Hyperkulturemia 06. Jul-Aug by Hyperkulturemia Fanzine

JUL-AUG 2016

VIDEOCLIP CONTEMPORÁNEO E ILUSTRACIÓN DIGITAL. LA COMBINACIÓN DE DOS ARTES VISUALES Irene Díaz-Roncero Fraile Historiadora del arte y guía oficial de turismo Soria, España

PATRIMONIO CULTURALE SOTTO ATTACCO. LA RICONQUISTA DI PALMIRA – RIMEDI ED RIPARAZIONI. Agnieszka Faferek Studente MA in Economia e gestione dei beni culturali e dello spettacolo at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano Czarnków, Poland

REBUILDING CULTURE: ATHENS’ TRUE SUCCESS STORIES Anna Georgiadou Cultural Economist Athens, Greece

ALEJANDRO CASTILLO NO PINTA NADA. DOBLE EXPOSICIÓN DEL ARTISTA EN PLENO VERANO DEL ARTE MALAGUEÑO Gabriela Giménez de la Riva Profesional de la cultura/ Crítica de arte Málaga, España

WHILE EATING Marina Loshchakova Television producer Moscow, Russia

THE ‘PAST DISQUIET’ PROJECT: CURATORIAL MASTERCLASS Martyna Majewska Art History graduate (University of St Andrews) Łódź, Poland

DE CÓMO ITÁLICA SE FUE A LA RUINA Ramón Melero Guirado Profesional de museos Cazorla, Jaén, España

GRITO DE MUJER Sergio Carlos Pérez Rodríguez Agitador cultural Montevideo, Uruguay

5 QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT LUC TUYMANS Eline Verstegen MA student, London Metropolitan University; Whitechapel Gallery, London Antwerp, Belgium

Nicola Capuzzo

Photographer Venice, Italy

JUL - AUG 2016 Irene Díaz-Roncero Fraile Historiadora del arte y guía oficial de turismo Soria, España

Marina Loshchakova Television producer Moscow, Russia

Gabriela Giménez de la Riva Profesional de la cultura/ Crítica de arte Málaga, España Ramón Melero Guirado Profesional de museos Cazorla, Jaén, España

Agnieszka Faferek Studente MA in Economia e gestione dei beni culturali e dello spettacolo at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano Czarnków, Poland

Anna Georgiadou Cultural Economist Athens, Greece Sergio Carlos Pérez Rodríguez Agitador cultural Montevideo, Uruguay

Martyna Majewska Art History graduate (University of St Andrews) Łódź, Poland

Eline Verstegen MA student, London Metropolitan University; Whitechapel Gallery, London Antwerp, Belgium

V I D E O C L I P CONTEMPORÁNEO E I L U S T R AC I Ó N DIGITAL La combinación de dos artes visuales

Las primeras películas de los hermanos Lumière se movieron en el espacio del cine mudo, pero lo cierto es que la música, en vivo o grabada, no tardó en incorporarse. Sin embargo, ésta siempre estuvo creada ex profeso para la grabación, quedando supeditada y condicionada por la imagen. Películas de cine “mudo” como la de Chaplin Making a Living (1914) o dibujos animados como los primeros dibujos de Mickey Mouse (1928) o la serie de Betty Boop, en capítulos como Snow White (1933) con la fantástica música de Cab Calloway interpretando St. James Infirmary ya nos dan una idea de la extraordinaria importancia que tenía mantener la calidad y la adecuación de la música a las imágenes, dejando, sin embargo, espacio a los personajes para que éstos interpretaran largos e impresionantes cantos. Sin embargo, en la serie de Fantasía no encontramos letra que pueda inspirar sobre la temática. Para encontrar videoclips con música y letra que inspiren a estos nuevos cortometrajes debemos llegar a la época de los 80, con las primeras emisiones en televisión de videoclips como Video killed the radio star (1981). Y desde que el videoclip finalmente se configuró como tal, estuvo ligado a la ilustración, tanto tradicional como digital en la época más rabiosamente actual.

Obras maestras como The Wall (1979) –más película que videoclip- de Pink Floyd, junto a videoclips como Brothers in arms (1988) de Dire Straits; Save me (1980), It’s a kind of magic (1986) o Innuendo (1991) de Queen o Otherside (1999) de Red Hot Chili Peppers se sitúan en la época de transición donde la creación digital directa no existe, de tal forma que cuidados decorados se entremezclan con ilustraciones montadas a la grabación de vídeo analógica. Resulta curioso comprobar cómo los videoclips ilustrados tienen una carga fantasiosa y onírica mucho más pesada, por lo general, que sus homólogos grabados enteramente en analógico y solo en escenarios y con personajes reales. Es como si la ilustración, por su carácter poético, evocara los sentimientos más viscerales del ser humano, relacionados con el miedo irracional, la imaginación desbocada, el odio, la muerte, la

soledad

desesperación, que son las temáticas principales de las

obras

mencionadas.

Sin embargo, durante la primera década del segundo milenio la ilustración parece quedar relegada a un segundo plano, desplazada por los primeros avances de la era digital y las tres dimensiones, con la presencia predominante de Gorillaz ( 2 0 0 1 ) como la única banda que recurría de forma habitual a la ilustración en sus vídeos musicales, aparte de la espontánea creación Ghost of Stephen Foster (1998) de Squirrel Nut Zippers, homenaje a los citados episodios de Betty Boop. Comienza la resurrección de la ilustración incluida en el videoclip a partir de Drive (2000) de Incubus, ya en formato enteramente digital, y desde aquel momento se ha recuperado la tradición del dibujo como retorno a una forma semiartesanal de crear diseños originales en un mundo visual extremadamente cansado de la omnipresencia de unas tres dimensiones que ya no impresionan a ningún espectador.

Stromae, en Carmen (2013) se vale de los mismos contra los que nos advierte. China Town (2014) lección excepcional al espectador sobre la analógicas de la ilustración con el el arte de la música, el tono melancólico

medios digitales de Caparezza da una

increíble integración de las artes tratamiento de postproducción digital y

mientras Aftermath (2015) de Muse recupera y evocador de desesperación de los vídeos de los 90.

Irene Díaz-Roncero Fraile Historiadora del arte y guía oficial de turismo Soria, España irenedrf@gmail.com

Patrimonio culturale

sotto attacco La riconquista di Palmira rimedi e riparazioni

Qualche mese fa la notizia della riconquista di Palmira da parte dell’esercito siriano ha fatto il giro del mondo. Oggi siamo

molto più tranquilli, perché come mostrano le fotografie e i field report, il sito archeologico della citta di Palmira e in “buone condizioni”, sebbene ciò non significhi che il sito non abbia subito dei gravi danni. Le fotografie mostrano soprattutto fori di proiettili nei muri e statue sfigurate e spezzate, che pero probabilmente potranno essere restaurate con successo e riportate al loro stato originario; inoltre sembra che il Colonnato e il Teatro siano più o meno integri.

