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My Generation
In 1975, the end of Franco's dictatorship marked a turning point in visual semiotics within advertising imagery. Reflecting historically, the cities of our childhood and adolescence appeared very grey, characterised by a rather dreary urban aesthetic. With the transition to democracy, walls were adorned with colour and iconic signs (1), which political parties that had been underground during the dictatorship used to connect with voters who were unaccustomed to democratic elections.
The ban on freedom of assembly and opinion had ended, allowing a variety of political, cultural, and counter-cultural ideas to be expressed publicly. The photographs, serving as iconographic and social documents (2) , evoke an era where the yearning for freedom was prominent. A perfume advertisement featuring the slogan "Nuestra Generación" (our generation), displaying people with raised fists behind the colourful perfume brand, stood out during a political demonstration (3) .
References
Texts
- 1. 010 Semiòtica visual i fotografia / Visual semiotics and photography
- 2. Freund, G. (1976). La fotografía como documento social. Barcelona: Editorila Gustavo Gili, S.A.. (Títol original: Photographie et Société)
- 3. Pagès i Blanch, P. Dir. (2005). La transició democràtica als Països Catalans. València: Publicacions de la Universitat de València. Apartat: La transició democràtica, història d’un temps d’incertesa. Pelai Pagès. P. 15-30.
Images
- A photograph of the demonstration to demand the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, in Barcelona, and an image of the first democratic elections in Spain, after the Dictatorship, in Vic.