Urban Spaces in the Catalan Avant-Garde: Synecdoches, Dreams and Heterotopias

Abstract

This essay explores the diversity of urban spaces represented in the Catalan Avant-garde during the 1920s and the 30s through the oeuvre of one poet and two painters: Carles Sindreu, Angeles Santos and Angel Planells. It aims to shed light on the sociopolitical situation of the Catalan-speaking lands while questioning the aesthetic consequences of gender difference. These urban spaces take the form of synecdoches, heterotopias and dreams, which in turn serve to enquire into the nature of the real and imaginary cities under scrutiny (particularly relevant is the case of Barcelona). Also important is the influence of the creator's gender on the use of synecdochic, oneiric and heterotopic elements. Furthermore, a lack of women writers in the field of Catalan Avant-garde poetry makes us wonder to what extent their production was restricted to a visual input. The artistic representation of the city through synecdoches, dreams and heterotopias emphasizes the links between the private and the public as well as b...