Purtroppo non possiamo dire la stessa cosa dell’edificio religioso, il Tempio di Baal-Shamin, di cui rimane solo l’ingresso, o dell’ Arco di Trionfo, di cui non rimane quasi niente e risulta essere polverizzato. La Direzione Generale per le Antichità e i Musei del Ministero della Cultura siriano ha confermato che non appena la zona sarà bonificata dalle mine che potenzialmente sono state lasciate attorno al sito, gli esperti visiteranno il sito archeologico di Palmira per valutare l’ammontare complessivo dei danni. L’ente siriano a tutela del patrimonio archeologico ha inoltre espresso la volontà di

collaborare con partner locali ed internazionali come Unesco (Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Educazione, la Scienza e la Cultura) e ICOMOS (il Consiglio Internazionale dei Monumenti e dei Siti) per restaurare la città storica nel minor tempo possibile. Irina Bokova, il Direttore Generale dell’Unesco ha detto: “Mi rallegro per la liberazione del sito archeologico di Palmira, città martire che porta al contempo la memoria del popolo siriano e i valori della diversità

culturale, di tolleranza e di apertura che hanno fatto di questa regione la culla della civiltà”. Ha inoltre dichiarato di essere pronta a inviare in Siria una task force di emergenza, con l’obiettivo di valutare il danno ed ha ricordato che “la distruzione dei templi di Baal Shamin e di Bel, delle torri funerarie e dell’arco di trionfo sono perdite immense per il popolo siriano e per il mondo.

L’Unesco, si tiene pronto a recarsi rapidamente sul posto al fianco dei responsabili delle antichità siriane, non appena le condizioni di sicurezza lo permetteranno, per una missione di valutazione dei danni e di protezione del patrimonio inestimabile della città. La distruzione deliberata del patrimonio è un crimine di guerra e l’Unesco farà il necessario per documentare questi danni perché i crimini non restino impuniti”. Anche il Presidente Russo Vladimir Putin ha offerto l’aiuto degli esperti provenienti dal Museo dell’Hermitage. Il celebre museo possiede infatti una delle collezioni più importanti al mondo dedicate proprio a Palmira. La collezione è composta da molti rilievi funerari, vari acqueforti, frammenti di sculture, piccoli oggetti come monete nonché la preziosa lastra in marmo con scritte in aramaico e in greco antico conosciuta come il

Tariffario di Palmira. Mikhail Piotrovsky, direttore del museo di San Pietroburgo, ha confermato che non vede l’ora in cui verrà completata la restaurazione di Palmira ed inoltre ha accennato al fatto che “Questi preziosi reperti di Palmira oggi non esisterebbero se all'epoca non fossero stati trasferiti all’Hermitage". Il direttore, al fine di sensibilizzare la comunità internazionale sull’argomento, sta organizzando diverse mostre itineranti con il fine di evidenziare questo patrimonio culturale la cui esistenza risulta essere in serio pericolo, prestando attenzione non soltanto ai siti archeologici siriani distrutti dai bombardamenti e dai saccheggi, ma anche ad altri siti storici situati in Afghanistan, I r a q , Ye m e n e M a l i . L e iniziative per non far dimenticare e per onorare Palmira si moltiplicano ogni giorno. Avete sentito parlare del progetto #NEWPALMYRA? Tale iniziativa è un “open-

source p ro j e c t ” , c h e consente libero accesso al pubblico il quale, mandando fotografie, partecipa allo sviluppo di un archivio che contribuirà alla ricostruzione digitale di Palmira. Lo scopo del progetto quindi altro non è che la riproduzione digitale in 3D di ogni struttura di Palmira e la creazione della passeggiata virtuale attraverso il sito archeologico. Inoltre al fine di sensibilizzare la comunità internazionale, lo scorso aprile potevamo ammirare a Trafalgar Square a Londra una ricostruzione dell'Arco di Palmira, il quale è stato fedelmente ricostruito grazie all’opera delle due aziende toscane TorArt ed D-Shape. Tale iniziativa è un progetto di grandi dimensioni, con l’arco alto 15 metri e un peso di circa 11 tonnellate.

L a quasi totalità del materiale utilizzato proveniva da Carrara e dalle Alpi e la realizzazione è avvenuta grazie alla tecnica di stampa in 3D, utilizzata da DShape per legare sabbia e roccia, stampando blocchi di marmo e pietra arenaria. Questa non risulta essere l’unica recente grande iniziativa italiana indirizzata verso la protezione e la conservazione del patrimonio culturale. A tal proposito infatti non possiamo non ricordare la recente costituzione della nuova task force italiana a tutela del patrimonio artistico / archeologico i Caschi Blu della Cultura. Tale unità è composta

d a un nucleo di carabinieri del comando a tutela del patrimonio culturale, vari studiosi, restauratori, archeologi, architetti e storici dell’arte, i quali hanno l’obiettivo di intervenire nelle zone di crisi. Tale iniziativa è collegata alla nascita della campagna lanciata dall’Unesco #Unite4Heritage in difesa del patrimonio artistico, del multiculturalismo e della diversità nel mondo. Recentemente il Ministro Italiano dei Beni Culturali, Dario Franceschini, ha confermato che i Caschi Blu

della Cultura sono pronti ad iniziare l’intervento a Palmira per stimare i danni, fornire supervisione tecnica e pianificare operazioni di salvaguardia. Inoltre, il Ministro ha ricordato che “è u n a re s p o n s a b i l i t à d e l l a comunità internazionale quella di intervenire nei luoghi e nei siti culturali minacciati o d i s t r u t t i d a l t e r ro r i s m o internazionale”.

Infine v o r r e i soffermarmi sulle parole del Presidente Siriano Bashar al-Assad: “Palmyra was demolished more than once through the centuries… we will restore it anew so it will be a treasure of cultural heritage for the world”. E sono proprio queste le parole che devono farci riflettere. Com’è possibile assistere

ancora oggi ad eventi come questi? Perché non siamo riusciti a difendere questo patrimonio e a salvaguardare una città di cui si hanno notizie fin dal lontano 32 d . C . ? Av r e m m o p o t u t o impedire questo dramma culturale? Fino ad oggi, siamo molto bravi nel restaurare i patrimoni culturali ogni qual volta essi subivano gravi danni. Infatti grazie alle nuove tecnologie, che garantiscono interventi sempre più ad alta precisione e contraddistinti da un basso livello di invasività, e ad internet, tramite cui è possibile raggiungere e

sensibilizzare un audience sempre più elevato, è stato possibile far rinascere monumenti e città dalle proprie ceneri. Purtroppo dobbiamo invece fare ancora molto sul piano dei concetti di salvaguardia e di rispetto del patrimonio culturale, così come descritti nella “Hague Convention” (la Convenzione per la protezione dei beni culturali in caso di conflitto armato - Primo protocollo 1954; Secondo protocollo 1999), secondo la quale bisogna agire soprattutto già in tempo di pace, durante il quale ci si dovrebbe preparare ad applicare tutte le misure che possano assicurare protezione contro pericoli, danni e distruzioni, in particolar modo durante le guerra e nei periodi di occupazione.

Agnieszka Faferek Studentessa MA in Economia e gestione dei beni culturali e dello spettacolo presso Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano Czarnków, Poland agnieszka.faferek@outlook.com

Esistono ovviamente tanti trattati, accordi e patti internazionali sulla protezione del patrimonio culturale, ma il problema cruciale è che tanti di essi non sono stati mai ratificati, e quindi non riescono a portare a nessun risultato. Ultimamente Ed Vaizey, il Ministro della Cultura del Regno Unito, ha pubblicato il “White Paper” in cui sta finalmente considerando la ratificazione della “Hague Convention” del 1954, nonché la convenzione dell’Unesco sulla Protezione del Patrimonio Culturale Sottomarino. È importante sensibilizzare più persone possibili su come sia vitale l’attività di preservazione del patrimonio culturale in modo da difendere

le differenti culture, eredità che ci arriva dal passato e debito nei confronti dei nostri figli, e su come tale attività dovrebbe ricevere una protezione a livello sovranazionale. Per poter però mettere in atto tali meccanismi e renderli realmente operativi gli accordi devono essere non soltanto firmati dai differenti Paesi, a dimostrazione dei buoni intenti, ma bensì anche ratificati ed implementati. Solo con una reale collaborazione tra le differenti nazioni ed una

rete di accordi e strutture sovra-nazionali di coordinamento potrà realmente cambiare qualcosa.

