Paranoid Critical Salvador Dali Retrospective in Madrid

Dalí: All of the poetic suggestions and all of the plastic possibilities

April 27 - September 2, 2013 at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid

'I don't do drugs. I am drugs.' - Salvador Dali 

Through a selection of over two hundred works (paintings, sculptures, drawings...) organized into eleven sections that follow something of a chronological order, this exhibition encourages visitors to rethink the place occupied by Salvador Dalí in the history of 20th century art, suggesting that his importance as a figure and his legacy stretch beyond his role as the architect of surrealism. The exhibition – the subtitle of which comes from his article "San Sebastián" (1927) which constituted his first artistic manifesto – examines how this controversial and prolific creator, of unmatched imagination, was capable of generating perturbing art that speaks directly to spectators. An art that, reflecting the scientific discoveries of the times, explores and expands the boundaries of consciousness and of sensorial and cognitive experience.

'All of the poetic suggestions and all of the plastic possibilities' presents Dalí as an omnivorous and visionary artist who used himself as an object of study, and whose actions in the public arena, whether calculated or improvised, made him an essential figure in the sphere of contemporary representation. The exhibition focuses primarily on his surrealist period. Special attention is devoted to his paranoid-critical method, which he developed as a mechanism for the transformation and subversion of reality, allowing the final interpretation of a work to depend totally on the viewer. Dalí's works in connection with the painting The Angelus (1857-59) by Jean-François Millet – which the Catalan artist went so far as to describe as the richest pictorial work in unconscious thoughts to have ever existed – is where this method reached its highest expression.

The works on display, which begin with a selection of the pieces that Dalí created at the beginning of his career and during his time at the Student Residence of Madrid (including some of his early self-portraits and drawings from the series Los Putrefactos – The Putrid), also contain references to his mystical and nuclear stage (in which religious and scientific themes predominate) and to some of his set design projects (his collaborations with filmmakers such as Buñuel, Hitchcock and Walt Disney, his stage designs for ballets and plays...). At the same time, it takes a critical look at his role as an agitator of the masses and as a media showman, it dedicates a specific section to his autobiographical book The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (an effective symbiosis of the Dalí the illustrator and Dalí the writer) and it shows how from the 1970s to the end of his career his fascination with science and technology led him to explore new languages such as stereoscopy and holography.

'Instead of stubbornly attempting to use surrealism for purposes of subversion, it is necessary to try to make of surrealism something as solid, complete and classic as the works of museums.' - Salvador Dali 

Spanish judge orders 25-year-old who sued parents for inadequate support to leave the family home

Website for this image

So, it has come to this: if parents can't push children out of the nest, the courts will. Or, at least that is what happened recently in Malaga, Spain.

According to newspaper reports, a Family Court judge has given what Spaniards refer to as a 'ni-ni' (neither works, neither studies) one month to leave the family home and strike out on his own. The case came before the judge because the 25-year sued his parents after they refused to add 400 euros a month to the support they already were providing, which included not only a free place to live and all the food he could eat, but also making his 235 euro car payment each month!

Now don't start feeling too sorry for this poor little abandoned 'kid' -- the judge gave him 30 days to move, and ordered the parents to provide him with 200 euros a month for the next two years.

Amazingly, this is not the first such case in Spain. Last summer a university student from the town of Lugo sued her parents because she felt that the 600 euros a month they were giving her was not enough, and that 800 was more along the lines of what she deserved. (Since she was studying at university, she doesn't qualify for the 'ni-ni' label, but I believe 'ingrato,' the Spanish word for ingrate, sounds apt.) In 2007, a 22 year old in Seville asked the courts to force his parents to increase his monthly allowance by 150 euros -- even though his father was unemployed at the time! In both of these lawsuits, the judges declined the young person's request. However, this latest case is the first time a judge has ruled that a 'ni-ni' should live on his own.

"There is no objective need to maintain someone who is a 'ni-ni' by choice, but someone who is truly unable to work or study should be able to count on family support," the family's attorney told the newspaper, La Razon.

