Agitprop

Agitprop, an acronym for Agitation and Propaganda, is a propaganda strategy that uses cultural expressions to influence public opinion. During the Civil War, both sides used agitprop in various artistic forms: film screenings, radio broadcasts, theatrical performances, exhibitions, publications, parades, and all kinds of visual objects displayed in public spaces, such as posters, platforms, murals, or sculptures. In these types of creations, urgency and message took precedence over the individuality of the artists involved.

The use of art and culture as a tool for propaganda sparked a heated debate among some intellectuals. While there was a common belief that, given the circumstances, art should serve a social function, not everyone interpreted that role in the same way.

The most famous controversy featured a debate between poster artist Josep Renau, creator of the poster shown here, and painter Ramón Gaya, which took the form of letters published in the cultural and literary magazine Hora de España. In January 1937, the magazine published the “Letter from a Painter to a Poster Artist”, in which Gaya expressed his concern about the poster’s inability to convey emotion—something he considered regrettable in the midst of armed conflict. The following issue included Renau’s Reply to Ramón Gaya, in which he argued that poster artists had to place the common cause above their personal feelings, and that, in fact, it was their own will that drove them to do so.

Although the poster was the pretext, the heart of the debate was a deeper issue that concerned all areas of art produced during the war and its social function—an issue that inevitably affected the artist’s creative freedom. The words of Renau and Gaya, along with those of many others who reflected on whether culture should be subordinated to certain ideals, on the choice of an appropriate and accessible language, or on other challenges arising from the social role of art, represent one of the most moving efforts to preserve clarity of thought in difficult times.

IEG