Rebuilding

Culture Athensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; true success stories Despite the Greek deep economic crisis during the last seven years, which resulted in severe cuttings in public funding as well as in private donations, the Athenians witness an impressive cultural recreational booming in their city. Three major cultural projects are near completion in 2016. By their completion, four Greek emblematic cultural organizations will obtain a new or expanded and radically renovated roof of much greater capacity, equipped with up to date technological means. Thousands of square meters of new space will become available to the audience / visitors of the cultural venues. The new exhibition and studying spaces and the new concert halls will allow the organizations to offer their audience incomparable experiences. At the same time restaurants and coffee bars with a majestic view, and museum shops, will give the visitors the opportunity to relax and the cultural organizations to increase their earned income. Their inauguration, hopefully, will take place during the current year despite the difficulties the respective organizations are facing nowadays. A major driving force behind this creative process is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) which has undertaken either the full or the partial financing of the said projects. The project, fully financed by the SNF, concerns with the construction of the Opera and National Library buildings. Situated in Faliro, the buildings are surrounded by an area which will be rehabilitated to give a seaside park that will welcome the visitors. The partially financed by the SNF projects concern with the new roof of the Museum of Contemporary Art and the renovation and expansion of the building of the National Gallery. We present you: The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), The National Art Gallery and The SNFCC (National Opera and National Library).

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (EMST)

The National Museum of Contemporary Art was founded just in 1997, but essentially started its operation in 2000. Since then, the EMST acquired a wealth of contemporary artistic works by purchasing or donating. Among them on can find works by Ilya Kabakov, Stephen Antonakos, Gary Hill, Nan Goldin, Vadim Zakharov, Gillian Wearing, Ann Sofi Siden, Vlassis Caniaris, Nikos Kessanlis, Dimitris Alithinos, Nikos Navridis, Joel Sanders, Allan Sekula, Costas Ts o c l i s , George Hadjimichalis, Chryssa, Yi a n n i s P s y c h o p e d i s , Andreas Angelidakis, and more. A rich collection of video art has also been built. Among the most prominent artists are: Bill Viola, Bruce Nauman, Nam June Paik, Mona Hatoum, and more. From its establishment EMST was housed under temporary roofs. Only last year its permanent premises have been completed. The new EMST is presented next.

The building The FIX brewery building on Syngrou Avenue is one of the most important buildings of modern Greek architecture and a typical industrial building sample. Built by Charles Fix in 1893 and in the mid-1950s, the major reconstruction was entrusted to the architect Takis Zenetos (1926-1977) and his partner Margaritis Apostolidis, with the prospect to be retrofitted to serve the structural and functional needs of the museum. In 2000, the Fix brewery was selected as the permanent home of the newly National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), which was until then housed inside the Athens Conservatory. Despite the partial demolition of the building’s section, it still “featured” significant spaces of a total area of 20.000 square meters and a total volume of 90,000 cubic meters, which allowed the concentration of the main functions of the museum, such as permanent and temporary exhibitions, administration, archives, library, auditorium, workshops, shop, cafe and restaurant etc.

The location was thought as a huge advantage, as it is a short distance from the historic and commercial center of Athens. In particular, the proximity to the site and the New Acropolis Museum, favors attracting a large number of Greek and foreign visitors of the capital, and inspire mood for a charming stroll, during which classical antiquity will intersect with contemporary art. The building has a beneficial exhibition area of 8.500 square meters and the permanent collection (a total of about 700 projects) and periodic reports will be presented there. Moreover, the impressive loft will host artworks that will be created particularly for this area: a different artist, every year. Will the FIX building manage to function as â&#x20AC;&#x153;reactorâ&#x20AC;? to the senses? The journalist Nick Vatopoulos refers to it as a building that Athens needs to have, a building that creates 'visual facts', especially if it is arising -like EMST- to an existing urban environment with the given aesthetic values of Kallirois and Syngrou Avenues. The new EMST must unfold a narrativeâ&#x20AC;?

Events & Exhibitions The building by now has reached its completion, the administration services have moved in, but the museum is not operating yet regularly. However, in this short -hopefullytransitional period, the museum has undertaken some interesting initiatives and has held several cultural events on the occasion of special celebrations, such as the International Museum Day and the European Music Day. An event in collaboration with the Greek National Opera took place in June, an exhibition in collaboration with M HKA, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp in October and educational programs in November.

NATIONAL ART GALLERY-ALEXANDROS SOUTZOS MUSEUM

The building of the National Art Gallery -a typical sample of contemporary international pace- was designed by the professors of Architecture Nicholas Moutsopoulos (withdrew later), Pavlos Milonas and Dimitris Fatouros, inaugurated in 1976. During the years passed the gallery acquired a respectful permanent collection with works of internationally acknowledged artist such as El Greco, Durer, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Jacopo del Sellaio, Jacob Jordaens, Pablo Picasso, Piranesi, Braque, Rembrandt, Pete Paul Rubens, Caravaggio, Eugene Delacroix, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian. But the gallery is mainly proud about its permanent collection of Greek artists who shaped the legacy of modern Greek painting such as Konstantinos Parthenis, Yiannis Psychopedis, Nikos Engonopoulos, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, Panayiotis Tetsis, Nikolaus Gysis, Alekos Fassianos, Konstantinos Maleas, Yannis Moralis, Dimitris Mytaras, Kostas Tsoklis, Nikos Kessanlis, Nikiphoros Lytras, and more. But the years passed, the collections grew and a lot changed regarding to the aesthetics and functionality of exhibitions’ spaces worldwide. Therefore, the National Gallery stumbled in the need of a major renovation that would completely change the image we have today. A new image is sought in co n nection w ith th e aes thetics and functionality of exhibition halls as it is presented in similar buildings around the world.

The renovation The renovation and extension of the old building was decided unanimously as it was lacking a lot of significant spaces, such as adequate exhibition spaces for its permanent collections, an educational programs lab, an auditórium, café, or a library as big as its range. The extension will add 11,040 square meters to the existing building of 9,720 square meters. This will result in more than doubling the functional spaces of the museum in relation to what there was before. The doubling of spaces was achieved with an excavation that created two floors in the front building and by adding a floor to the second larger building, which stands behind.

In front of this second building, a glass wall will be erected enriching the gallery with a modern architectural feature, while behind it there will be ramps allowing the guests to move from floor to floor without using elevator, enjoying the view to the Lecabettus hill. The fence that has risen before the scaffoldings of the new building is a "living" museum: a 70 m. long wall and 2.60 m. high showing the most beautiful and significant works of El Greco, from the 'Espolio’ and the ‘Burial of Count Orgaz’ to the ‘Annunciation’ and the ‘Immaculate Conception’. The construction consists of galvanized sheet, upon which reproductions of Greco's works are pasted in high resolution and printed on durable material, so that they last as long as possible. Ms Lambraki-Plaka, Director of the National Art Gallery– Alexandros Soutzos Museum says, that as the existing building largely built during the dictatorship -founded, though, earlier in 1964, and launched later in 1976- it was much disintegrated. In this context, the building needed serious aid, which eventually came. “Until the construction process is complete, 120 artworks of the National Gallery will be presented in the second building of the Sculpture Gallery, where the library will operate in full action for scholars.

