ABSTRACT
In the postwar era, the monochrome has appeared sparingly yet decisively in the hands of selected Argentinean artists, both locally and in the international sphere. The case of the Argentinean monochrome provides people with a new model of what Peter Burger, termed the "neo-avant-garde": the knowing repetition of prewar integrations of "art" and "life." Friends and colleagues in Grupo Informalista, which also included Mendez Casariego, Enrique Barilari, and Kenneth Kemble, Greco and Mario Pucciarelli traveled repeatedly to Europe in this period and produced similar black monochromes. The Systems works and Todo vale correspond to this latter notion of a "system," implying the mutually-defining relationship between different monochromatic elements. Lucio Fontana, occupies a fascinating role in this monochrome tradition—what is perhaps best understood as a missed encounter. Jaime Davidovich also made his first videos at this time, using the color video equipment at the cardiovascular surgery theater at Cleveland Clinic.
