Albert Camus and Damien Hirst: Always looking on the absurd side of life

The aim of this text is to consider the notions of life and art, revealed in Camus’s texts, mainly The Myth of Sisyphus (published in French in 1942) and The Rebel (1951), and extrapolate them to the present state of contemporary art by analysing a few artworks by Damien Hirst, the richest living artist, a modern Sisyphus in the self-awareness he manifests towards the incongruity of his work. Always looking on the absurd side of life dwells on the inevitability of life and art, accepting the fact, according to Camus’s words, that: the impossible remains impossible. Instead of denying the meaningless and finding some form of redemption, both French writer and British artist have embraced this potential and have used the absurd as a form of conveying meaning to their art. Hirst’s artworks that will be referred in this text include the series: The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991); Mother and Child Divided (1993); For the Love of God (2007) and For Heaven’s Sake (2008).

The Palace of Quinta do Marquês do Alegrete: restitution strategies for space, time and memory

Palaces, as an architectural typology, can be found in recreation Quintas that surrounded the main cities in Portugal, which preserved its rural character since the 16th century until the middle of the 19th century. Consisting of cultivated land and farm buildings, the palace of the Quinta was the owner´s temporary residence, for summer holidays and festive events, with gardens, pavilions, fountains and lakes for recreational purposes and leisure. The focus on palaces, as a historic building and as in need of new uses, clearly shows how current the debate on contemporary interventions in this heritage typology is. Interventions in architectural heritage require multidisciplinary teams to identify conservation strategies which enable a qualified use of its spaces, such as for example the experience of security and well-being, which can contribute to a better quality of life and simultaneously to the quality of the urban environment. This paper presents the Palace of Quinta Alegre and its rehabilitation project for contemporary use and public esteem, both of which are considered fundamental prerequisites for its sustainable maintenance in space, in time and in memory. [versão Portuguesa] Sob a denominação de tipologia arquitectónica, o edifício Palácio pode ser encontrado nas Quintas de Recreio que rodeavam as principais cidades Portuguesas, tendo preservado o seu carácter rural, desde o século XVI até metade do século XIX. Consistindo as Quintas em terra cultivada e edifícios rurais, o Palácio da Quinta consistia na residência temporária do proprietário, para férias de verão e eventos comemorativos, dispondo de jardins, pavilhões, fontes e lagos para recreação e lazer. O tema dos Palácios, entendido como edifício histórico que procura novos usos, demonstra como é actual o debate sobre intervenções contemporâneas nesta tipologia de valor patrimonial. A intervenção em património arquitectónico requer a definição de estratégias de conservação por equipas multidisciplinares que permitam estabelecer um uso qualificado dos seus espaços, proporcionando experiências sensoriais de bem-estar e segurança, contribuindo para uma melhor qualidade de vida e, simultaneamente, para a qualidade do ambiente urbano em que se insere. Este artigo tem por objectivo apresentar o Palácio da Quinta Alegre e o projecto de reabilitação, devolvendo-o a um uso contemporâneo e à estima pública, factores fundamentais para a sua manutenção sustentável no espaço, no tempo e na memória.