I took a trip to Barcelona in February, with college. We visited the MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art), Joan Miró Foundation, Picasso Museum, Park Güell, La Sagrada Familia and a few of us attended a life drawing class one evening. In my primary research, I have picked out the parts that inspired me, one way or another.
Here are some of my images from the trip.
Personal & Market
MACBA
During a long and eclectic career, between 1970 and 1973 Robert Llimos produced a series of minimalist graphic and geometric explorations that took the form of rhythmically repeated calligraphic strokes, superimposed lines, and repeated circles and lines, filling drawings, tarpaulins and large canvases. Figure 1 is part of this series. Llimos creates a relationship of tense lines on the support until they occupy the entire surface, becoming the sole protagonists. Freed from the restrictions of representation, the work is constructed as a pure exercise in rhythmic structuring, which is not only graphic but gestural.
This piece inspired me to do some large scale mark masking using alternative mediums to what I am used to using. After taking a deeper look into some of Llimos' work I found the series of explorations in calligraphy, with mark making techniques and he has also explored geometric shapes, something I am also interested in looking into for FMP. Below you will find some of his geometric sculptures.
Figure 2: Triangles by Robert Llimos (Llimos 1969) Wood.
Figure 3: Truss Space, Composition II by Robert Llimos (Llimos 1969) Acrylic on canvas, 280 x 225 x 20 cm
Rosemarie Castoro
In 1970, Castoro developed a series of freestanding panels that occupied the space as sculptural forms. Their surfaces were created from plaster applied with a broom, which was then covered with graphite shading, so that the works combined painting, sculpture and mark-making.
This caught my eye due to its large scale, it gives dominance within the exhibition. The form of the installation is curved giving a meandering feeling to it. The line and movement in the grooves of Gesso, modelling paste on the masonite surface is very effective, giving a rough texture. Fiske describes it as "sinewy and dense, like roughage running through the digestive system". (Fiske, 2015) The colours are neutral, graphite applied over the ridges once dry gives an achromatic colour, grey with bursts of white coming through. The pattern and composition of the broom's grooves and the expression from Castoro's arm movements draw the viewer into the centre of the piece, as Fiske suggests "The broom’s tracks through pigment in Spine on its Side register as incisions, heightening the title’s relay to the vertebrate body". (Fiske, 2015).
Taking a look into Castoro's further work and exhibitions she has been a part of, one of these being "Dimensions of Reality: Female minimal", it gave me more of a insight into her as an artist. Her artist bio reads, "Rosemarie Castoro was a key figure of the 1960s and 1970s Minimal and Conceptual Art scene in New York. After experimenting with colour in all-over painted compositions, she introduced a new spatial element into her work with freestanding, multi-panelled works in monochrome gesso and graphite. In Eight Corners (1971), she adds a layer of illusion to the architectural scale of the installation through the play of shadows. In the late 1970s, she started making installations using carved wood. The sequential, number-based, minimalist structure of Forest of Threes (1977–78) simultaneously carries a highly sensual, surreal and allegorical dimension." (GALERIE THADDAEUS ROPAC, 2020). It is suggested that 'Castoro’s work throughout her life exhibited a distinctly performative character and understanding of space and movement. From 1964 onwards, Castoro created systematic works exploring colour and structural compositions in highly innovative experimentations. Throughout her life she showed a tendency to blend media - declaring herself a ‘paintersculptor’. Neither wholly Minimalist nor feminist, her work transgressed and metamorphosed into an erotically charged language. The feminist critic and curator Lucy R. Lippard later identified her as a figure who ‘subverted or overrode Minimalism on its own turf’.(GALERIE THADDAEUS ROPAC, 2020) She incorporated dance into the process of making these stunning works of art which, to me, is fascinating.