Psychologist Javier Urra told the paper that, "Spain is a country where children live an unusually long time in the homes of their parents." In fact, "before the economic crisis, they were not leaving until 34 years of age." However, in Nordic countries "they push them to leave home and find a job early. " He added that issues "such as access to housing in our country make the situation particularly complicated. "

Although there is much written about the Spanish 'ni-ni' phenomenon, the Youth Institute of Spain's Ministry of Health claims that only 1% of young adults (80,358) neither work nor study, while a report from the University of the Basque Country puts it a bit higher at 5.6%. And among them are the young man in Malaga and his predecessor in Seville who have taken not working and not studying while living off of one's parents to the next level by actually suing for the right to ni-ni; I'd say the English language has a perfect name for them -- ninnies.

Carloz

Cross posted on Newsvine.

Sources:

Un juez obliga a un joven «ni-ni» a dejar la casa familiar (Judge obliges young 'ni-ni' to leave the family home), La Razon, 22 April 2011

Una universitaria denuncia a sus padres en el juzgado para exigirles 800 euros al mes (University student takes parents to court to demand 800 euros a month), La Voz de Galica, 26 June 2010

Un juez rechaza la petición de un joven de 22 años de que sus padres le suban 'la paga' (Judge rejects 22-year-old's petition that his parents increase his allowance), El Mundo, 15 March 2007

Adiós al mito de la Generación ni-ni (Goodby to the Generation ni-ni myth), Noticias de Navarra, 26 April 2011

Spain behind the eight-ball in 2008

It looks like eight is Spain's number lately, for better or for worse. On the better side, that number was Spain's "well-being" ranking among 22 European countries the New Economics Foundation's 2008 National Accounts of Well-being report. Indeed, Spain and Cyprus were the only Mediterranean countries to make the top 10.

According to the NEF, governments should directly and regularly measure people’s subjective well-being: their experiences, feelings and perceptions of how their lives are going, as a new way of assessing societal progress, instead of only focusing on economic indicators. So according to this measure, Spain is not doing too bad. Well, that's good to know, especially in view of the worse side of number 8.

Spain's unemployment rate rose to an eight-year record at the end of 2008 -- at 14%, the highest rate in the European Union. Spain's high unemployment rate, helped to bring the the overall Eurozone unemployment rate up in December to ques what -- 8%.

I think these statistics sum up 2008 in Spain, a mix of better and worse -- as in much of the world. However, people here seem generally positive and hoping for a better year without so much time "behind the eight ball."

Suerte amig@s,

Carloz

World Press Photo winners on exhibit at The Contemporary Culture Center of Barcelona (CCCB)

Through 14 December CCCB is showing 185 winning photographs of the 2007 World Press Photo competition. The exposition collects the best photographs published in the press last year. This year's winning image of an American soldier resting in a bunker in Afganistan was taken by Briton Tim Hetherington.

The competition had over 5,000 works submitted by photographers from 125 countries. 177 Spanish photographers participated in the contest and four of those were awarded prizes: Emilio Morenatti, Miguel Riopa, Cristina García Rodero and Lorena Ros. (Lorena Ros is a Catalonian photojournalist who currently lives in New York City.)

The World Press Photo exhibition will travel to some 90 cities around the globe. Approximately two million people will have seen the exhibition by the time the tour ends.

Here is a link to 12 slides from the exhibition: World Press Photo montage.

Here is a link to the CCCB website's page about the exhibition: World Press Photo 2007 International professional photojournalism exhibition.

CCCB
C/ Montalegre, 5
08001 Barcelona
Tel: 93 306 41 00
Admission: 4.50 (Free admission on the first Wednesday of each month. If you have a Barcelona library card, entry is free between 11am and 14pm daily.)

Chao amig@s,

Carloz

Artist to create massive Obama portrait near Barcelona beach

Sorry I have not written in a while. I was very busy with the beginning of the new school year and then I got addicted to reading, commenting on, seeding and writing articles on Newsvine. Have you heard of it? It's a site for discussions about news stories. Part of my addiction has had to do with the hottest topic on Newsvine: the US Presidential race. So, I think I will be able to taper off after November 4th.

