there has been no effort to bring together documentary sources, that are mostly privately held, into one public archive:

Hay que anotar que la revisión de las fuentes primarias ha mostrado un panorama desolador. No se ha apreciado que las administraciones tengan interés en recuperar la documentación que se conserva en manos privadas y crear un archivo formalizado que recoja específicamente las aportaciones de propaganda y diseño gráfico de la Exposición.

This, of course, only applies to the material still in existence. Most of the papers and documentation relating to the 1929 Exhibition in Sevilla were burned in 1936 when the city was flooded, to provide heating for refugees. At least one could argue that there was a humanitarian cause for the bonfire. I still remember my shock when I first came across a similar story in Valencia, but in that case, the documents were burned to make paella. We might not have a lot of time for archives, but we’re great with food.