Takis (Panayiotis Vassilakis)
I was excited about this particular exhibition as I had read about it on the MACBA website before going to Barcelona. I was intrigued by the concept of magnetism and the methods that Takis used to create these wonderful works of art. Takis pioneered new art forms using magnetism, light and sound. He was born in Athens in 1925, where he died on August 9, 2019. Much of his artistic career and activity was focused in Paris, London and New York, between 1950 and 1970, and then he has been living in Athens. This exhibition is the first solo presentation of his work in Barcelona.(MACBA,2020) Over a 70-year career, Takis has created some of the most powerful, innovative – as well as playful – works of twentieth-century art. With these, he reinvented the formats of sculpture, painting and music in relation to energy. Takis was one of the pioneers of advanced, experimental art of the 1960s and in particular, his work investigated the relation between artistic, scientific and philosophical research. While his earliest sculptures make explicit reference to ancient Greek culture, he later became an innovator in incorporating natural forces into his work, most centrally magnetism, light 3 and electricity, in sculptures and paintings as well as in actions. Similarly, he moved from figuration to work that was more closely allied to experimental abstraction. This exhibition seeks out the essential poetry and beauty of the electro-magnetic universe explored by an artist, who was interested in making the viewer recognise the power of the invisible forces that animate the world. Embracing technology, Takis used industrial debris and scientific technologies in his work, which he invested with an existential meaning.(MACBA,2020)
The exhibition was organised by Tate Modern, MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporary de Barcelona and Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens.
(Images : © Amie Dodgson @ The MACBA, Barcelona. Left to right: Figure 1: Magnetic Fields by Takis, 1969, Figure 2: Unknown by Takis, Figure 3: Unknown by Takis, Figure 4: Telepainting by Takis, 1964, Figure 5: Unknown by Takis, Figure 6: Unknown by Takis, Figure 7: Unknown by Takis, Figure 8: Magnetic Wall 9 (Red) by Takis, 1961)
Takis's work represents a form of literal and aesthetic break, a kind of productive confrontation between art, science and the contemporary world. Takis researched materials, their properties and their behaviours, their 'spontaneity' radars, dials, antennas and electrical panels are elements of an investigative quest that explores the cosmos and brings together science, technology and thought. Despite being invisible, the fields of electromagnetic forces become visible in his work. This is something I would love to explore within my practice at some point. The exploration of energy. I love Takis take on exploring energy using magnets in this exhibition, however I feel that throughout my FMP I would like to concentrate more on exploring the energy and frequencies from sound. Something that Takis has also explored therefore some more research into his sound art would be beneficial for my FMP.
(© Amie Dodgson. Figure 9: Unknown by Takis)
A powerful magnet holds a needle in suspension, highlighting how magnetism can overide the laws of gravity, Takis stated:
"electromagnetism is an infinite, invisible thing, that doesn't belong to earth alone. It is cosmic; but it can be channeled. I would like to render it visible so as to communicate its existence and make its importance known; I would like to make visible this invisible, colourless, non-sensual, naked world which cannot irritate our eye, taste or sex. Which is simply pure thought". (TAKIS:MACBA, 2020)
Takis made his was back to Paris in the mid-1970s and with his interest in the cosmos and philosophy, coupled with his virtuoso skill in transforming scrap metal and employing electromagnetism, resulted in memorable kinetic sound pieces and musical devices. Electomagnetic Sphere (1979), which is included in his Tate Modern show, incorporates wire “bow” strings, a sphere at the end of a pendulum, and an amplifier to create eerily discordant sounds.
Takis returned to his home city of Athens in 1986, where he began building what became the Research Center for the Arts and Sciences in 1993. He installed his monumental sound pieces in its open-air theater. They include the thunderous Silver Musical Sphere, as well as giant Gong, which is made from the rusted wall of an oil tank.
"Takis always speaks about the space in between objects, which I think is really fascinating. So it's not necessarily about the floating, it's not necessarily about the needle itself or the magnet. It's about that space in between that empty space. And I think that's a really beautiful idea that they're connected despite the fact that you can't see the link," says Assistant Curator Helen O' Malley.
In his work, he also experimented with sound, as in works he called "Musicals" or "Music of the Spheres" - where objects colliding, or brushing against each other create atmospheric soundscapes that fill the air across the exhibition rooms.
