Keys of the exhibition 1. After Miao Xiaochun and Michael Najjar, this summer Es Baluard again invites an international artist to present an individual themed exhibition in the Aljub, and in 2016, it is the turn of Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn. 2. “Equality Float” is an allegory of the community, a reflection on the idea of Equality and Inequality. It is a piece measuring 21 metres in length by 6 metres in width and standing 3.30 metres tall, updated to be shown in the Aljub, which curator Ignacio Cabrero has contextualised by including a display case with documentation on the concept of equality, texts and drawings by the artist; a copy of the work The Map of Friendship between Art and Philosophy, 2007; and books, among others. 3. The project is based on the text “Eternal Flame”, written by Thomas Hirschhorn in 2007 for the magazine Artforum, in which he alludes to the book by Jacques Rancière, The Ignorant Schoolmaster, to warn that the eternal flame to the cry of equality will never be extinguished. And essentially, in the words of the artist himself, “The game is not over”. 1. The relationship between Philosophy and Art is represented by means of the forms and texts created by the artist, based on concepts and words that question the elements of friendship between art and philosophy; concepts that Thomas Hirschhorn developed in his work The Map of Friendship between Art and Philosophy (2007), along with German philosopher Marcus Steinweg, whose text “Community of Unequals” also forms part of the sculpture. Es Baluard Press Office: Jesús Torné ([email protected]). T. + 34 971 908 201 Technical Specifications TITLE OF THE EXHIBITION: «Equality Float» ARTIST: Thomas Hirschhorn. CONTENT: the exhibition is formed by: Equality Float (2008). A sculpture measuring 21 x 6 metres, unified by the predominance of the colours blue and yellow, lines of flowers, signs with texts by way of slogans, books and cables all over the float. It offers a composition of near-classic symmetry, integrating the following elements: text by Marcus Steinweg, plastic, paper, photocopies, printed material, books, cardboard, paint, spray, electrical wires, wood, fabric, plastic chairs and flowers, brown and transparent sticky tape, painted mannequins, capsules, felt-tip pen, foam, plexiglass, scales, polystyrene, mirrors, buckets, wooden sculptures and metal furniture. At the back of the piece, the books from the library that inspired the project, a bilingual bibliography of works consulted (from Kant to Chomsky). Glass case with documentation. Free-standing, designed and arranged by the artist, displaying documents explaining the piece Equality Float. Texts, drawings and preparatory plans, photos, a list of the titles envisaged for the sculpture, a copy of the work The Map of Friendship between Art and Philosophy, 2007, the book by Jacques Rancière The Ignorant Schoolmaster, and the text “Eternal Flame”, among others. Each element is situated according to notions developed in the piece, such as Justice, Equality, Universality, Politics, Difference, First World, Non-Exclusion, The Real, Neighbour, Truth, The Other. EXHIBITION CURATED BY: Ignacio Cabrero. EXHIBITION PRODUCED BY: Es Baluard Museu d’Art Modern i Contemporani de Palma. WORKS COURTESY OF: the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris. LOCATION: Aljub. DATES OF THE EXHIBITION: 15th July to 18th September 2016. OPENING: 14th July at 8.00 pm. TEXTS BY: Ignacio Cabrero, Thomas Hirschhorn and Marcus Steinweg. DOCUMENTATION: Es Baluard. INSTALLATION: Marc Turlan, Fabián Pereyra, Ariel Palleiro and Es Baluard. GRAPHIC DESIGN: Ramon Giner and Es Baluard. LABELING: Impresrapit. TRADUCCIÓN: Carme Llull y Nicola Walters. INSURANCE: March JLT Correduría de seguros. TRANSPORT: AVF Production. Es Baluard Press Office: Jesús Torné ([email protected]). T. + 34 971 908 201 ACTIVITIES: 14th July at 7 pm. Meeting with the curator, Ignacio Cabrero. 6th September at 7 pm. Meeting with groups taking Thomas Hirschhorn’s work Equality Float. An agora at Es Baluard open to the public. 8th September at 7 pm. Meeting with Thomas Hirschhorn and Ignacio Cabrero. Free activity. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thomas Hirschhorn, Ignacio Cabrero, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Chantal Crousel, Celia Crétien, Marc Turlan y Christian Neukom, and all those people that contributed somehow to this project. With the support of: More information: Es Baluard Website http://www.esbaluard.org Es Baluard on Twitter http://twitter.com/EsBaluard Es Baluard on Youtube Es Baluard on Facebook http://www.youtube.com/user/MuseuEsBaluard bit.ly/civ6aT Es Baluard Press Office: Jesús Torné ([email protected]). T. + 34 971 908 201 “Equality Float” Text by Ignacio Cabrero, curator of the exhibition Prior to his project, Flamme éternelle1, in early 2007, Thomas Hirschhorn wrote about the philosopher Jacques Rancière, and mentioned that when the young people of the suburbs of Paris, or