History of
an event

Vicente Saavedra Martínez

Artistas reunidos en una oficina de Escultura en la Calle

Text collected from the book: Iª Exposición Internacional de Escultura en la Calle 1996. By Aurelio Carnero, Daniel Duque and Carlos A. Schwartz, published by the Department of Culture of the Tenerife Island Council.

The year 1972 was coming to an end when we could finally see the construction of the headquarters of the Canary Islands Architects’ Association on Rambla del General Franco in Santa Cruz de Tenerife come to reality, to the management of which we had devoted a lot of time and no less enthusiasm.

In the project, the main access to the building was to be through a side square, where we had planned to place a sculpture that would help to shape the space and at the same time contribute to its significance. With this in mind, we contacted the Canarian sculptor Martín Chirino, with whom we maintained a communication of full understanding, undoubtedly based on our many years of solid and true friendship. The location and characteristics of the sculpture were decided in a few days, studying together the available space and its surroundings. It was the first time in Tenerife that the incorporation of an abstract, non-commemorative sculpture into a public space in the city had been considered.

The idea of introducing a piece of contemporary art into the urban landscape of a city as traditional as Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a risky one, especially if we consider the intense red colour of what would henceforth bear the name of Lady Tenerife, which stood out against a background of grey and neutral colours. However, the sudden and magnificent reception of the public and the passing of time itself have confirmed the success of that decision. Since then, the Plaza del Arquitecto Sartoris has been a clear example of the coexistence of building, sculpture, and urban environment.

A few months later, the inauguration of the headquarters of the Architects’ Association took place. On this occasion, the Culture Committee, made up, among others, of enthusiastic figures such as Westerdahl, decided to organise an exhibition on the work of the prestigious Catalan architect José Luis Sert, dean of the Harvard School of Architecture at the time.

Also, coinciding with this event, a national exhibition of contemporary art was held in the same rooms to pay tribute to him, which attracted countless artists from all over the country, a fact that would subsequently facilitate our contacts for new activities. Today it is worth recalling, almost humorously, the organisers’ ability to prevent representatives of official political entities from coinciding in any event with clearly committed artists.

Against this background and a year after that inauguration, a chance meeting with the architect Carlos Schwartz in the south of Tenerife allowed us to exchange opinions, which led to the germination of the idea of organising an exhibition of open-air sculptures along the ramblas of Santa Cruz, with the emblematic Lady by the sculptor Martín Chirino as the starting point.

The first step was to convene our Association’s Cultural Commission, which accepted and endorsed the proposal, so Eduardo Westerdahl facilitated the contact with his close friend, the sculptor Pablo Serrano, whose collaboration was immediate and unconditional.

It was his idea to turn the intended national exhibition into an international one, as well as to try to link the sculptors to the project itself, inviting them to come to Tenerife to create the works directly in our streets and squares.

In this way, the original idea gradually evolved into a more ambitious and – why not – much more complicated one, as it was far beyond the organisational and economic capacity of the Commission itself.

The real possibilities of financing and execution were, at first glance, the first great enigmas to be clarified. The Santa Cruz City Council, the Island Council and the Caja General de Ahorros de Canarias, led respectively by Mr Ernesto Rumeu de Armas, Mr Andrés Miranda Hernández and Mr Juan Ravina Méndez, responded generously to our initiative, each contributing amounts ranging from one and a half to two million pesetas.

In addition, the municipal corporation promised to provide all the necessary permits and services for the placement of the sculptures. For its part, the Architects’ Association itself helped decisively by supporting the total organisation and providing the immediate financing of the expenses, until the other entities facilitated the amounts committed.

The financial issue was complicated indeed. However, the actual execution of the projected works was no less complicated, as it was necessary to organise technical teams related to the construction. The help in this case was twofold: on the one hand, a large number of construction companies, workshops and material suppliers selflessly lent their labour force and all the necessary means to make the on-site execution of the sculptures possible; on the other hand, the quantity surveyors of Tenerife, through their Culture Commission, were also integrated into the organising team, contributing all their experience and professionalism.

From that moment on, and having overcome all obstacles, we began to work with enthusiasm, being confident that this somewhat utopian project could become a tangible reality. A Committee of Honour with four important personalities from the world of culture, made up of Joan Miró, José Luis Sert and the art critics Sir Roland Penrose and Eduardo Westerdahl, internationally endorsed this event.

For six months, Santa Cruz became an open-air museum, and the list of participants alone illustrates the importance of the event. […]