ThisOn the second floor of the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, not far from Picasso’s huge and eternally vibrant Guernica, hangs a much smaller but equally eloquent proof of the civilian costs of the Spanish Civil War.
Photo of No. 10 Peironcely Street in the working-class district of Vallecas, Madrid, taken by Robert Capa in the early winter of 1936, Size is only 29.4 cm x 40.2 cmThe three children sat on the sidewalk in front of a house bitten by shrapnel, smiling in the rubble left by the German bomber Hitler sent to support the coup of General Franco.
Although Picasso’s photos will be known forever, the image of Capa-after a 10-year complete reorganization of the museum’s collections and now on permanent display in Reina Sofía-has enjoyed a powerful afterlife.
It was first published in the French magazine “Regards” 85 years ago, and it drew the attention of the world Spain And the aerial atrocities that became commonplace during the Second World War a few years later.
It also helps to find decent shelter for those who have been living in the 21st century In cramped and miserable conditions In the building that Kappa accidentally found after the bombing attack.
In March, a long-term campaign on local and international platforms supported by trade unions Anastasio De Gracia Foundation, The 13 families living there finally moved into the new apartment. The building itself has been closed until it enters a new phase as a museum-“Robert Capa Center, used to explain the aerial bombardment in Madrid”.
member Save Peironcely 10 groups In October, he wrote to Manuel Borja-Villel, the curator of Reina Sofía, urging him to ensure that a copy of the photo provided to the museum by Capa’s brother Cornell in 1998 received permanent exhibition space.But it turned out to be unnecessary-the museum authorities have decided to hang this photo together with works by Le Corbusier, Joan Miró and others in a place called Spain, tragic myth.
“This picture will always be shown again,” Borja-Villel said. “I believe that works of art, poetry or cultural works in general can help us see reality in a different way-it is performance and will change and affect our lives. For us, this is exactly what this small photo does of.”
In any case, he added, “I will sign this letter personally because I totally agree with it.”
Borja-Villel said that the reorganization or “rereading” of the museum’s collections is the result of a decade of efforts to ensure that the Reina Sofia Museum fulfills its responsibilities as a 21st-century cultural institution.
Approximately 70% of the 2,000 works currently on display have never been exhibited before. This allows the museum to expand its exploration of issues of immigration, colonialism, gender, and the environment, incorporate architectural elements, and include more female artists.
The purpose of the reorganization-called Communication ship, 1881-2021 ——It is also a reflection on the relationship between society and art, as well as the relationship between art and museums. Borja-Villel said that in an era of cyberspace, fake news, and fierce cultural wars, we need to think about information and how it reaches us.
“We seem to be living in a cycle where the future is presented as a dystopia and the past is presented as an idealized past with some very complex or xenophobic prejudices, such as the idea of owning your own land,” Borja-Villel said.
“In this case, I think museums play an important role in explaining how we accept our ideas and our view of the world-because this acceptance is never neutral.”
The curator also hopes that the museum can cover recent socio-economic changes, especially the 2008 financial crisis, which brought Spain to the brink of collapse and profoundly changed its political landscape.
“Suddenly, the neoliberal, selfish, personal, and entrepreneurial system we had since the 1970s fell apart and failed at an alarming rate,” he said. “And we have seen the emergence of other alternatives around the world, such as Righteous indignation movement here. “
The human impact on the environment is concisely cataloged in the catastrophic photos Prestige oil spill in 2002, And a large number of works by Latin American artists raise questions about colonialism, immigration, exile, and cultural imperialism.
“We have always believed that things-and museums-are all related to territory,” Borja-Villel said. “But we need to decolonize our ideas and understand Europe And the west is just a province of the world. We need to understand the factors of structural violence in colonization. “
The director also pointed out that although the newly adjusted series ended with the works of three female artists-Victoria Gill, Joan Jonas, and Carmen Lafon-more work needs to be done to recognize and restore generations of creative women Achievement.
“They have obviously been there, but we don’t always know how to look at them properly,” he said. “We need to change the way we look at things and incorporate female artists. This is easy in contemporary times, but it is even harder in history, because in the past, women were pushed to the edge.”
Moreover, although it is still too early, Borja-Villel said that the number of tourists shows that the reorganization is proceeding very smoothly among the public.
On Friday afternoon, a delegation from the Save Peironcely group led by former UNESCO President Federico Mayor Zaragoza and Irish Hispanic writers and writers will further increase the number of visitors to the museum Ian Gibson, Arrived to watch Capa pictures on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of its publication.
“We are very happy and proud that all the stories behind the photos are recognized,” said José María Uría Fernández of Fundación Anastasio de Gracia.
“This image that has become a global reference point for horror films should now appear in its place-and very close to Guernica itself. It’s amazing how a small negative influence has successfully set off a wave. After so many years, it helped change the lives of so many people.”