Furthermore, trips and presentations will be held throughout Greece, as well as abroad, while digitized works will be projected on screens in various spaces and museums, so that the Gallery is present as long as it getting built. (…) The permanent exhibition will look a lot like the previous, except that we will have some additional sections and much more present drawings and engravings in special areas with low light. At the same time, the route will be completed with the technology that will give the museum a strong presence, providing alternative sources of presentation." While she adds that “Every year, my goal is to make a tribute to some of the major museums abroad, such as Reina Sofia of Spain, the Orsay or the Louvre in Paris, and more, so that Athens will reflect some of the “prestige” that these great institutions possess.”

STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION CULTURAL CENTER (SNFCC)

The Opera and Library project

SNFCC Visitors Center

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Culture Center (SNFCC) is the largest cultural project ever undertaken in Greece. To everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surprise it progresses incredibly fast, financed with private capital and will be given over, as a donation, to the State, right after its completion.

It is the first building of the complex designed by Renzo Piano that opened to the public and gives a first taste of the aesthetics and design that characterizes the rest of the buildings of the SNFCC. It constitutes an operational continuity of the initial and temporary Visitors Centre that was designed by the Architecture students, Spyros Giotakis and AgisPanagiotis Mourelatos, who were selected by Renzo Piano, through nationwide student contest. The temporary Visitors Centre operated from October 2013 until January 2016 and hosted more than 300 events and over 58,000 visitors 9,000 students among theminforming them about the progress of the project and offering a wide variety of cultural and educational activities. The new Visitors Center, which just opened its doors, also gives people the opportunity to be informed about the technical details of the construction project and the mission of the SNFCC. Throughout exhibitions and activities for the public, the Visitors Center offers a glimpse of the future operation of the SNFCC.

Nearly a thousand employees work every day to make the vision of the Italian architect, Renzo Piano, a reality: the regeneration of the Faliron Delta and the construction of the National Library and the New National Opera. During the project there was a total of 6,000 thousand people employed. An impressive piece of information is that the study period lasted more than the construction one: 4 and 3.5 years respectively. In the construction site the strictest safety standards are observed, as it is, for example, forbidden to walk around the construction site without special boots. They were set to protect, inter alias, the thousands of visitors who were being guided during the construction period to experience the unique features of the site. Thus, while someone walks on an artificial hill, they can admire the new National Opera, while they are surrounded by a true ecological miracle. Moving on one cannot be less impressed by the fact that, despite he/she is located inside a construction site, there is very low noise around. The Acropolis and the Faliro area are right there in front of your eyes. And at that very moment, you realize the greatness of this project and its location.

he National Library The present National Library is a monumental building, part of the famous architectural trilogy in the Athens center (Library, U n i v e r s i t y, A t h e n i a n Academy). It was designed by the architect Theophilus Hansen and built in 1885. From the beginning, it became an emblematic building of the city. In this library the printed legacy of the Greek Nation has been stored. However, in the last decades, it became apparent that the available spaces were not enough to store the thousands of volumes pouring into it each year. At the same time the study and research rooms proved to be inadequate to meet the needs of a modern library of our times. The SNF decided to offer a radical solution to the problem by building a new library. The transfer of the National Library from its monumental building in the Athens center to the modern up-to-date building in the Faliro area will mark its rebirth, its re-establishment. It is a new chapter that will lead this institution to open for the first time to the general public, aiming to bring thousands of readers, researchers and students in its spaces. ItÂ´s also the first time that many of its treasures will be revealed, while a program of documentation, digitization and open access to great works have been launched.

The famous tower of books which reaches 20 meters and that will welcome the visitors has been completed, and soon the reading rooms, the special sections for children, adolescents, adults and research experts will be ready. More than 1 million books will be transferred to Faliro, while up until today 68,000 volumes have been cleaned up and restored. There will be digitization departments, booksÂ´ maintenance workshops, computer and projection rooms, audiovisual studios and a special area for the rare manuscripts. For the first time in its history, the National Library will be lending, and for that a new law plan that would provide this opportunity is prepared. In addition, for the first time in 20 years, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation will purchase books to meet its new targets.

The National Opera The Greek National Opera was established in 1939 as part of the Royal (now, National) Theater and as an autonomous cultural organization in 1944. Since then, it staged most of the classical opera repertoire, as well as most of the operas and operettas composed by Greeks. The ballet section also staged classical ballet performances. In parallel, it offers educational programs in the fields of opera and ballet. From the beginning, it was housed in theaters, designed to stage theatrical plays, and not operas and ballets. Therefore, the restrictions in space and means were apparent in its operations. The need for a new opera building has been established very soon and it became an inter-temporal both dream and challenge for the opera fans. This dream now becomes reality thanks to the visionary donation of the SNF.

The new Opera of Athens of 28,000 square meters, is a breath from its completion. In the main hall of 1,400 seats, the only thing thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s missing is the placement of the seats in the square, while the dome and the gallery are both ready. With this new hall, the Greek National Opera will be able to bring any production from abroad, even if it has the biggest requirements. Next to it, there is the Alternative Stage, with a capacity of 400 people, which will transform according to the needs of each show that hosts. In the 4th and 5th floor of the building, there will also be rehearsal spaces, administration offices, the School of Dance of the National Opera, and the restaurant. At the top of the Opera building, there will be the famous Lighthouse, which has a perimetric view of 360 degrees to the Saronic Gulf and around the city. This glass multiplex will attract thousands of visitors.

“METAMORPHOSIS: The SNFCC to the World” at the Stavros Niarchos Park Despite a long list of events that the SNFCC Visitors’ Center holds during the year (concerts, workshops, educational programs, etc), there is also a 4-day summer happening, during which the SNFCC opens its doors to the public. This years’ event called “METAMORPHOSIS: The SNFCC to the World” took place from June 23rd to 26th and embraced performances and other programs by internationally renowned artists from Greece and around the world. The SNFCC area was transformed into a living space of ideas, exploration an interaction through an innovative program of cultural, athletic and educational actions for all age groups. In tandem, visitors had the opportunity for the first time, to enter the new premises of the Greek National Opera and National Library of Greece, as well as to enjoy the Stavros Niarchos Park in its entirety. At this very moment, art becomes salvation, a breath of life and we need it now more than ever. So, let’s hope that the completion of these three projects, all major and necessary, won’t just be another architectural achievement, but will also give Greece and its people a chance to take a step forward and enter a whole new era.

Anna Georgiadou Cultural Economist Athens, Greece akgeorgiadou@gmail.com

ALEJANDRO CASTILLO NO PINTA NADA. DOBLE EXPOSICIÓN DEL A R T I S TA E N P L E N O VERANO DEL ARTE MALAGUEÑO.

En Málaga no se deja de oír hablar de cómo la capital litoral ha afianzado desde hace varios años su posición cultural hacia el exterior y el turismo; no obstante, únicamente dibujada así la situación, resultaría bastante desarraigada de la realidad que tiene lugar en la ciudad. Se convertiría en una burbuja limitada si, a medio plazo, no se viera una sólida retroalimentación con la

creación local, la que verdaderamente mide el latido cultural de una ciudad. En ello, durante los ultimísimos años, Málaga ha consolidado su potencial y lo hace valer a nivel nacional. Con la llegada de este verano, coinciden en el mismo plano de la metáfora este desarrollo de nuestra red artística local con lo que la estación estival tiene de onírico (quizá porque el

pegajoso calor funde y anula los límites temporales entre el día y la noche de junio a septiembre). Málaga está en su verano de las artes, y, en este contexto de animosidad cultural, cuando al comienzo del pasado junio hacía ya semanas que las tardes se habían prolongado y facilitaban la empatía con el arte, Alejandro Castillo (Melilla, 1992) inauguraba dos exposiciones de su obra

