Grete Stern and the vanguard of 40’s. Art and Gestalt Psychology in the permeable borders.

Abstract

To show the relationship between psychology and aesthetic in Argentine in the ‘40s, we analyze the case of Grete Stern, the German photographer. From an historical-critic framework, we research about the reception of Getsalt Theory in Argentine by the presence of this woman (who was student at Bauhaus in Dessau) and the contacts with the abstract artists’ young generation members of groups like Asociación Arte Concreto Invención and MaDí. We focus on the role played by the account of Stern about Bauhahus experience and the Bauhausbücher (books published by this school that disseminate the theoretical discussions). Finally, we conclude that both of psychological ideas of Gestalt and of Science of Art were on the basis of theory and practice of Argentine abstract art. Before they arrive to this country, these ideas were present in the discussions of European artists of vanguard.