Meanwhile, here is an excerpt from a story from CNN that I found on Newsvine:

Artist to create massive Obama portrait near Barcelona beach

"[An] artist plans to create a gigantic face of Obama sculpted from gravel and sand, which will cover nearly 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of Barcelona beachfront before the U.S. elections.

" 'The size of the piece is intrinsic to its value," the artist, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, said Saturday.

"He hopes it will be big enough to be seen on Google Earth.

" 'Obama's personality -- his youth, personal history and message of a new politics -- has fused with the historical moment to create someone larger than life,' says the artist's dossier about the work, titled "Expectation.'

"The huge size also alludes 'to the global impact of this election,' the dossier adds.

"Rodriguez-Gerada, 42, is a Cuban-born American who grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey, near New York, and now lives in Barcelona."

The project is known as EXPECTATION and the artist is seeking donations from the public to fund it.

I'll let you all know if I come across Senator Obama on the beach!

Chao amig@s,

Carloz

P.S. I use another "nom de plume" on Newsvine, not Carloz. If you happen to look at Newsvine and see some of the "authors," can you guess which one I am?

Arty in the street!

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Barcelona is a city with a wealth of public art, especially sculpture. Two of my favorites crown each end of Rambla Cataluña: Josep Granyer's Thinking Bull and Coquettish Giraffe.

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Until June 15th these anthropomorphic forms are joined by 17 fantastic female figures created by the Spanish sculptor and painter Manolo Valdés for the outdoor exhibition "Manolo Valdés in Barcelona: Monumental sculptures." Yesterday a friend and I had the pleasure of strolling among these bronze beauties before and after a quiet lunch at one of the Rambla's many sidewalk cafés. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
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No matter which end of the exhibition a visitor starts from, you are greeted by enormous heads of women: 'Lilie', a large head of a woman with a hat, looks out over Gran Via,one of Barcelona's busiest boulevards; and a few blocks away, at Consell de Cent Street, 'Irene I' and 'Irene II', their heads adorned by twisting metallic abstractions, welcome passersby. Valdés produced these three sculptures, along with a fourth one called 'Odalisca', especially for this exhibition. Other pieces on display include 'La Dama', 'Queen Mariana', 'Colossus' and 'Las Meninas'.

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The series of sculptures called 'Las Meninas' (Spanish for Ladies in Waiting) were particular favorites of both my friend and myself. The five figures, named after and inspired by Velázquez' 1656 painting of a little Spanish princess and her attendants, are apparently among the most famous of Valdés' works. These particular statues range from life sized to larger than life, whereas all of the other works on display are quite huge.

Interestingly Barcelona's Picasso Museum currently has an exhibition of art works inspired by the same Velázquez classic. Called Forgetting Velázquez, it is a series of fifty-eight oil paintings by the artist that, according to the museum's website, explores, “Picasso's links with the tradition of Spanish painting, and with Velázquez in particular, while proposing new readings of the series Las Meninas, thanks in part to the numerous subsequent interpretations and contributions made by various contemporary artists.” Sounds like another good Sunday destination – indeed, any day, if you're a visitor instead of a weekday working resident like me.
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By the way, the Valdés Rambla Catalunya exhibition is part of the Arte en la Calle (Art in the Street) program funded by the non-profit arm of Spain's largest savings bank, La Caixa. Last year's Rambla Cataluña exhibition was an equally impressive show of gigantic works by Poland's Igor Mitoraj.

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Chao amig@s,
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Carloz

Now, where did we put that sculpture? You know, the 34 ton one. Oh, nevermind, let's just get a new one!

Sometime in October of this year, Richard Serra's "Equal Parallel / Guernica Bengasi" will be back on display in Madrid's Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, according to new director, Manuel Borja-Villel. Except this time it will be an exact duplicate created by the artist for the museum, which somehow "misplaced" the original! This story goes back some years:
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The Reina Sofia commissioned the original sculpture in 1986 and it was delivered to the museum the next year. In 1990 it was stored in the warehouse of a company that specialized in storing large pieces of art. Tomás Llorens was the museum director at that time.