última, ambas comisariadas por Carlos Miranda, que fuera su profesor en la Facultad. El jueves 2 de junio lo hizo en la Sala de Exposiciones de la Facultad de Bellas Artes, en El Ejido; al día siguiente, viernes 3, en Galería JM, donde continúa ocupando hasta el 30 de julio el espacio Columna JM (dedicado, con generosa visión por parte de Javier Marín desde el año pasado a

la creación local emergente de la ciudad). Las exposiciones son, respectivamente, My lovely forbidden rooms y (con un nombre mucho más ochentero y festivo, acercado a la naturaleza de sus piezas) Adrenalina bendita con mis pollos. Lo primero que salta a la vista de la obra de Alejandro (y de un mínimo trato con él) es que disfruta creando; parece feliz

alrededor del arte, y sus lienzos son una reducción de este estado de alegría y goce creativo que le impulsan (como cuenta Carlos Miranda) a una producción ininterrumpida e incondicional. En My lovely forbidden rooms, la exhibición que fue clausurada el 1 de julio, se mezclaron collages con una mayor cantidad de pinturas que, manifiestamente,

constituían una silenciosa declaración de intenciones sobre el sello de aquella exposición, que, como se ha dicho en general de la producción que ocupa a Alejandro desde hace tres años, era “netamente pictórica”. Un primer contacto con ella induce a pensar en un arte que ocurre tras la estética del Pop Art filtrada por Tom Wesselmann o David Hockney, el cómic y

las viñetas, el neoexpresionismo, e incluso, yendo más lejos, a posteriori de la función de “relleno” de Paint y, necesariamente, para un niño de los 90, del paroxismo cromático de Art Attack en que sucumbía Jordi Cruz, o de los potentes planos de color que inundaban la psicodélica vida de los Teletubbies. Con una concepción técnica similar a la que debe manejar

el programa de Windows, Alejandro no matiza tonalidades y salta con pértiga por encima de la paleta; se vale directamente del color plano y confiere independencia total a cada elemento que comparece en sus cuadros. En los que colgaron en la sala de Bellas Artes (para cerrar la temporada expositiva del centro hasta el siguiente curso), la materia pictórica se

hacía notar sobresaliendo de la pieza y precipitándose descaradamente a los bordes del bastidor. Pero quizá sea en Galería JM donde su obra adquiera mayor identidad (o, al menos, un matiz diferente) al verse completada por la del espacio que ocupa. Columna JM está exclusivamente dedicada a exponer el arte emergente de l a c i u d a d . A d re n a l i n a bendita con mis pollos

funciona bien allí donde se conjugan el ánimo del galerista por mostrar lo que bulle en la creación joven malagueña, con una representación muy expresiva de la misma en la festividad de la obra de Alejandro, que nos permite revisitar una Arcadia mítica y propia pese a la irrevocable posmodernidad de nuestra mirada. Las obras aquí expuestas radicalizan su

lenguaje respecto a las de la sala de Bellas Artes y celebran la materialidad de la pintura. Las piezas de Alejandro Castillo nos obligan a cambiar el lenguaje que utilizamos al hablar de pintura usualmente. Si esto nos ocurre es porque, primero, también transforma los códigos del lenguaje pictórico mismo; como toda cosa original, su pintura vuelve a crear y da categoría

de novedad a lo que ya conocemos desde hace siglos. Lo que transforma todo en torno a su obra es su proceso creativo. Dejamos de hablar (casi) de pinceles, diluyentes, almohadillas, etc., y lo hacemos de jeringas, espátulas, rodillos que aplican fondos monócromos. La relación entre el lienzo y la materia pictórica, el óleo, no es la común. La pintura no sucede

en el lienzo, ni a partir del lienzo, sino que éste permanece mejor como una necesidad técnica. Alejandro los carga descaradamente de pintura y tantea el límite de la gravedad; quiere enseñarnos la exultante calidad de los óleos que maneja. Su pintura adquiere una cualidad espacial per se, pues la propia materia pictórica quiere avanzar a la tercera dimensión. Alejandro

la trabaja sin decantar, directamente como la toma de los tubos que compra; y, en lugar de matizar o diluir los colores, los inyecta, moldea o, en sus propias palabras, los “deposita”. En este verbo se contiene todo su proceso pictórico. Efectivamente, el proceso artístico que sigue respeta una unidad mínima acordada de inalterabilidad de los materiales, pues trata a la

pintura más bien como materia para la modelación. Se guarda de querer dibujar, trazar, o desleír los colores; su tarea es añadir, distribuir, permitir a la pintura conservar su fisicidad y yuxtaponerla a la del lienzo. Probablemente sea en los lienzos de pequeño formato (poco más de 12 x 14) que completan ambas muestras, donde uno se encuentra de frente con la identidad

irreductible de la pintura de Alejandro. En ellos, se diría que acumula pintura con verdadera afición coleccionista. Se asegura de que no podamos eludir la realidad material del óleo. Unta directamente uno de sus pequeños lienzos con pintura blanca y, a continuación, surca en fresco la silueta negra de un perro (expuesto en Galería JM). En otro de los cuadros que aún se

pueden ver en la galería malagueña hasta final de mes, recrea un barco, y las olas que rompen contra el casco no están tampoco pintadas sobre el lienzo (porque nada está pintado finalmente, en la obra de Alejandro), sino que es la propia pintura la que (eliminando estadios en la relación pictórica tradicional entre el referente y su representación), se convierte

ella misma (y no su imagen) en la ola, sirviéndose fundamentalmente de la maleabilidad de su materialidad oleosa. De igual modo, cuando hace un río, la carga de pintura se precipita hacia la esquina inferior derecha por donde el cauce se agranda. O, si lo

que dispone en el lienzo son latas de cerveza Duff, empieza por colocar una masa curvada de pintura blanca y, sobre ella, como si utilizara una tradicional manga pastelera, coloca un cordón de pintura negra que delimita el envase y nos engaña. Decimos, por una

Gabriela Giménez de la Riva Profesional de la cultura/ Crítica de arte Málaga, España ggimenezdelariva@gmail.com

necesidad clasificatoria, que Alejandro Castillo es pintor, pero lo es en otra acepción de la palabra, en una que lo relacione sola y directamente con el material pictórico, pues en realidad él no pinta nada. No es pintura lo que hace, es otra cosa nueva… ¡Es pintura!

While eating

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Food is not just a way to be sated but also a means that appeals to emotions and memoriesâ&#x20AC;?.

Nowadays the traditions of preparing and consuming food are being transformed while at the same time conserving or cancelling their national identity characteristics. Food is not just a way to be sated but also a means that appeals to emotions and memories. The hunger of an artist and the will to feed the afflicted sometimes becomes a kind of inspiration and instrument for creating an artwork. Even if the food doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t become a plastic language, it sets up a context of daily routine. The concept of creation itself could be applied to the process of preparing food where the figure of the Other, somebody who could appreciate the course is as crucial for the cook as the figure of a viewer for the artist.

“I know what I eat I do not know what I do”. Salvador Dalí

In different cultures food consumption is being seen as a process of satiating not just the body but the soul. It is not accepted to eat in a hurry. The practice of sharing a meal and dedication of time to admiring it turns into "food meditation". At the same time contemporary world faces the problems of overconsumption and disrespect for groceries. It brings up a question of future properties of food. Food is a political category. It can be manifested in spreading or prohibiting new types of groceries. The issue of power can be expressed in forming etiquette rules. Thus Norbert Elias writes on the issue of etiquette and on transformation of thresholds of shame "Nothing in table manners is selfevidentâ&#x20AC;Ś The spoon, fork and napkin were not invented one day by a single individual as technical implements with obvious purposes and clear directions for use.

