Category Archives: Art & Artists

World Art Day

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The International Association of Art (UNESCO/IAA World Art Association) has declared tomorrow, April 15th, 2012 the first World Art Day. Apparently, the event will be celebrated worldwide. April 15th happens to be the date when Leonardo da Vinci was born (in 1452). It also happens to be the birthday of my mother, not related to da Vinci and not really related to art. Please, do not confuse this World Art Day with the International Museum Day which is celebrated on or around May 18th.

For the occasion, I delved into my photo archive and found an image of an installation created by the Italian artist, Fabrizio Plessi. The work was installed at the Aljub in Palma’s Es Baluard Museu d’Art Modern i Contemporani in 2004, called Il lavatori dell’anima, a modified version of an earlier installation called Bombay-Bombay. In 2011, Plessi did a rather splendid installation at Palma’s Llotja (Llaüt Light). The artist has lived and worked in Mallorca for a good twenty years, albeit on an intermittent basis. He owns a house on the island. He does not currently exhibit on the island but, he has one piece on permanent exhibition (Waterfall) at the Fundación Yannick y Ben Jakober in Sa Bassa Blanca near Alcúdia that you could visit at the International Museum Day in May, for instance.

The photo was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: October 8th, 2004. The time was 20:00:14.

Half German and Half Jewish With an Arab Soul and an African Heart

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It is said that Andy Warhol once stated ‘My favourite painter is Mati Klarwein’.

With hindsight, Mati Klarwein and his paintbrush probably expressed the Zeitgeist of the Sixties and Seventies better than any other artist.

Mati Klarwein painted surrealistic LP covers for a number of musicians. His record covers of Santana’s Abraxas and Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew are perhaps more widely recognised than their musical content. These and other images became icons of Flower Power, hippiedom and the Sixties in general. Mati Klarwein was considered by some the King of Pop, at the time.

He also created surrealist portraits of Brigitte Bardot, John F. Kennedy, Richard Gere, Leonard Bernstein and Michael Douglas, to name but a few. Jimi Hendrix and the prophet of LSD, Timothy Leary, counted amongst his friends.

Mati Klarwein (1932-2002) was born in Hamburg, Germany, but in 1934 emigrated with his Jewish parents to Palestine before the state of Israel was created. In the Fifties, Klarwein lived in Saint Tropez (France) and in the USA, before eventually retreating to Mallorca in 1985, where he painted untiringly. Klarwein died in Deià (Mallorca), in 2002. His tomb can be found at the parish churchyard there.

‘I grew up in three different cultures, the Jewish, Islamic and the Christian. These circumstances and my family’s stern resistance to being part of any kind of orthodoxy has made me the outsider I am today and always have been’, Mati once said. ‘I am only half German and only half Jewish with an Arab soul and a African heart’.

In New York in 1964 Klarwein, by then Abdul Mati Klarwein, caused a commotion after having exhibited his blasphemous painting Crucifixion (see image below). The motif of the painting of a myriad of people caught in a garden of earthly delights, where no sexual, racial or gender barriers are in evidence, was something that threw parts of society into such a rage that Klarwein, at one point, was even attacked by a man violently chopping the air with a huge axe.

It seems that because of his association with the unorthodox, with mind-expansion, drugs and surrealism, Klarwein never became part of the established art scene. His paintings are scattered all over the world, but are rarely seen in art exhibitions. There was one large retrospective of his work in Palma a few years ago, followed by a remarkable book called ‘Mati Klarwein’ and sponsored by the Consell de Mallorca. This lavish book about the artist is still on sale for 50 €.

The photo was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of buffalozine.com and the photographer, C. Barchi. The image Crucifixion was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of matiklarweinart.com.

Thank you very much.

The Fundación Yannick y Ben Jakober

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I have reported about the Fundación Yannick y Ben Jakober a few times before and the gardens of Sa Bassa Blanca, near the Aucanada Golf course, not far from Port d’Alcúdia.

A visit there makes for such a pleasant outing, especially in the spring or in the autumn. The lovely gardens are just one part of the offerings at the Fundación Jakober, the other part being an impressive display of art, old and new, of paintings, sculpture and landscape installations (see photo above). In the main building, there is also a very special, old coffered Mudéjar ceiling.

The Fundación is open for visits all year around, from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Every Tuesday, there is an Open Day at Sa Bassa Blanca, when admission is free (09h30-12h30 and 14h30-17h30). The Mudéjar ceiling can be visited by appointment on Thursdays (10h00-12h00). For information, telephone 971.549.880.

The photo (top) was taken near Alcúdia, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 18th, 2008. The time was 16:30:10. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of arteinformado.com.

Muchas gracias.

The Fundación Bartolomé March

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In Palma, there are two institutions called Fundación March. The first one is the Museu Fundación Juan March, set up by Juan March Ordinas, the contrabandista and later founder of Banca March, the father, who died 50 years ago this month. The second institution is called Fundación Bartolomé March, set up by the younger son of the patriarch and housed in the Palau March (see photo) in Palma, not far from Palma’s Cathedral. You might have sat in one of the trendy Cappuccino Grand Café hangouts without knowing what was going on in that very building above you.

