Burning of the Object

Burning of the Object (Quema del Objeto), belonging to the series of the same name, was developed from 1957 to 1959 and restarted by the artist in the mid 1970s. In this design for the Burning monument, as well as in the rest of the series, Serrano presents an interpretation of space, both at the conceptual level and in its translation into visual art, investigating the significance of the resulting emptiness after vacating a space. He gives this reflection a metaphysical dimension which speaks of "the presence of absence." One of the formulas used to give rise to this concept involves the creation of a sculpture which housed a wooden or cardboard heart in its interior, which disappeared after burning the sculpture as part of a happening. It became a public spectacle in the seventies when the first Burning monuments were created, and the installation was accompanied by a burning event. This design with an integrated cube shape supported by a tripod was used by Serrano to create the monuments installed in Alcañiz, in the Open-Air Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo al aire libre) in Aracena, and in the hall of the Nicolás Salmerón Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Nicolás Salmerón) in Madrid.