Documenta 14 in Kassel... (Part II)

4:33 p.m.

08/10/17 - Even though most of the artworks deal with the issue of migration, among the assorted examples of this documenta, some of them refer to the main idea proposed by the curator: "Learn from Athens".

The most interesting one was by Daniel García Andújar (España, 1966) and it was entitled "Burning the Canon". It consisted of a series of bodies of classic beauty, encaged in a wooden structure, built by Manolo Martin's atelier. This artisan produces the figures that are burned in the "Fallas" of June 23rd, near the Mediterranean Sea, following an antique ritual that marks the beginning of Summer.

García Andújar conceived his sculpture as an anti-monument which was on display only for a day at the Neue Neue Galerie in Kassel. By the afternoon it was taken, in solemn procession, to a public square where it was burned in a ritual.

Burning the Canon, by Daniel García Andújar (2017)

Several materials

Neue Neue Galerie - June 23rd from 12 to 8 pm

García Andújar's work carry the imprint of fascism, of Goya and of the struggle to democratize democracy, If we stick to the formal aspect, "Burning the Canon" is the death of the classic canon to open the path to newer canons, more related to out time. The installation carries a figure in victorious attitude on top with a more updated beauty, far from Greek idealization.

The artist explained: "We have a body that is in the process of digitalization. When this process ends, it will change everything as we know it today. There are algorithms that are already starting to control aspects of our reality and of our life." ”

García Andújar also reminds us that, during the Spanish Civil War and WWII, the main European museums had to make a list of the artworks to be saved. Lola Jimenez-Blanco, who wrote the manifest for "Burning the Canon", said: “When we try to burn a canon, another one arises, because what's left behind becomes a canon again”.

In short, it's about what can be seen and what can not.

Things that only happen at Documenta.