The father, Juan March Ordinas, had wanted to join the social ranks of the Círculo Mallorquín, situated next door and today seat of the Parlament de les Illes Balears. The members of that club rejected the arriviste’s advances. Without as much as blinking an eye, Juan March bought the premisses next door and built a lavish palatial mansion, the Palau March, now home of the Fundación Bartolomé March, adorning its façade with a faux crest of arms complete with regal crown. Today, this set-up houses a formidable collection of 20th Century sculpture with works by renowned artists such as Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Max Bill, Eduardo Chillida and others, an outstanding library of manuscripts and precious books, an exceptional collection of top-notch Mallorcan cartographical treasures and a vast display of beautiful nativity crib figures from Naples, dating from the 18th century.

The photo was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 23rd, 2008. The time was 19:24:34.

The Cort de Palma

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The Cort in Palma was initially the court or residence of the town elders. Now, the Cort is the seat of the municipal Ajuntament (Town Hall). The building in Plaça Cort was built in the 17th century and boasts an impressive Baroque façade. The main portal is Gothic though and dates from the old Hospital de Sant Andreu which stood in this spot originally (1230-1249).

You must have a look right up the façade to be able to admire the impressive cantilevered overhangs with an unusual depth of 3.60 m, having been skillfully carved by the carpenter, Josep Vanrell, following a design by the sculptor, Gabriel Torres. You can enter the Town Hall lobby and admire the beautiful imperial staircase and the two imposing giants made of papier mâché, Francinaina (left) and Tòfol (right). You can also visit the Municipal Library on the ground floor, now in its 151st year. If you are a resident in Mallorca you can borrow books there; if not, you can still browse through books and newspapers or magazines.

Upon leaving the Cort building, you will find a most beautiful, centuries old olive tree opposite. From there, have another look up over the top of the Town Hall’s building where you will see a rather intricate bell tower, holding En Figuera, a masterfully crafted clock tower with bell and Glockenspiel, dating from 1849. The bell and clock date back to the 14th century and were then on top of the Torre de las Horas in Calle Victoria. Now, En Figuera chimes twelve times on New Year’s Eve, each year, as well as chiming every hour on the hour, all year round.

The photos were taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: December 30th, 2011. The time was 14:16:25 and 14:23:52, respectively.

The Coptic Civilization in Egypt

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I am a bit biased and partial towards the good people of La Caixa. I am talking about the CaixaForum at the Grand Hotel, that stunningly beautiful Modernisme building opposite the Teatre Principal in Palma.

This exhibition centre is staging some of the best and most educated exhibitions I have seen in Palma over the last 18 years or so – they inaugurated and started doing exhibitions in 1993. So far, they have shown works by van Gogh, Picasso, Dürer and Warhol, staged exhibitions on African Art, Art from Cuba, the Greek Culture, the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Etruscans, as well as thematic appraisals of Cocoa, Coffee, Salt or the Desert, presented Charley Chaplin and Federico Fellini and their work, and illuminated us on Ramon Llull, to name but a few.

Now we are treated to an exhibition devoted to the Coptic civilization in Egypt, dating from as early as the Roman times and extending until the Arab conquest in the mid-seventh century AD. The exhibition looks at the three historical periods of Christians in Egypt: the Roman period, the age of Byzantine and the Islamic worlds. The exhibition is a must see, if you ask me.

There are over 200 pieces on display, including some stunning textiles and dresses, paintings, ceramics, papyri, liturgical and everyday utensils, allowing us to learn about the Coptic culture based on writing, lifestyle and religious life. An exhibition catalogue is available for 25 €. The exhibition was organized by the Coptic section of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The exhibition is open until May 6th, Monday to Saturday (10h00-21h00) and Sundays (10h00-14h00). Admission is free, as always.

The photo (top) was taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 5th, 2012. The time was 14:16:26. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of obrasocial.lacaixa.es.

Moltes gràcies.

Blood Wedding

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Here in Mallorca, we are lucky to have an enthusiastic audience of theatre goers. There are eight stages in Palma alone, ranging from the Teatre Principal to the Auditorium and from the Teatre Sanç to the Teatre del Mar. In the Part Forana, the hinterland, I know of not a single pueblo that does not have their own theatre or auditorium, from Inca to Pollença, from Santanyí to Andratx and from Manacor to Calvià. Tell me if I am wrong.

I’d like to share with you a magnificent night out at the theatre, last night in Palma. Eight Roma (gypsy) women were performing Federico García Lorca’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba. I had the pleasure of being invited to enjoy the all-female cast of real people without any professional background in theatre, some of them even without the ability to read or write, performing the last play that Federico García Lorca wrote in 1936, two months before he was brutally murdered during the Spanish Civil War. You probably know the plot involving Señora Alba ruling over her five daughters with domineering control. Inevitably, romance, love and death colluded to an ultimately fatal environment where people are not permitted to pursue their desires and passions.

