Alma del ebro by Ana Aranda

Escultura tipogrรกfica

Type sculpture

Indice 4

El alma del Ebro

En el interior

Letras solapadas

10 Conclusion

Contents 4

Ebroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul

Inside Out

Overlapped letters

Photo Gallery

El alma del Ebro Ebro’s soul

Existen contradicciones inevitables en el trabajo de la escultura, muertes, al parecer, del género: la impresión de la masa, la sensación de inmovilidad, y la intrusión en el espacio. El talento de un artista reside en transgredir estas contradicciones, en responder al espíritu del lugar en vez de imponer una pieza pre-existente en él.

There are inevitable contradictions in sculptural work; fatalities, it seems, of the genre: the impression of mass, the feeling of immobility, and the intrusion in space. An artist’s talent resides in transgressing these contradictions, in responding to the spirit of the place rather than imposing a pre-existing piece of work on it.

Jaume Plensa es obsesivo con la imagen de sus obras de arte que representan el cuerpo. Aún cuando el cuerpo no está explícitamente representado, las dimensiones miméticas de la obra y la precisión descriptiva de sus esculturas lo evocan. Las palabras han sido un elemento constante de su obra desde el principio, y están pensadas principalmente como una secreción orgánica. Parece ser que Plensa aplica la fórmula descrita por Michel Leiris a la hora de explicar el trabajo de Tzara: “Pensamos a través de nuestra boca”. Las primeras palabras que Plensa inscribió en sus esculturas son una respuesta a estas palabras.

Jaume Plensa is obsessive with image in his works of art that represent the body. Even when the body is not explicitly represented, the mimetic dimensions of the work, the descriptive precision of his sculptures, evoke it. Words, have been a constant element of his work from the outset, and are conceived chiefly as an organic secretion. It seems that Plensa applies the formula described by Michel Leiris when explaining Tzara’s work: “We think through our mouths”. The first words that Plensa inscribed on his sculptures are a reply.

Estas palabras sugieren más allá del aspecto de las obras, más allá del ámbito del territorio intelectual. Se multiplicadan en una red permanente a lo largo de la superficie total del cuerpo, estas letras representan una vez más, a su manera, la exploración del ‘contenedor humano’ que siempre ha sido el objetivo del trabajo de Plensa. En contraste a las obras habituales de Plensa en las que las palabras agregan un ángulo de metafísica con los elementos materiales, los caracteres que forman El alma del Ebro no tiene una importancia directa. Sólo las soldaduras le dan forma. Pero este sentido virtual oculto en el contorno de la escultura es también una manifestación del murmullo de palabras inútiles que invaden nuestro tiempo. Las soldaduras unen el aparente desorden de las letras, volviendo al origen, al momento en que el lenguaje, aún no formulad, podría hablar tanto de la totalidad del mundo y de su negación. La escultura aborda interrogatorios implícitos en vez de afirmaciones a preguntas. En contraste con las esculturas inmóviles, monumentos intrépidos depositados en el corazón de algún lugar, El alma del Ebro late al ritmo de los días, las luces y las estaciones. Su ligereza bajo el sol acoge a sus visitantes que tratan de descubrir palabras escondidas en la maraña de letras. Sin embargo, a los que intentan penetrar en el corazón del misterio se le niega la iluminación. Las letras, vistas desde el interior, de atrás hacia adelante, se escapan aún más. Por Daniel Abadie Desde el catálogo “Intervenciones Artísticas”, ExpoZaragoza, junio de 2008

They suggest beyond the factual aspect of the works, beyond the scope of intellectual territory. They are multiplied into a continuous network over the total surface area of the body; these letters again represent, in their own way, the exploration of the “human container” that has always been the objective of Plensa’s work. In contrast to Plensa’s usual works in which words add a metaphysical angle to the material elements, the characters that form The Ebro’s Soul do not have a direct significance. Only the soldered links give them form. But this virtual sense hidden in the outline of the sculpture is also a denouncement of the murmur of useless words that invade our time. The soldered points knot together the apparent disorder of the letters, returning to the origin, to the moment in which language, still not formulated, may talk both of the totality of the world and its negation. The sculpture tackles implicit interrogations more than affirmations of questions. In contrast to immobile sculptures, intrepid monuments deposited in the heart of places, The soul of the Ebro pulses to the rhythm of the days, the lights, and the seasons. It is weightless under the sun, and welcoming as observers try to discover words hidden in the tangle of letters. However, those who try to penetrate the heart of the mystery are refused illumination. The letters, read from the inside, back-to front, slip away even more. By Daniel Abadie From the catalogue “Intervenciones Artísticas”, ExpoZaragoza, June 2008

En el interior

La escultura El Alma del Ebro, en honor al rio más largo de España, fue creada por el barcelonés Jaume Plensa nacido en 1955. Fue especialmente encargada para la Exposición Internacional de Zaragoza de 2008, cuyo tema fue “Agua y Desarrollo Sostenible”. La escultura mide once metros de alto, las letras de acero representan las células del cuerpo humano que es más del 60% de agua. Su estructura hueca creada con letras blancas invitan a observar desde el interior y reflexionar sobre la relación entre los seres humanos y el agua.

