Legado cultural y administración del pasado: La «Generación del 27» en el Reina Sofía

Abstract

The need to strengthen the image of a democratic Spain, give expression to the regions and rehabilitate the cultural heritage prior to the Civil War have encouraged the development of new museological infrastructures at the national, regional and local levels. In these novel exhibition spaces, commemorative celebrations —especially those set to vindicate the cultural legacy of the artistic and literary avant-gardes that flourished prior to the conflict— have become a highly valued commodity at the national cultural market and media. This article analyzes the «rational» behind three macro-exhibits presented at the National Museum Reina Sofia Art Centre in Madrid, on the occasion of the centenary of several members of the «Generation of '27». These exhibitions provide an unexplored arena to elucidate: the ways public audiences are summoned; the techniques employed to re-appropriate figures who are icons in the collective imagery of Republican Spain, the Spanish exile and the transition and; finally, to chart out the rhetorical, visual and pedagogical strategies used for «administrating the past».