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In 2005 the next museum director, Ana Martinez de Aguilar, decided to retrieve the work, so that it could be put on display again. The only problem was that the storage company had gone bankrupt in 1998, and no one could account for the 34,473 kilo sculpture. According to a recent story in El País, the last written record of its still being in storage dates to 1992.

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Since the loss was discovered, police have searched for the the four 1.5 meter wide slabs of metal that make up the sculpture, but three years later the case remains unsolved. Some individuals have suggested that the work may have been sold as scrap or melted down by someone who did not recognize it as a work of art. (Having seen some of Richard Serra's work, I can understand how this would be possible.)
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Before resigning from the Reina Sofia last year, Ms. Martínez de Aguilar was able to get the sculptor to agree to create a copy for the museum at cost -- $99,000. (The museum paid about $220,000 for the original.) The agreement between the artist and museum stipulates that should the original be found, they will mutually decide which pieces will be destroyed, the originals or the duplicates, so that there will be only one work in existence.
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Oh, and Serra also made the museum promise that it wouldn't misplace this one.
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Hasta siempre amig@s,
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Carloz

Happy Birthday Bicing!

Bicing, Barcelona's public bicycle sharing system, marked its one year anniversary with a party on the seaside this weekend. About 2,000 persons gathered to hear speeches, watch marching bands, and eat a giant birthday cake.

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From the perspective of this user Bicing is a success and I think most Barcelonans would concur. Using this form of public transportation has saved me time and money, as well as provided me with an opportunity to get some extra exercise -- all without contributing to air pollution, noise and traffic congestion.

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Here are some statistics provided by Bicing that reflect the program's popularity: today Bicing has more than 130,000 users from 16 years of age to 83. The majority are between the ages of 26 and 35. The 4, 300 bicycles are used an average of 30,000 times a day. Each bike is used an average of 8 times a day. The average trip lasts 17 minutes and covers 3 kilometers. There are currently 286 stations that cover every district within the city limits. About 120 workers travel around the city in special Bicing vans to make repairs, switch out damaged bicycles and provide station maintenance. Every day about 300 new people join the system by paying the 24 euro annual membership fee.

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Future plans include expanding to 400 stations and 6,000 bicycles by this summer. Neighboring cities, such as Badalona and L'Hopsitalet, are considering joining the network so that Bicing can cover the whole Barcelona metropolitan area. There is talk about increasing the program's operating hours. (Currently the service is available from 5am to midnight on Sunday through Thursdays and 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.) Plans to create a weekly pass for tourists have been put on hold, but stay tuned, because as soon as it is inaugurated, I will post a notice.

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However, the system is not perfect and not all users are happy. One anonymous commentator on the ADN.es website wrote:

"It's a shame that you do not mention the very bad management of this service: thefts of bells and damage to gears, insufficient availability of bicycles at stations, failures in the computer system that prevent you from taking a bicycle even though some are available, fines and unjust sanctions due to mistakes by those in positions of responsibility..."

(Click here for the original Spanish version of the article the writer was commenting on. Scroll down the page to view his comments.)

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This writer is referring to the following situations:

• some of the bikes are vandalized, forcing users to ride without bells or with non-functioning gears;


• at times there are no bikes available at a station and it is necessary to wait until someone returns one -- indeed sometimes there are lines of people waiting for a bike;


• the computerized station racks sometimes breakdown and either will not allow people to take bikes or will not allow bikes to be returned;


• and some members claim that they have been fined 250 euros for losing bikes that in fact they had returned.

The latter could be because of a problem with the computerized rack, but it could also be because the user did not check to make sure that the bicycle was locked into the rack properly. I have actually seen kids at the Bicing bike racks trying all the parked bikes to see if there are any bikes that they could take be cause they were not locked properly.

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Of course, the burden of proof is on the member. For that reason, I usually not only check to see that the rack has properly locked the bicycle by trying to remove the bicycle from the stand, but I also immediately try to check out another bike because if the system has recorded the bike as returned, the computer system should give me a message that I need to wait 10 minutes before borrowing another bicycle.

