A BIENNIAL OF DISTINCTION
(Top) Selected organisers and invitees of the 2nd Iberoamerican Poster Biennial in La Paz, Bolivia, 2005; (Bottom) Presentation of 'The Street' Prize to Pablo German Kunst from Argentina
A
recent study published in Mexico has revealed that cultural activities
such as the cinema, exhibitions, museums, concerts, biennials and
international competitions, in addition to editorial activities that
promote reading, represent, in economic terms, 6% of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of this country.
It goes without saying
that all activity that promotes the mobilisation of people around a
goal brings economic benefits to the city in which that mobilisation is
taking place. This is especially the case when the activity is of
international character, bringing together foreigners and residents of
other cities to local hotels and restaurants. There is no doubt that
cultural tourism brings with it important benefits to the business
community. The Iberoamerican Poster Biennial in Bolivia is just such an
activity, simply and candidly intended to promote design.
It
is truly admirable and something to be thankful for that there are such
initiatives emerging from civil society. In this particular case, a
group of professional designers has come together in CATALOGRAFICA,
leaving aside their individual interests to work toward building a new
space for the practice of design. Graphic design shows itself to be, in
this case, a vital tool for the development and organisation of human
activities. Between its exhibitions, conferences, seminars and meetings
of professionals from various backgrounds, graphic design merits the
support of governmental institutions as much as it does initiatives
from the private sector. That these same would benefit in the meantime
from the heightening of the status of design should be sufficient
motivation to invest themselves as sponsors and patrons. These, more
than any other, would benefit from professional participation of
designers for their visual communication needs, in particular for the
development of graphic images with a business orientation as much as an
institutional one, highlighting the importance of their presence in the
social, economic commercial milieu of Bolivia.
Design
professionals in La Paz, under the enthusiastic and impartial direction
of designer Ernesto Azcuy, have again demonstrated their interest for
their profession by opening spaces of reference for the design
profession, where practitioners as well as students have been able to
share their experiences with guests of international stature. To do
this is to change realities, to inspire enthusiasm and to provoke a
passion for their profession in young designers by opening the door to
their opinions and permitting them to participate in the construction
of their future.
Now it is up to you, directors of
communication and design schools, directors of museums, culture houses,
centres and institutions, businesspeople, hoteliers, restaurateurs and
merchants, to respond to this initiative by making way for design,
without hesitation, without bureaucracy and with good faith,
subscribing to the enormous force of design in Bolivia.
Democracy
is not the vote of the people. It is the participation of all in the
spaces that we will be creating under the direction of the specialist
in each individual. The designers of the city of La Paz have offered
their practice as a tool to transform realities by changing attitudes
and incorporating collective participation, which, one way or another,
will benefit each one of us with a higher quality of life and
coexistence based on respect and collaboration.
A warm hug and wishes for a long life from the Iberoamerican Poster Biennial in Bolivia.
The 2nd Iberoamerican Poster Biennial Results
Cultural Poster Prize:
Renato Aranda, with the poster 'Hommage to Jose Marti' (Mexico)
EUROS 1000.00 and certificate
Sociopolitical Poster Prize:
None awarded
Publicity and/or Commercial Poster Prize:
Jury declares no winners due to poor participation
Unpublished Poster, Theme: 'The Street':
Pablo German Kunst, with his poster 'The Street as Witness' (Argentina)
EUROS 3000.00 and certificate
Honorable Mention in the Unpublished Poster Category, Theme: 'The Street':
Diego F Bolanos Ronquillo, with the poster 'Dragon Children' (Ecuador)
Number of posters entered: 370
Participants: 153
Participating Countries: 16
Selection Jury:
Fernando Pimenta (Brazil)
Xavier Berm dez (Mexico)
Felipe Taborda (Brazil)
Ernesto Azcuy (Cuba)
Valeria Paz (Bolivia)
Affiliated Exhibitions:
Posters of the 90s: "The Cuban Youth Vanguard", Cuba
Posters of Sergio Vega, Bolivia
Posters of Ernesto Azcuy, Cuba
Posters of Felipe Taborda, Brazil
Posters of Fernando Pimenta, Brazil
Posters of Michel Bouvet, France
Special Guest:
Nelson Ponce (Cuba)
About this article
This text was written in September of 2005 on the ocassion of the 2nd Iberoamerican Poster Biennial in La Paz, Bolivia.
About Xavier Bermudez
Born in Mexico City in
1953, Xavier Bermudez Banuelos is both a graphic designer and a
musician. He studied Graphic Design at the Universidad Autonoma
Metropolitana (UAM) in Mexico, and at the Scuola Politecnica di Design
in Milan, Italy, with Bruno Munari, Max Huber and Walter Ballmer. He
studied Music at the Conservatory Giussepe Verdi with Glauco
Camburzano. He has been professor, lecturer and counsellor for
different universities and institutions in Mexico, Spain, Canada,
Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil,
Finland, Poland, France, Bulgaria, and Morocco. In 1977, he founded
Troje Taller; in 1987 the magazine, V a Libre; in 1989, Trama Visual
A.C.; in 1990, the International Poster Biennial in Mexico; and, in
1997, the magazine, Ludica. His work has been published in specialized
international magazines as well as in the book, Who is Who in Graphic Design.
Jury member of the Colorado Invitation Poster Exhibition 1993 in the
USA, the Stage Poster Triennial in 1996 at Sophia, Bulgaria, the
Graphic Design International Biennial, in Ecuador in 2002, the
International Biennial of the Poster in Lahti in Finland in 2003 and
the Iberoamerican Biennial of the Poster, in Bolivia in 2003, since
1992 he has participated in several relevant international design
exhibitions and collections around the globe. He was also part of the
project 'Salon Du Cent Homage to Toulouse Lautrec' 2002 and has
collaborated in the editing of several important design international
publications and books. Nowadays, he works in his studio, Matatena
Visual; and runs the International Poster Biennial in Mexico, a project
that has been nominated in the past years for the international prize,
Principe de Asturias (Prince of Asturias) in Spain.