Madrid will have a statue in memory of the Spanish journalists who died in the exercise of their informant work. The Capital City Council has just commissioned a monument with this theme to the artist Daniel Canogar, who will be installed on Juan Bravo Boulevard, near his crossing with Claudio Coello, according to information to which this newspaper has had access.
The sculpture is the consistory response to a request that the Madrid Press Association (APM) formulated more than two years ago, and that the Plenary approved in January 2023. In it they requested a monument in the capital in memory of the 15 Spanish journalists who died violently in the exercise of their profession during democracy, 12 of them abroad and three others as a result of ETA attacks.
The sculpture will have six meters high and one wide, it will be called Vertex and will consist of a slightly inclined prism -shaped light monument. Two of its sides will be made of glass and another will be formed by a LED type screen with a constantly changing chromatic animation, remembering the light refraction created by an optical prism. This projection will alternate with the sequence of the names of all honored journalists. The monument will be guided symbolically towards the headquarters of the APM.
Daniel Canagar defines Vertex As “a living monument in constant transformation, a symbolic representation of light as a metaphor of clarity that journalism longs to discover,” he explains in the definition of his work collected in the municipal contract. “With his work, the journalist illuminates the chaotic darkness of the world to give him a meaning, his testimony is a silent heroic act that often puts his life in danger,” adds the author before indicating that his work “invites us to honor The journalists who have left us, and their words and images created in an eagerness to help us understand our reality a little better. ”
Canagar’s work was chosen among three proposals by contemporary artists “of relevant professional career” to which the City Council invited to make a proposal. The decision was taken by a commission formed by art experts from three public institutions, a representative of the Madrid press association and four representatives of the Madrid City Council.
The cost of the monument will be 119,130 euros (taxes included) and will be ready in a little less than a year, since the delivery and installation of the sculpture has been agreed in 300 calendar days since the date of formalization of the contract.
The names of journalists that will be included in the tribute do not appear in the municipal contract but they are likely to be the following: José María Portell Manos, Javier Galdeano, José Luis López de Lacalle, Luis Espinal, Juan Antonio Rodríguez, Jordi Pujol Puente, Luis Luis Valtueña, Miguel Gil Moreno, Julio Fuentes, José Luis Percebal, Julio Anguita Parrado, José Couso, Ricardo Ortega, David Beriain and Roberto Fraile.
#Madrid #City #Council #awards #Daniel #Canogar #sculptureprism #memory #fifteen #deceased #journalists