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Other things I hear people complaining about are the limited number of bike lanes in Barcelona, the lack of respect pedestrians and other vehicles have for bike lanes, and the fact that police seem to fine bicyclers for violations much more than they do pedestrians and vehicle drivers. (I've never heard of a pedestrian getting fined for walking in a bike lane, although it is against the law.)

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So, yes, there are problems but all in all, I have to say I am not only satisfied, I am grateful. Bicing is a great way to get around!

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¡Felice cumpleaños, Bicing!

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Carloz

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P.S. Bicing has an old English version of it's website that is not updated anymore. Click here to view it.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

If you haven't been yet, go! If you have, then you know why I say this.
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The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao provided me with one of the best museum experiences I have ever had -- and art museums are not my favorite types of museums. I usually prefer history museums. However, this art museum is fascinating on so many different levels, that I think it would appeal to almost everyone. Words like light, joy, curiosity, wonder, fun, dynamic, fresh, imagination, inspiration, relaxation, meditation and activity come to mind when remembering the full day I spent there. Indeed, I arrived just after the 10am opening and stayed until it closed at 8pm.
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Of course, the museum building and the site itself are a true wonder of a work of art. It is well worth taking the time to use the audio guide provided for a tour of the grounds and interior of the "titanium icon," which both echos and compliments the Guggenheim Museum building in New York City. Nestled between Bilbao's Nervión River and its Moyúa neighborhood, the limestone, glass and titanium structure billows out like a series of giant sails caught in the wind.
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On the riverside is a curving walkway that winds around fountains and works of art, such as Louise Bourgeois' Maman (French for "Mama"), a giant spider cast from of bronze, stainless steel and marble. Just past Maman, the building stretches beneath the modern Puente de la Salve bridge that spans the river. Then the museum shoots up a limestone tower-like facade on the opposite side of the bridge. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bilbao Guggenheim, a Red Arch designed by Daniel Buren was added to the bridge in 2007. It is well worth the walk up the stairs set into the tower to see the views of the museum, the bridge, the river and the city.

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On the side of the building facing Iparraguire Street, visitors are welcomed to the museum's entry plaza by another artistic beast: Jeff Koons' 40 meter tall Puppy, a giant flower sculpture constructed of a steel frame covered by 6500 kilos of earth and 40,000 plants. (On a stroll around the museum area a few nights later, I saw a frisky little cat playing with some of the flowers at Puppy's base.)
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Inside the building there is a bright reception area with friendly people prepared to greet visitors in English, Spanish or Basque -- and probably a few other languages, as well. After paying the 10.50 euro entrance fee, a hand-held audio guide device is provided, with a choice of several languages.
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The next room is the atrium, which is warm and welcoming, despite it's size. Measuring 650 square meters, it rises 50 meters to the skylight above, and has a glass curtain looking out towards the river on one side. On the other sides it is encased in limestone and includes a couple of glass elevators and an open air stairwell. (For those who don't like heights, there are also an enclosed stairwell and an enclosed elevator.)
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On the day I visited, we were greeted by Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa's large cream colored fabric panel dangling down from the floor above, with the following question painted on it in red and black letters: "¿Habeis cedido a vuestro deseo?" ("Have you all given into your desires?)
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Just outside the atrium is a large terrace, covered by a limestone canopy supported by a central column. The terrace looks over a shallow pond installed next to the river. The terrace holds Jeff Koons' Tulips, while the pond sports two water-art-works: Fire Fountain by Yves Klein and Fog Sculpture # 08025 by Fujiko Nakaya.
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Back inside the building, the exhibition spaces extend out and up from the atrium. There were two exhibitions when I was there:

• Art in the USA: 300 Years of Innovation, which surveyed the history of the country's visual arts through approximately 200 works of art filling the galleries on the first and second floors floors of the building, and


• Chacun à son goût (Each to their own taste), a selection of works by 12 artists who were Basque by either origin or residency. These were displayed in the exhibition spaces on the third floor.

I enjoyed both exhibitions -- almost as much as the building itself! Art in the USA will run until April 27, 2008; Chacun à son goût until February 3, 2008.
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Chao amig@s,
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P.S. The Guggenheim Bilbao web site offers a great virtual tour.