Watching the above video of some of his further works with sound has really inspired me to do some of my own experiments with sound using energy, or frequencies. Looking at the relationship between sound and energy and how that relates to the universe and the cosmos. The sounds of the universe. I really like this idea. Although the below video was made before the passing of Takis, it is still very informative and gives an idea of the type of artist Takis was, where he lived and how he used energy in his pieces. The idea of bringing art and science together is something which fascinates me, I am curious and creative and arts and science remain integral to our lives.
More Personal
(© Amie Dodgson)
La Sagrada Familia
We visited in La Sagrada Familia and I have to say I have never seen anything like it! It is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever laid eyes on. From the moment you stop out of the tube station and make your way round to it, it towers above you. The Basílica de la Sagrada Família, also known as the Sagrada Família, is a large unfinished Roman Catholic minor basilica. Designed by Spanish/Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.
"Gaudí worked steadily on his masterpiece until his death in 1926, at which point an estimated 15 to 25 percent of the total design, including the crypt, the apse walls, a portal, and a tower, was complete. Since then a series of architects have attempted to continue his legacy. Not surprisingly, progress on Sagrada Família’s construction has faced a few setbacks over the past 130+ years. Vandalism in 1936 following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War resulted in the destruction of many of Gaudí’s models. The sacristy was destroyed in a fire in 2011". (Mcintyre ca.2020)
The stained glass windows inside create a transcendent atmosphere and place for reflection and introspection. The light and colour they throw around the inside of the Basilica is beautiful.
"From 1999 onwards, the painter and glassmaker Joan Vila i Grau has been in charge of producing the stained glass windows. He employs traditional techniques, setting the glass in lead strips in order to play with the shape and rhythm. Here in the church, he has followed the guidelines set out by Gaudí, who left several documents explaining how the stained glass windows should be arranged in order to achieve a symphony of evocative light and colour. That is why the windows on the lower part of the side aisles are brightly coloured, whereas those on the upper half are in lighter, almost translucent colours. In the central nave, the windows are a combination of colourless glass of different textures, which makes the geometry of the vaulted ceilings stand out, thanks to the Mediterranean light. So far, the windows that are in place are those in the apse; the Facade of the Passion, which are dedicated to water, light and the Resurrection; and those in the Portal of the Nativity, which allude to the birth of Christ, poverty and life. In the windows of the side aisles there are texts referring to the parables of Jesus." (Marcos, 2013)
The basilica has no straight lines and everything has been built with the objective of imitating mother nature. With the different columns and the stained glass windows, Gaudí tried to make the inside of the Sagrada Familia resemble a forest. The conception of Gaudí on the Sagrada Familia is derived from the traditions of the Gothic and Byzantine cathedrals. He used the architecture to express the Christian belief, such as with the towers.
The Lord's Prayer written in several languages on the Central door of the Glory facade by J.M. Subirachs. Detail of door handles with the letters A and G, Antoni Gaudí’s initials. Photo by Philip Serracino Inglott. It is a carving made from stone.
The middle part of the main access doors is inscribed with the Lord's Prayer in Catalan with relief letters, and highlights the fragment 'Give us, o Lord, our daily bread' (Translation from original Catalan: 'el nostre pa de cada dia doneu-nos-el avui') in Catalan and 49 more languages (in alphabetic order: Albanian, Arabic, Aramaic, Aranese, Basque, Berber, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Coptic, Croat, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, Galician, German, Greek, Guarani, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua , Rumanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Sardinian, Serb, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog , Tibetan, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Wolof). (Subirachs, 2009)
Joan Miró Foundation
"The Joan Miró Foundation is a centre for the study and dissemination of Joan Miró’s work and contemporary art. It was created by Miró himself, at first principally with works from his own private collection, with a desire to set up an internationally recognised centre in Barcelona for Miró scholarship and contemporary art research, and to disseminate the collection. The Foundation opened to the public on the 10th June 1975 and has since become a dynamic centre in which Joan Miró’s work coexists with cutting-edge contemporary art." (Fundació Joan Miró 2020)
'It is the land, the land. It is stronger that I. The fantastic mountains have a very important role in my life, and so does the sky. It is the clash between these forms within my soul, rather than the vision itself. In Mont-roig it is the force that nurtures me, the force' - Joan Miró
"Barcelona - the artist's birthplace - and then Paris offered Joan Miró the opportunity to grow on an intellectual level and to be in touch with the different currents of the avant-garde, from Futurism and Cubism to Surrealism. However, Mont-roig, a small village in the Tarragona countryside, was at the core of his entire production.
