Public Program: A Straight Exhibition

A conversation between Santiago de Molina and Martí Anson
​May 14, 6:30 pm

This activity is held at the Centre d'Art itself and prior registration is required. You must write to Activitats-centredart@bcn.cat, putting 'Conversation Talk Martí Anson-Santiago de Molina' to the subject.

​How would an architect and an artist discuss something that is not yet defined? Is it possible for the two to find a common ground? 

The reason for this encounter lies in the exhibition entitled "A Straight Exhibition", which is being held at the Fabra i Coats Art Center in Barcelona. An exposition where the artist plays with the idea of building as a process, a concept that could be linked to the means of an architect.

It is an opportunity to bring two people together to discuss art and architecture. Only to talk. At first, words will be provided to create a conversation that begins with abandon, a dialogue to build a house commonly. With the same material, they will put their opinion over the table and no one will know the direction the game will take. Undoubtedly, it can be dropped out at any point. The talk is proposed as a construction that reveals itself intuitively and constantly, that takes shape, and makes sense as time goes by. Like life itself. 

Joaquim Anson already stated it when he planned to build his house with the architect Jordi Capell: "It was the architect's work that made me see the reality of things and lower the bar of the project I had in mind, but not the dignity of the house". We are in this situation. 

Just as Picasso declared: "The purpose of art is not to decorate our apartments, but to be a weapon against our enemies". Joseph Beuys replies, "Alright, but who are our enemies?". And, subsequently, we can say, "Where are our friends?" 

Both architecture and art, when they play, stand on the limit. And here the game is not presented as entertainment. As Le Corbusier said, we are facing "a wise game only played by serious people". It starts from a set of words that will be combined and placed in a certain way, and surely, if done well, people may come to think that it was something extraordinary. But who knows. 

A conversation to spark a myriad of initiatives in an environment made out of corners and hideouts, nurturing in a singular direction the urban or exhibition space to find a stage full of new experiences. In a certain way, a parallel culture is being sought, which, at certain times, can be questioned. The only desire is to take the streets as spaces of resistance in the framework of creating alternative or, at least, different forms of social life. 

Words that behave similarly to the wooden slats in the exhibit, where art and architecture are constantly mixed not only by their construction or result but also in the participants' discussion. 

In a way, it would be impossible for Tom Marioni's sentence to be completely accurate when he stated that the act of drinking beer with friends is the highest form of art. He had forgotten that, in order for it to happen, it needs to be embraced by a space: Architecture.