Inside out

The sculpture The Soul of the Ebro, called after the largest river in Spain is the work of Jaume Plensa who was born in Barcelona in 1955. The sculpture was specially commissioned for the International Exposition in Zaragoza. The theme of the exhibition was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Water and Sustainable Developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It is eleven meters high, composed of steel letters representing cells of the human body which is over 60% water. Its white letters and hollow structure invite the viewer to look inside and reflect on the relationship between human beings and water.

Letras solapadas

En una conferencia de prensa en la capital aragonesa, el escultor catalán explicó que la obra representa a un ser humano sentado, en posición casi fetal, que ‘mira para dentro más que para fuera’, por lo que la intención es precisamente invitar a los visitantes a que compartan ese ‘recogimiento’ La letra como símbolo de la célula, como metáfora de una sociedad en la que una sola persona ‘no tiene peso”, explicó el artista, al tiempo que resaltó que también establece un paralelismo con el cuerpo, ‘una arquitectura que protege algo muy frágil como es el alma’. Al observar la escultura desde diferentes ángulos se pueden apreciar esta fragilidad en forma de diferentes solapamientos de las letras que la forman. Letras rotadas, de lado, de dentro a afuera se mezclan y se fusionan reflejando la complejidad y transparencia del alma en el ser humano cuando es observada cuidadosamente.

Overlapped letters

In a press conference in Zaragoza, the Catalan sculptor explained that the work represents a human being seated, almost fetal position, who looks inside rather than outside, ‘so the intention is precisely to invite the visitors to share this ‘meditation’. The letter as a symbol of the cell, as a metaphor for a society in which one person ‘has no weight’, explained the artist, while also stressed that draws a parallelism with the body, ‘an architecture that protects a very fragile soul’. Looking at the sculpture from different angles you can see this fragility in the form of different overlaps of the letters that form the sculpture. Rotated letters, sideways, inside out mix and merge to reflect the complexity and transparency of the soul when observed carefully.

Conclusion

During the creation process of this project I feel have learnt and developed several skills specially related to publication design. I aimed to get a better understanding of the software since the beginning as I believe it is very important for the good looking of the publication. I have definitely learnt how to use the software more efficiently. As an example I have now a better control on setting up grids. How to set up continuous text was a difficult issue for me before. After the completion of this publication I have improved my sense/understanding of the different characteristics to have in account i.e. size, weight, leading, hyphenation, widows, length of the line. I have also learnt during the process how complex is the decision making, layout consideration, pictures selection and setting, text placement, headings, page numbers and other features/things as format, paper selection and binding. As the pictures were bleeding of the whole spread I was thinking on binding the publication with saddle stitch so that it opened flat and the pictures were seen perfectly. An A3 format was a hard option as finding a printer where I could print an A2 double sided on a thicker paper than 100grs was being difficult. As I had taken my own pictures I was able to use them in a large size making the publication more visually interesting. An A4 format would not take advantage of those big pictures. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why I decided to go for an A3 format and consider another kind of binding. Perfect binding is not a good solution specially having only 8 pages to glue together. They recommended me to use Japanese sewing as it will allow the publication to open flat and sill use the pictures over the whole spread. My interest on this kind of bookbinding technique grew up and now I consider it is a very nice way of bookbinding with many possibilities and variations. The creation of a narrative for my publication was a big challenge for me especially after the decision of creating bilingual publication. I have had to consider how to show a difference between each language and make it fit on with the pictures and still make it visually interesting. I considered using different tone of text or different typography. At the end I decided on a different weight plus an emphasis on the different levels of the titles, always keeping the Spanish text on the left hand side and the English text on the right hand side of the layout.

Overlapped letters

Photo Gallery

Sabika Design web

I have also learnt during the process how complex is the decision making, layout consideration, pictures selection and setting, text placement, headings, page numbers

Photo Gallery

Sabika Design web

I have also learnt during the process how complex is the decision making, layout consideration, pictures selection and setting, text placement, headings, page numbers

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