Over centuries, in direct social intercourse and use, their functions became gradually defined, their forms sought and consolidated" (The Civilizing Process). Different artists have referred to food symbolism. Frans Snyders still lifes abound with allegories on the topics of the Four Seasons, the Four Elements and the Five Senses. For Salvador DalĂ erotic implications in cookery were important. Italian Futurists manifested "for the inevitable speedingup of the rhythm of the jaws and for the abolition of knife and fork and of the routine daily insipidities from the pleasures of the palate" (The Manifesto on Futurist Cuisine). The exhibition While eating curated by Marina Loshchakova and Daria Neretina at The Center for Creative Industries Fabrika in Moscow (11.11 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11.12.2015) enclosed installations, paintings, photographs and video by Russian and foreign artists, mostly created for it. The show was devoted to the phenomenon of changing food preferences, analysis of social practices related to Ń onsumption of foods and to the processes of creation and cooking. The issue of food was being seen in artworks in the context of everyday life and festivity, the private and the public, the ephemeral and the eternal, the sacred and the tabooed.

A sound installation by Daria Polyakova featured the concept of communication around the table. In the work of Anton Totibadze food becomes a "plastic" language and everyday life appears as jars, packages and different items of food (Just do not eat it all by yourself, You will soon become alcoholics). Elena Kholkina created still life photographs of the future (Flat taste). Vladimir Abikh in Bread and Butter treated the subject of artist's hunger and the will to prepare and digest

"spiritual nourishment". In the work of Pavel Soloviev we see the research on the subject of national identity and of food as a sacred category (Black). Here food is being seen through art. For Soloviev it is Kazimir Malevich, whereas for Irina Kravchina it is Frans Snyders. Daria Neretina depicted the ways to serve food and the symbolism of food (Sweet-tooth, Bitter). Palladiy Ivanov referred to the phenomenon of mass consumption and media representation of food in the

installation We like to hang out with friends on the weekends eating doughnuts and talking about politics. Simona Da Pozzo is interested in body practices while eating (Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Touch But Nibble. Alfalfa). In the clip videos Maria Sokol shared the recipes of women's happiness, while Masha O b u k h o v a e x a min e d th e character of an artist â&#x20AC;&#x201C; housewife. In her work Ingredients daily ritual of food preparation translated into paintings loses its figurativism.

The concept of creation could be applied to the process of preparing a meal where the figure of the Other is as crucial as the figure of a viewer at the exhibit (photographic documentation of a performance Chain Reaction by Alessandro Quaranta). The show While eating was devoted to the phenomenon of changing food preferences, analysis of social practices related to Ń onsumption of foods and to the processes of creation and cooking. Possibly the famous Russian saying While I am eating, I am deaf and dumb could have various endings.

Marina Loshchakova Television producer Moscow, Russia marina.loshchakova@gmail.com

The ‘Past Disquiet’ Project: Curatorial

1978 to sink into oblivion. In fact, the works that were meant to constitute Palestine’s collection of contemporary art were destroyed in the siege of Beirut in 1982: the building where they were temporarily kept was bombed by the Israeli forces. Nonetheless, Curators Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti have managed to put aside the history of mutual aggression between the two nations, to conceive an unprecedented project presenting the hitherto unknown story of the 1978 show in Beirut. Surprisingly,

Masterclass

In light of the recent terrorist attack perpetrated by Palestinian gunmen at a r e s t a u r a n t i n Te l Av i v, discussing an exhibition of artworks donated to Palestine, prepared by the Palestine Liberation Organisation almost thirty years ago, may seem untimely and infelicitous. However, it is precisely the ongoing hostility and violence between Palestine and Israel that caused the International Art Exhibition for Palestine of

the scope of the resulting exhibition, ‘Past Disquiet. Narratives and Ghosts from the International Art Exhibition for Palestine, 1978,’ turned out to extend far beyond Palestine, as their painstaking research revealed that many artists who participated in the Beirut exhibition had been engaged in other anti-imperialist initiatives and political collectives all over the world. The International Art Exhibition for Palestine included works donated by 200 artists from nearly 30 countries and included several big names: Joan Miró, Roberto Matta, and Antoni Tàpies, to name a few.

It was intended to be an itinerant exhibition, a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;museum in exile,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; until it could safely return to a free Palestine. The scale of the show was unheard of, at least for the Arab world. Even nowadays, while huge money is being invested in contemporary art in the Middle East, a similar undertaking would seem implausible. Yet despite the scale of the project and its apparent historical significance, when Khouri and Salti began their research,

information on the 1978 show was scarce. To be precise, the only tangible resource they had at their disposal was the exhibition catalogue. It helped them establish the list of people they could contact to find out more. Whilst gathering recollections across the globe and exploring personal stories of artists involved in the original exhibition, the curators discovered that many of them had other political affiliations besides their engagement in the liberation of Palestine.

They unearthed links to The International Resistance Museum for Salvador Allende and the Artists of the World Against Apartheid, to artist collectives and unions in Japan, France, Poland, and many other countries. Consequently, Khouri and Saltiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project ceased to be concerned with Palestine only and came to pertain to the global network of postcolonial ventures and the international resistance movement of the 1970s.

Having no original works to put on display, the curatorial duo decided to present their findings in an exhibition comprised of documents, photographs, interviews; in short, all of the materials they examined in order to piece together the story of the 1978 show. The result of this approach is that the visitors are not only allowed to find their way through that story by themselves but they are also invited to trace the research process that led to the present exhibition. ‘Past Disquiet’ has had two successful iterations: one at the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) in 2015, the other at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin earlier this year. On 2 June another version of the show was presented, this time in Budapest, at an exhibition venue run by the network of contemporary art initiatives known as transit.hu. The newest iteration was given a different title: ‘Cartography of Artist Solidarity – Narratives and Ghosts from the International Art Exhibition for Palestine, 1978.’ Though still curated by Khouri and Salti, this exhibition differs from the ‘Past Disquiet.’ It highlights the participation of the only Hungarian artist, Gyula Hincz, in the 1978 show and even introduces a contemporary work which reflects on the events in Beirut and was created specifically for the current exhibition by Andreas F o g a r a s i . ‘Cartography of Artist Solidarity’ promises an exciting future for Khouri and Salti’s project: owing to the intricate web of transnational links the curators have discovered, it can travel almost anywhere, each time taking a slightly different shape.

One of the countries that might soon see its own rendering of the project is Poland. Curators at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw are currently striving to combine the history of the exhibition in Beirut with accounts of other initiatives connected with Palestine, in which Polish involvement can be traced. While as many as seventeen Poles donated their works to the PLO in 1978, there exists a much larger collection of posters created by Polish artists in support of the Palestinian state. In fact, the poster that won the UNESCO contest ‘Palestine – a Homeland Denied’ in 1979 was the Polish poster designer Jacek R. Kowalski, who created a

brilliantly simple but compelling work usually titled Return to Sender. Several years later, Abdallah Hijazi, who then served as the PLO representative in Poland, organised another poster competition, this time intended specifically for Polish artists. Although we know that PLO’s headquarters in Ramallah own a collection of Polish posters demonstrating support for the Palestinian cause, the names of their creators have yet to be established. This story is full of enigmas and the Polish curators are facing an arduous task. One great resource that might come to their assistance is the Palestine Poster Project

Archives, created by Daniel Walsh and numbering around 5,000 posters related to the history of Palestine. Like the ‘Past Disquiet’ project, the archives are still evolving. Certainly, Walsh’s collection will not sort out all of the problems the curators are facing. The fate of subversive posters is elusive and highly controversial. One blatant example is the disquiet surrounding the exhibition of revolutionary posters held at the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1983, which eventually led to the early closing of the show. Rather unsurprisingly, the exhibition included Kowalski’s Return to Sender.

