Papers d’Art, an editorial project from the periphery : the emergence of contemporary art magazines in the Spanish State in the eighties and nineties

Abstract

During the eighties and nineties, there was an explosion in Spain in the number of contemporary art and culture magazines with very different formats, intentions and aims. This paper is positioned in the sociopolitical moment that led to a proliferation of editorial projects linked to contemporary art in the Spanish State. In this context we will situate ourselves in the fracture between the principles of modernity in the period called Transition, tinged with a feeling of euphoria and a need to forget, and the crisis of modern values that led to the emergence of postmodernity, a moment that we associate with the dissatisfaction of the young generations who had started University and the resurgence of neoconservative values which, during the same decades, spread throughout Western society and culture (Europe and the United States). Through an exercise of historical synthesis, given the significant number of editorial projects on contemporary art and culture that emerged, we will focus on the approach and evolution of the editorial project Papers d'Art, a magazine published in Catalonia. This editorial proposal was linked to a private initiative, the Fundació Espais de Girona, first Espais Contemporary Art Center; a unique example given its commitment from a peripheral framework and its biased connection with globalization, a phenomenon linked to the geopolitical context of postmodernity, where Papers d'Art evolved, grew and ended its activity.