of any city in the world, expressed themselves by burning cars in front of their homes, they ignited the fire of anguish, the flame of alarm. They attracted universal attention, and reminded people that the flame of equality would always remain lit. Through Jacques Rancière’s book Le maître ignorant, and the character of the schoolmaster Joseph Jacotot, the artist had interpreted that the flame of equality is an eternal flame, and that therefore the vindications or signs to maintain that flame would never pass. And the essential thing, in the words of the artist himself: The game is not over. Time has shown us that, in effect, the game, and the fire, are not over. We live in an age when the emergence of anguish, wars, borders, social movements, violence in the name of freedom and equality, have not ceased to increase. Events that indicate to us that that flame will never be extinguished. Thomas Hirschhorn has spent many years practising art in co-existence with philosophy, with literature, with society and with politics, through pieces in which a large amount of objects, images and information is presented. Many of these works, characterised by their social message, and by the poor materials used (tape, cardboard, aluminium foil, etc.), have been presented in international institutions and museums, and also in places not linked to the world of art, or in the public space. The piece that lends its title to the exhibition represents a float measuring 21 metres in length by 6 metres in width. A float is a mobile artefact made of poor materials and used in popular festivals such as carnival celebrations or other contemporary manifestations. Materials that coincide with the way of presenting the works of Thomas Hirschhorn and which, in some way, he uses to commemorate in this piece, to promote and present not a character or a certain minority, but a universally - valued concept- equality. A universal term that must circulate and never be extinguished. Equality Float is an allegory of the community, showing both its diseases and its remedies; a reflection on the notions of equality/inequality, themes that the artist brings up through the interaction of political and philosophical essays (Spinoza, Deleuze, Bataille, Gramsci). The work includes the text “Community of Unequals”, by German philosopher Marcus Steinweg, with whom Thomas Hirschorn has been working for years, specifically commissioned for this piece, and presented for the first time in 2008 at MARCO in Vigo. Twenty-two pages that sought to show a synthesis of thoughts, from Kant to Blanchot, related to the concept of the title. Texts exhibited integrally in this project, alongside other banners and slogans. 1 Thomas Hirschhorn. “Eternal Flame. On Jacques Rancière”.Text written for Artforum, XLV, no. 7, March 2007, p. 268 Es Baluard Press Office: Jesús Torné ([email protected]). T. + 34 971 908 201 In the centre of this monumental piece, there is a huge reproduction of Rousseau’s The Social Contract. Two gigantic hands on both sides: an open hand receives the other half of a red and white capsule. At the front, one main assertion: “Equality = in Law and Life”. At the back, the library books that inspired the project, a bilingual bibliography of the titles consulted (from Kant to Chomsky). Finally, hung up around the float for consultation, as well as the paperback edition of Rousseau’s The Social Contract, there is Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice. The banners hanging from the sides present numerous lists of different words. Behind the apparent disorder this work may transmit there lies a rigorous arrangement determined by the artist, which is explained in a separate display case. Here texts, drawings and preparatory plans, photos, a list of titles envisaged for the project, a “Map of friendship between philosophy and art” and highly descriptive plans for the float are displayed, separating all the elements according to three criteria: theme, position, shape. Unified by the predominance of the colours blue and yellow, lines of flowers, posters with texts by way of slogans, the books and wires on the sides of the float, offering a near-symmetrical, classical composition. With Equality Float, the Swiss artist continues with his philosophical commitment in favour of intellectual emancipation initiated by Jacques Rancière. A mobile piece, which rolls forward, is navigated and is updated like an eternal cry towards equality. It comes to Mallorca by boat, and is presented in the singular space that is the Aljub, in the museum Es Baluard. A former water reserve for the population and seafarers who passed through here from the 17th century on. Es Baluard Press Office: Jesús Torné ([email protected]). T. + 34 971 908 201 «Eternal Flame» Text by Thomas Hirschhorn (Aubervilliers, 7th February 2007) Translated from French by Jeanine Herman There is no reason for an artist to write about a philosopher, just as there is no reason for a philosopher to write about an artist.