It is fair to say that any curator willing to revisit the story of the International Art Exhibition for Palestine will inevitably find him or herself in dire straits. Even though Khouri and Salti have prepared ground for future explorations, these will be rife with secrets and mysteries. Of all the exhibitions exposing the link between art and politics, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Past Disquietâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; may be, for many, the most uneasy. It is important, however, that we continue to broaden our knowledge about 1978 exhibition and elaborate the project initiated by Khouri and Salti. Not only does it unveil previously unknown cartographies of artistic engagement in anti-imperialism, it also draws attention to one of the most quintessentially postcolonial exhibitions ever conceived. Furthermore, it is an extremely ambitious and challenging curatorial endeavour, with a great potential to grow. Now that the two bold curators have opened our eyes to this incredible story, we have become responsible for passing it on to others and for completing it, however difficult this mission may be.

Martyna Majewska Art History graduate (University of St Andrews) Łódź, Poland

DE CÓMO ITÁLICA SE FUE A LA RUINA

A diferencia de la mayoría de las ciudades romanas, Itálica, siempre estuvo a la vista. Sus vestigios, testimonio de los tiempos, fueron el laboratorio de ensayo de poetas, científicos y viajeros. Esta condición es la que hace posible conocer la percepción de sus ruinas en cada período histórico: desde su progresivo abandono antes de época musulmana, cuando era conocida como Talika o Talkah y citada por alUdri o al-

Himyari; el expolio en la Baja Edad Media tras la fundación del Monasterio de San Isidoro del Campo; medalla de honor del humanismo sevillano del siglo XVI; mina de coleccionistas y anticuarios durante los siglos XVII y XVIII o cuna de viajeros durante el siglo XIX. En todo momento, este dilatado intervalo estuvo impregnado de un halo poético. Ya fuese bajo la más melancólica nostalgia de tiempos gloriosos, o a través de la perspectiva romántica más bucólica, lo cierto es que Colonia Aelia Avgusta Italica, Talika, Campos de Talca, Sevilla la Vieja o

Itálica, como queramos llamarla, es la referencia perfecta del paso del tiempo en su dimensión más teórica. Desde la descripción desoladora que al-Udrî hizo sobre los campos de Itálica como “una ciudad antigua con soberbias ruinas”, al panorama que nos ofrece Agustín Ceán Bermúdez como “un olivar en el que se tropieza a cada paso con trozos de columnas, de capiteles, de basas, de cornisas y de otros miembros de arquitectura”, pasaron cerca de ocho siglos en los que Itálica presentaba exactamente el mismo estado de ruina, al menos para los ojos del visitante.

Para que “Itálica famosa” llegara a convertirse en el campo de soledad que tanto inspiró a los POETAS de los siglos XVI, XVII y XVIII, debemos remontarnos al siglo III d.C., momento en el que la antigua ciudad experimentó numerosos cambios internos, siempre dentro de los procesos evolutivos o involutivos que se estaban viviendo en otras ciudades importantes de la península ibérica. El ambicioso proyecto urbanístico llevado a cabo en época adrianea, pronto se vio

obsoleto. La ciudad que creció de 14 a 51 hectáreas, tuvo que replegarse sobre sus propios pasos, volviendo a ocupar lo conocido como vetus urbs. Ya sea por la inestabilidad del terreno (propuesta sostenida por el Prof. J. M. Luzón) o por razones políticas (según la Profesora A. Canto), lo cierto es que Itálica comenzó su propio proceso de autodestrucción a través de la readaptación de las domus a nuevos modos de vida; la ocupación de las vías y edificios públicos; entre otros mecanismos involutivos.

Durante los siglos IV y V d.C. la crisis en Itálica y su reflejo urbano se acentuó. Sin embargo, el panorama cambió a finales del siglo VI d.C.. La instauración de una sede episcopal en la antigua ciudad promovió la construcción de edificios eclesiásticos como testimonian los restos materiales. Aun así, su imagen era bien distinta a la ciudad adrianea. La ausencia de fuentes escritas y arqueológicas sobre Itálica para los siglos VIII-X, nos lleva a pensar en su abandono y la consiguiente formación de sus ruinas.

Pero resulta, cuanto menos, extraño, que a pesar de ser, supuestamente, una ciudad “corrompida por los moros”, las fuentes árabes no mencionan a Itálica dentro de las campañas militares de Tariq y Mûsa b. Nusayr del año 713, y en cambio sí que lo hacen de Sevilla y Mérida. Lo que sí conocemos con seguridad, a través del cronista cordobés al-Nazzam, es que en el siglo X, Tâlica, estaba arruinada. Ajena a la contemplación metafísica que incitaban las ruinas de

una gloriosa ciudad romana, Itálica experimentó un dilatado período de expolio, que abarcó desde la fundación del Monasterio de San Isidoro del Campo hasta el siglo XX. Las referencias poéticas se dejaron entrever a través el velo huidizo del expolio, en un proceso de creación (literaria) desde la destrucción. Si para el Profesor José Mª Ferri Coll “el expolio supone la desmitificación del topos clásico”, este fenómeno sí que genera la

necesidad de reconstruir ese ideal a través de un imaginario poético. Es decir, el expolio contextualiza y genera una serie de herramientas que enriquecen el repertorio, en muchos casos en busca de restituir el topos clásico a través de idealizaciones de espacios urbanos, imprimiéndoles manidas escenas de vida, especialmente para el anfiteatro.

La gran cantidad de viajeros ingleses que cruzaron los pirineos en el siglo XIX, buscaban esa imagen de desamparo y expolio, esa imagen desmitificada del topos, aunque fuera necesario forzarla en muchos casos. Acusaciones como: “estos españoles… tan

insensibles ante esta belleza como los moros de hoy día ante las ruinas de Cartago”, refleja el recurrente símil hacia el orientalismo andaluz, sin recordar que apenas 18 años antes, se tiene noticia de rebuscas arqueológicas en Itálica a manos de las tropas aliadas y

francesas. ¿Acaso había algo más suculento para un viajero inglés del XIX, que la escena triste y solitaria de un gitano acechando entre las raídas bóvedas del anfiteatro italicense?¿O un “indígena” vendiendo ases romanos a extranjeros?

Ramón Melero Guirado Profesional de museos Cazorla, Jaén, España

rito

Radiografía María Pizarro

Respire, respire. No respire. No mire con el corazón enfermo. No salga de su casa con la cara desnuda como las esclavas. Su padre, el primogénito de sus hijos le llevarán al monte. Y tirarán la piedra. No respire, no respire. No hable ni respire junto a otro hombre sin su familia. Se abrirá la tierra, la materia inerte le cubrirá hasta el cuello. Su padre junto a sus vecinos le enterrarán en roca. Guárdese de ellos. No respire. No respire, escóndase en el manto. Le llaman la honra a la piedra inerte junto a las cien manos de unos asesinos. La piedra no es grande para quitar

de mujer

al instantela vida. El código no se escribe.

Viene de sus bocas. Generaciones de hombres sopesan la piedra. Es pequeña o es grande para alargar el sufrimiento.

No se mueva, no se mueva, pero respire.

"Nuestra misión principal es dar a conocer talentos poéticos en todas sus modalidades y artistas plásticos en todo el mundo y desarrollar su rol de liderazgo colaborando con la realización y participación de estos en nuestro festival y proyectos conjuntos".

