1968, the fire of ideas

There is a direct relationship between the ideas of 1968 and the revolutionary movements in Latin America in 1970, all part of the social process that ended with bloody dictatorships in the late seventies. These repressive governments were fighting the ideas of 1968.

There is a direct relationship between the ideas of 1968 and the revolutionary movements in Latin America in 1970, all part of the social process that ended with bloody dictatorships in the late seventies. These repressive governments were fighting the ideas of 1968.

Those repressive governments were fighting the ideas of 1968: freedom of expression, students rights, political rights, trade union legal action, socialism, social change, the ideas of Che Guevara (murdered in Bolivia in 1967), the ideas of Rev. Marthin Luther King, Jr. (assassinated in Memphis, TN in 1968). There is a direct relationship between those ideas and those times.

The use of archival images is part of my professional practice as a photographer. It is important that the vieweres are able to read the text. The writing interacts with the image and aggregates meaning. In this case, they bring the issues and ideas of 1968 to discussion. Each image in the installation and each piece of text are different since they are determined by national conditions. But they still have plenty in common as they are all part of the spirit of the zeitgeist.

I believe those ideas of the 1968 are strong and important at this moment, when societies seem to be going in the opposite direction, toward a period of obscurity, repression and intolerance. Rescuing, reexamining, reviewing, and resignifying these ideas makes a lot of sense now, and the combination of image and text is a powerful way to deliver this message.