Unfortunately, the performance by the Centro de Teatro TNT group from El Vacie near Sevilla was a one night only event. The house was packed, and rightly so.

In case you missed the occasion, here is a ten minutes snippet of the play, recorded in April 2011, with the same cast as last night’s performance.

The photo was taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: February 29th, 2011. The time was 22:00:29.

The Matança Monologues

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I went to the theatre in Manacor last night, to see Acorar by Toni Gomila. It was a bit like The Vagina Monologues but instead of sexual tribulations it was about Mallorca’s favourite pastime, the Matança (slaughtering the pig). I liked the one-man monologue performance very much even though it was in colloquial Mallorquín and not always easy to absorb. But the show was very well acted and well set-en-mise. The house was packed; apparently Manacor has quite a long-established theatre tradition. If you should happen to like the native idiom and favour a passionate discourse about some essential Mallorcan character traits, you can line up for tickets in Capdepera (January 27th), Santanyí (January 28th), Manacor (January 29th), and soon in Lloseta, Artà, Porto Cristo, etc. (February dates to be confirmed). The author is performing the clever script himself.

I was disappointed though for a different reason. I had imagined that the performance would be given at the new auditorium in Manacor, inaugurated only recently. I am feverishly up in arms against the idiocy of building a new theatre cum concert hall facility in a place like Manacor when the very town has a superbly equipped and well-functioning theatre with four salas of different sizes and capacities, only built some 20 or 30 years ago. Apparently, the new auditorium has cost 6,000,000 €, not including the usual cost overruns, and excluding the technical installations. It may be for this technical deficiency that The Matança Monologues had to be put on at the old theatre. Now Manacor has a multi-million venue which they can’t use until La Crisis is over and done with. Politicians are very good at wasting the taxpayers money and in getting their priorities wrong, again and again. Idiots.

The photo was taken in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain. The date: January 25th, 2012. The time was 21:12:19.

Haute Couture, Made in Calonge

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This may or may not interest you. I am writing about it because things like the following interest me.

There is a small village between Felanitx and Cala d’Or with probably the world’s highest concentration of fashion designers. The pueblo is called Calonge; it belongs to the jurisdiction of Santanyí. Calonge has no more than perhaps 980 inhabitants, but, hey: Calonge is home to two of the more eminent fashion designers that the world of Haute Couture fashion has seen over the last 20 years or so.

The older one is called Miquel Adrover (1965). He went to New York in 1995 and started designing his own woman’s fashion collection in 1999. Between then and 2004, he presented eight collections in NYC (see photo above). He was nominated for the Vogue Fashion Award in 2000 as the best avant-garde designer of the year. Some of his fashion designs are held in the V & A Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Bellevue Art Museum in Washington and the Museo Nacional Reina Sofía in Madrid. In the aftermath of 9/11, Miquel Adrover abandoned the US market and returned to Europe. He currently works and designs for a German fashion label, Hess Natur.

The younger one’s name is Sebastian Pons (1972). He went to London in the 90s to study at the Central Saint Martins College before he started to work for Alexander McQueen. In 2003, he joined Miquel Adrover’s team in New York, where he debuted in 2004 with a collection during the New York Fashion Week (see photo bottom). Later this week, Sebastian Pons will travel to New York where he will present his latest designs during the New York Fashion Week, all hand-tailored in Calonge by friends and family members. My wife and our younger daughter were shown some of his latest creations yesterday. I wasn’t there and no photo of the recent designs can possibly be published until after the NYFW presentations.

Both photos shown today are of fashion designs from the 2004 and 2005 collections, respectively. The images were borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of migueladrover.com (top) and thefashionspot.com (bottom).

Thank you very much, and

moltes gràcies.

Andy Warhol’s Sleep

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Pop artist Andrew Warhola, better known as Andy Warhol, does not really have a very close relationship with Mallorca, at least not one that I would know about. However, you can now have a close encounter with the art genius by coming to the CaixaForum in Palma where you will find an interesting presentation about the moving image, including an excerpt of a film by the man from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Caixa exhibition “El efecto del cine. Ilusión, realidad e imagen en movimiento” includes a 50 minute long excerpt from Andy Warhol’s cinema piece Sleep, an extract of the 5 hour 21 minute b/w original, shot mute in 16 mm (1963). The film was one of Warhol’s first experiments with filmmaking, and was created as a kind of anti-film.

According to the Internet Movie Database, Sleep was shot over Memorial Day weekend in 1963 in the apartment of poet John Giorno, Andy Warhol’s lover at the time. Giorno woke up to find Warhol watching him sleep and Warhol asked him if he’d like to be a movie star. Please watch the video interview with John Giorno (below) for more fascinating information. I had a chance to see the entire full length movie myself at a film festival in Munich in 1967; I also remember a number of encounters with Warhol himself, twice in London and once in New York.

The photo was taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 23rd, 2011. The time was 14:05:49. The video was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of YouTube and nritsma.

Thank you very much.

Sleep well, Andy.