Poesía incluída en la Antología Grito de Mujer, Madrid 2016, Flores del Desierto, Ed.Unaria y en la Antología Digital, Quejío, Córdoba con Grito de Mujer,2016, plataforma Calameo

Por segundo año se ha celebrado en Córdoba (España) el Festival Grito de Mujer; reuniendo a más de ochenta artistas de distintas disciplinas (poesía, poesía visual, música, fotografía, pintura y escultura), conforme al llamamiento que desde República Dominicana lanzó la presidente del MPI, Jael Uribe, en homenaje a Soraya Manutcherehri y a las “flores del desierto”. El día 8 de marzo, se inauguró el Festival con la Exposición de artes plásticas y poesía visual, en un prestigioso

local de ocio denominado Mercado Los Patios de la Marquesa, en pleno casco histórico, dándose cita los artistas participantes: Lola Ortega, Pepe Lara, Marlem Cantón, Paco Martínez, José L. Campal, Ana Ibáñez, María Chacón, Dori Serrano, Gloria Susín, María Pizarro Núñez, Concha Ruiz, Alejandra Salom y Eduardo Giacometti, y celebrándose un breve recital poético (recitando poemas de autores extranjeros) y cerrando con la actuación del cantautor Carlos Puya. Contamos con la presencia de un público

numeroso, que recorrieron la exposición de mano de sus autores, acompañados, así mismo del coordinador de la Exposición Sergio C. Pérez. Entre los asistentes se encontraba el concejal del Ayuntamiento D. Rafael del Castillo que posó con los artistas y organizadores.El día 31 se clausuró el Festival y la Exposición de obras de arte, con la asistencia del Coordinador de Políticas Migratorias de la Junta de Andalucía, Don Manuel Aguilar, y la concejala del Ayuntamiento Doña Alba Doblas.

Se celebró un concierto con los cinco cantautores que amenizaron los recitales: Carlos Puya, Antonio Muñoz, Curro Rumbao, Sara Banda y F.J. Vera. Músicos que han compuesto temas especialmente para el Festival Grito de Mujer. La repercusión del festival ha sido positiva: varios medios se ha hecho eco del mismo. Los coordinadores fueron entrevistados en dos cadenas locales de TV; así mismo, junto a la Concejala de Cultura la Sra. Mar Téllez concedieron una rueda de prensa, días previos a la inauguración. Distintos medios escritos recogen noticias del mismo. Mezquita TV Televisión Entrevista a María Pizarro y Sergio C. Pérez.

Sergio Carlos Pérez Rodríguez Agitador cultural Montevideo, Uruguay sergiope14@hotmail.com

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT

LUC TUYMANS

Considered to be one of the most influential painters working today, earning him spot 67 in Art Review’s 2015 Power 100, his name definitely might ring a bell. However, in order to avoid those awkward moments where big shots’ names are dropped in conversation and you can only pretend to understand the intellectual remarks made by nodding your head affirmatively, these are your cheat sheets to Luc Tuymans.

1) Who is Luc Tuymans? The artist was born in 1958 in Mortsel, a city close to Antwerp. As stereotypical as it might sound, already from an early age Tuymans found himself constantly immersed in drawing. Subsequently, he studied fine art and later also art history in Brussels and Antwerp, where he further developed his nearly obsessive admiration for Early Netherlandish painter Jan Van Eyck. Tuymansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first exhibition opened in 1985: it was on for one day in an abandoned spa swimming pool at the Belgian seaside and no one came. Despite this not so promising start, he managed to turn things around, participating in Documenta IX and XI in Kassel, representing Belgium at the Venice Biennial, and showing work in major institutions and collections around the world such as Tate, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, and Centre Pompidou. Tuymans is currently represented by Zeno X Gallery (Antwerp) and David Zwirner (New York). He also holds honorary doctorates from the University of Antwerp and the Royal College of Art in London, and was appointed Commander in the Order of Leopold by the Belgian Government. He is married to Venezuelan artist Carla Arocha.

2) What kind of art does he do? Although he is a fan of abstract painting, and for example casually counted Ellsworth Kelly amongst his friends, Tuymans essentially makes figurative works. His portraits and scenes (often part of series) tend to relate to historical events, whereby he does not shy away from the political – recurring subject matters include the Holocaust, Belgian Congo and Flemish Nationalism. These interests might be given in by the fact that when he was five years old, he discovered his mother helped in the Dutch resistance during the Second World War, but his uncles were members of the Hitler Youth, which made family relations tense. Tuymans approaches these heavily loaded, emotionally charged subjects with a certain distance though, choosing to subtly interlace a seemingly everyday banality with the burdens of a darker past. This detachment might also be reinforced by the formal qualities of his work. In his distinctive, delicate style the paintings are almost estranged, washed away renditions of reality. Made up of layers of wet paint in restrained, muted colours, “his canvases seem to linger on the point of fading into non-existence, […]”. His works are also made fast, usually within one sitting. However, an extensive amount of research precedes them, since the paintings are drawn from other photographs or film stills. Tuymans then examines all pre-existing images, reads a ton about the subject he is working on, and makes a lot of drawings and water colours before he starts the high-intensity painting. Accordingly, his works not only become reflections on the medium of painting, but also on new media, and the way we respond to this imagery. He wants the viewer to contemplate what he is really seeing, and how this effects a personal and collective consciousness.

3) Does he painting?

anything

else

besides

Not only is Tuymans an influential artist, he is also a lauded curator. It started in 2000 when he co-curated the Trouble spot.painting show at M HKA and NICC in Antwerp, reflecting on the impossibility of painting at the end of the 20th century. Following that were projects such as The State of Things: Brussels/Berlin with Ai Weiwei, a guest curatorship of the Bruges Central Art Festival, and the Albertinum exhibition Constable, Delacroix, Friedrich, Goya. A shock to the senses. More recently he curated the Belgian abstract art exhibition The Gap and in 2016 he will curate a show of James Ensor at the Royal Academy in London. Nevertheless, Tuymans does not want to get into a conflict with curators, whose work he deems absolutely necessary. He is just often asked to curate, and as a service to and appreciation for the arts, he usually agrees. His curatorial practice is then characterized by a strong visual impetus, and a desire to make or uncover connections, arguably similarly to his multi-layered artistic approach.

4) What about his controversies? Chances are that if you did hear about the painter, it was due to some controversies he was involved in. Tuymans is a rather outspoken figure, and has regularly voiced his opinions in the Belgian press. Besides that, he became the subject of many discussions in 2002, because contrary to general expectations, Tuymans did not show a politically engaged work at the post-9/11 Documenta XI. Instead, he chose to exhibit a giant still life, seemingly oblivious to the recent terrors. (Of course, it was said in his defence that the banality of the painting pointed precisely to the impotency to express the horrible events). Furthermore, only last year Tuymans found himself in the midst of a nasty media and legal storm, having been accused of plagiarism. For the piece A Belgian Politician, he used the photograph of Katrijn Van Giel as inspiration, however, he was found guilty of copyright infringement in court. After appeals and counterappeals, the two finally managed to settle their dispute, but the precise terms of their agreement are still unknown.

5) Why havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t I heard of him? Maybe you are not that into contemporary painting. Maybe contemporary Belgian artists are a bit of a blind spot still. Or maybe you just never quite caught his name, because let us be honest - it is nearly impossible to pronounce in English, right?

Eline Verstegen MA student, London Metropolitan University; Whitechapel Gallery, London Antwerp, Belgium eline.verstegen@skynet.be

Also experiencing the Stendhal syndrome and a reverse writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s block? Become a contributor! If you are interested please contact us at hyperkulturemiafanzine@gmail.com Good luck, enjoy and thanks!

Coordinated by RamĂłn Melero Guirado Designed and edited by Matilde Ferrarin Special thanks to Eline Verstegen for the revision.