ABSTRACT
In September of the same year, the US and Spain signed a "Joint Declaration of Cooperation" to continue the relationship established by the Madrid Pact in 1953, which enabled the installation of US military bases on Spanish soil. For the opposition, it demonstrated that the "American friend" was not the standard-bearer of democracy and prosperity known to other European countries, but someone whose opportunistic support of Spain had enabled the dictatorship not just to survive, but also to gain strength and international legitimacy. At the same time, the affinity between some American artists and Spain continued through artists like Julian Schnabel, who visited Barcelona in 1978, where he saw the “trencadis” on Antoni Gaudi's buildings, which provided the inspiration for his plate paintings. Only six years later, the situation had changed so significantly that Warhol’s visit to Madrid for the Vijande exhibition became an iconic moment in youth culture.