Mon-roig was the land of origin to which he always returned, the place where he lived at one with nature, where he first became aware of the notion of primitivism - present in the cultural roots of his land, in medieval art and folk art. In Mont-roig he set out to rethink his entire conception of painting and successes in striking a balance between tradition and modernity. It is also the place where, decades later, he began working in ceramics and sculpture." (Joan Miró Foundation 2020)
The first piece that caught my eye was this one.
The Joan Miro Foundation states " A tarp used to carry grapes during the harvest is the point of departure for this work. The support, which suggests peasants and earth, is material record of the passage of time and of human interaction with nature. The borders of the tarp define another square within the square, an allusion to the representational space of painting."
The Foundation describes this piece as "belonging to what is described as Miro's details style. He points to primitive and Japanese artists as the main catalysts of his interest in the minimal features of landscape. A vertical format is not the most common for this genre. Much like the painters of the Trecento end illustrators of the Far East. Miso juxtaposes different layers to achieve a sense of depth."
I really love the triptych above, this piece is what I spent most time looking at which is surprising as there is very little to actually look at. However it intrigued me at how simple it was. It had me imagining all sorts of things. I could imagine myself walking up the lines as if I was climbing a mountain, but not only this I could imagine Miro painting the line, with so much concentration. The vastness of the canvases would have meant he would had to use a ladder, therefore I can also imagine Miro climbing a ladder, and considering he was born in 1893 and this was done in 1968, that would have made him 75 years old. 75 years old, climbing a ladder in his apartment and concentrating hard to make such a line. This fascinates me. He spent a lot of his life being a recluse, he lived through the war and most likely lived through a lot more. Therefore these paintings say to me a whole lot more than just 3 random lines on a canvas, as Cox (ca.2020) puts it "It is a world line, a strange trajectory, a life lived, a concise and beautiful statement" and I couldn't agree more.
"Beatriz Olabarrieta approaches communication as a discordant phenomenon, in which the voices don’t correspond to the narrative, and the writing doesn’t coincide with any language we recognize. In her proposals, the transmission strategy seems to respond to urgency and precipitation, rather than a communicative intent. The ineffectiveness of this elementary process leads us to scenarios in which the need to speak meets the impossibility of transmitting information efficiently, and language gives rise to the unexpected. When communication no longer transmits remarkable experiences, it becomes a suitable tool for constructing unprecedented experiences. In other words, when language is not limited to its representative function, it can produce anything."
"For Faces, Espai 13 is divided by a construction without and “inside” or an “outside”, which subjects our actions and itineraries to its authority. The writer Kathy Acker asserted that all language presupposes a community and that, without the other, nothing people say has any meaning. For Olabarrieta, the loss of language and the impossibility of speech are associated with the fragmentation of a concrete reality.A deterritorialization that forces us to imagine ways of relating to our surroundings and to exist on the margins of a biographical narrative, the dictates of what is intelligible. Faces invites us to establish relationships between objects and images, drawing on physical and perceptive considerations. It reminds us that imagining less-comfortable ways of reading, seeing and travelling is a necessary push against the perverse use of words and against our own passivity. To keep us aware, we need to learn to speak again, to look beyond what is evident, and to call into question the most appropriate form." - (Marc Navarro Fornós, 2020)
( series of 16 drawings, ink and thread on paper )
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