AERONAUTICS INTERIOR ENG

AN AEROPLANE THAT Centre d’Aviació Històrica de la Sénia, 2021. Back: Diagram of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter plane, named “Mosca”. Front: Full-scale replica of the SB-2 known as “Katiuska”, created by José Ramón Bellaubí. DOES NOT FLY IS NOT AN AEROPLANE, IT IS A WORK OF ART

FRANCESC TORRES

INSTALLATION 06.18 — 09.26.2021

[ FRANCESC TORRES

FLIGHT Organised by ]

“The quickest way to illustrate the supreme importance of an ideal is for the price to achieve it, defend it, and keep it, to be as high as possible. No one risks their life or is killed by an abstraction devoid of physicality unless they are upheld by faith. Nor does one go to the sacrifice – that unfathomable mystery – for a mere trinket, unless the trinket is sacred, and with the relevant dose of conviction about the certainty that it is just that (...). Hence, we seem to be condemned, until proven otherwise, to the perpetual possibility of bloodshed as an integral part of human behaviour. For life to have value, it is imperative that we be mortal; it is the universal measure of everything. Mortality makes the sacrifice of life for the defence of non-negotiable princi- ples represent the highest level of surrender that can be expected from a human being. Someone said, “Wise is nature; it makes us die so that life is worth something”. This determines that the monopolised privilege of significantly shortening the life of others constitutes the categorical hallmark of royal power under any of its many robes.

Detail, circa 1400. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya Detail, circa 1400. Museu Nacional d’Art Peter. Serra. Crucifixion of Saint Pere (...) In one way or another, everything religious, ideological, political, national or identity based, is built on the management of life and death, by de facto poƒwer, by the individuals that form the social body of these categories. Only that which justifies the giving of life is important, the clearest and simplest way to define the sacred, whether divine or not.”

Francesc Torres spaces andremembersasensitivetranscendentalepisodeinourrecenthis Civil War, art, conflict and memory, the Museum sets aside up one of its iconic the exhibitionprojectsthatMuseuNacionalisthisyeardevoting to the of With theaimofrethinkingpastfrompresent,andinframework oplane thatdoesnotflyisanaeroplane,itaworkofart”. In the artist’s own words, “an aer “exhibition”, “work of art” and “installation”. between artandnon-art,theeliminationofdividingline byhimonotheroccasions–onestep further.explored Heexposestheambiguity installation emerges,inwhichFrancesc Torres takescoordinates –already full-scale recreationsofhistoric aircraft.From thissite amonumentalartistic ca. Itisherewhereitsdirector, JoséRamón BellaubíCavaller, carriesoutepic close toricto what is currently the Centre d’Aviació La Sénia Airfield, Històri Interior Aeronautics(flight)comes from a visit made by the artist to the his following question:howfarwouldwegoto defendourideals? which social mediaeasilyacts as a spokespersonfor our ideologies, raises the master Pere Serra(14thcentury).Thisparallelism,particularlyinanera the Peter faith, based on iconography borrowed from the religious ideal. andthe deliberate choiceto sacrificeoneselfinthedefenceofan conflicts, The exhibitionexplorestheimpactofdeathcomingfromskyinwar daring installationwhichreflectsontheactofdyingforanideal. about to crash,andthePolikarpov I-16fighter, “Mosca”. Anunprecedented, Civil War putstrainonthespace:aTupolev SB-2“Katiuska” bomberwhichis death unfold.Two full-scalereplicasoftwoSovietaircraftthatfoughtinthe The artistFrancesc Torres transformstheOval Hall into astagewherelifeand Ajuntament dela Sénia. d’Aviació Històrica delaSénia. a “Katiuska”. Photo: Centre most famouspilotto command 1909 -Barcelona,1998),the Leocadio Mendiola(Badajoz, tory. Francesc Torres, throughhisownperspective,usesartto moveusandchal lenge uswithissuesthathaveaffected humanbeingssincethedawnoftime. The projecthasthe participationofS4E,Solutions forEngineering.

WOULD YOU DIE , a beautiful Gothic retable from the Museu Nacional’s collection, by , a beautiful Gothic retable from the Museu Nacional’s

The artistdoesthisusingananalogyofthesaintsmartyredfortheir FOR AN IDEAL? AN FOR

Ajuntament dela Sénia. d’Aviació Històrica delaSénia. of thenationalside.Photo: Centre nowinthehands at theairfield, having lunchunderanolivetree Members oftheCondorLegion

La Sénia Airfield. Construction La SéniaAirfield. Ajuntament dela Sénia. Històrica delaSénia. Photo: Centred’Aviació strategic purposes,1937. for of amilitaryairfield Crucifixion of Saint

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original pieces by the director of the airfield, JoséRamónBellaubíCavaller.original piecesbythedirector oftheairfield, filled the sky of La Sénia during the conflict. They are full-scale replicas made with on inCataloniaduringtheCivilWar islocated. You canseesomeoftheplanesthat The commandhouseiscurrentlywheretheinterpretation centreofmilitaryaviati- CENTRE D’AVIACIÓ HISTÒRICA DELASÉNIA the SpanishRepublic. During theCivilWar, morethanahundredSovietvolunteer airmendieddefending its operationalcapacity. outcome oftheBattleEbro,dueto and thestrategic locationoftheairfield the nationalside,GermanCondorLegionsettledthere.Thiswaskeyto the Then inApril1938, withtheoccupationofFranco’s troopsandthewarfavouring Polikarpov I-16fighter squadrons,madeupofSpanishairmenandRussianpilots. In September 1937, operationsbeganwiththreeTupolev SBbombers andthree (nowtheCentred’Aviació Històricaofficers delaSénia)andananti-aircraftshelter. area. Inashorttime,threerunwayswereconstructed, abuildingto housethe were forced to cut down around 9,000 olivetrees, the main source of wealth in the coup.Ninetyhectaresofolivegroveswereexpropriated, andtheowners military ontheoutskirtsoftown ofLaSénia,toairfield defenditselffromtherebel In themidst of the Civil War, the Governmentof the Second Republic built a military LA SÉNIAAIRFIELD Art, conflictandmemory”programme. Ways to participate inthe“GuerraCivil. ACTIVITIES museography attheMuseum of communityengagement and Moderator: LluísAlabern, head Barcelona SchoolofArchitecture. art history professor atthe installation, andJuanjoLahuerta, Francesc Torres, creator ofthe Conversation between the Museum’swebsite. With priorregistrationon the OvalHallandonline. Tuesday, July6at6pm, INTERIOR (FLIGHT) AERONAUTICS DISCUSSION

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