Experiencias y experimentación fotográfica en la Argentina de los setenta

Despite the marginal position of photographic experimentalism in Latin American art history—particularly in Argentina—recent scholarship has begun to recognize its significance within studies of the photographic medium. This article examines the discourses and practices surrounding experimentation with technical images in Argentina during the 1970s. Throughout this decade, a number of exhibitions reflected the growing interest among photographic collectives in exploring the material possibilities of the medium through forms of aesthetic anti-conventionalism.
The article first analyzes contemporary debates on photographic experimentalism, understood from different perspectives as a specific conception of the photographic medium. It then investigates the relationship between these theoretical positions and several key cases: the Manifesto of the Experimental Photographic Group, the direct shots presented by the Beta Group at Lirolay, and the photograms exhibited in Visual Experiences with Photographic Media at Odin’s Gallery. Finally, the study considers the role of technique as a material substrate that enabled and shaped these photographic experiments within their historical context.