JaZzArt en València

Bueno, es un cuadrito, pero los «expertos» lo consideran una de las pinturas arquetípicas del renacimiento italiano. Yo lo considero un retrato de segunda categoría. Pero, igual, es uno de los cuadros que hay que conocer para poder decir que uno tiene al menos un chin de cultura. Se dice que es el retrato de Lisa del Giocondo, una muer de alta cuna. Leonardo, flojo como siempre, se tardó tres años pintándolo, pero eso me parece un poco excesivo para un cuadrillo de tan pequeñas dimensiones, (77 x 53 cm) pintado al óleo sobre un panel de álamo y que al final el pintor jamás entrego a la familia Giocondo. Se supone que lo que vemos lo haya pintado entre el 1503 y el 1506, pero dicen…las malas lenguas…que Leonardo siguió dándole toques hasta bien entrado el 1517. El rey Francisco I de Francia compró el cuadro en 1519, despues de la muerte de su autor, y desde entonces la Mona Lisa pertenece a la Republica Francesa. Está expuesto en el Louvre desde 1797. Ahora, os dire que la razón por la cual este cuadrito se ha hecho tan famoso. Porque se lo robaron (El hombre que se robó la Mona Lisa) y después de recuperarlo se lo llevaron en una gira por el mundo entero, saliendo constantemente en todos los periódicos. Fue una campaña de marketing brutal. Ahí tenéis mi opinión. Sí, creo que es importante, pero también, muy importante, es saber el porqué de las cosas.

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Well, it’s a wee, small painting, by Leonardo da Vince, but the «experts» (good grief experts!) consider it one of the archetypal paintings of the Italian Renaissance. I consider it a second-class portrait. But, anyway, it is one of the paintings that one has to know to be able to say that one has at least one measure of culture. It is said that it is the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, a noblewoman. Leonardo, lazy as always, took three years to paint it, but that seems a bit excessive for a square of such small dimensions, (77 x 53 cm) painted in oil on a poplar panel. Well, in the end the painter never gave the painting to the family Giocondo. It is assumed that what we see has been painted between 1503 and 1506, but they say…the gossips… that Leonardo continued to «paint» it until well into 1517. King Francis I of France bought the painting in 1519, after the death of its author. Since then the Mona Lisa belongs to the French Republic. It has been exhibited in the Louvre since 1797. Now, I will tell you that the reason why this wee portrait has become so famous. Because they stole it (the man who stole the Mona Lisa) and after recovering it, they took the painting on a world tour. It appeared constantly in all the newspapers. It was a brilliant marketing campaign. There you have my opinion. Yes, I think it’s important, but also, very important, is knowing the reason why some paintings are important in Art History.

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GRACIAS – CHEERS

I have often asked, what is art? Why I ask it? Why so many times? I am curious. I learned that when one asks the same question over and over one gets different replies… But, when I ask a question like this I am hoping to get some deep, visceral answers, not the typical ones… So, I ask you, what is art to you? Perhaps that is a better way to ask, as sometimes when you don’t ask the right question you don’t get the right answer, but when you ask it right, then thigs begin to open up… Sometimes I think art is like a bullfighter (very common in my country) approaching the meanest bull. Or it could be the other way around. What do you think?

Here is a little of what art has been to me over the more than thirty years that I have been at it professionally…

CHEERS

Y que poco les importa a los políticos que aún con la reputación destruida siguen, ¿Tendrán vergüenza?

And here it is in words, images and music… Featuring my great friend and super percussionist, Rey «Conga» Diaz, from Miami, R.I.P. You will always be remembered…

VIDEO BEST VIEWED AND LISTENED TO ON YOUR PORTABLE OR DESKTOP WITH HEADSETS

CHEERS

Here is one from the early days at Omnia Caelum Studios Miami…

BEST LISTENED TO WITH HEADSETS AND ON YOUR PORTABLE OR DESKTOP

CHEERS

I have often asked, what is art? Why I ask it? Why so many times? I am curious. I learned that when one asks the same question over and over one gets different replies… But, when I ask a question like this I am hoping to get some deep, visceral answers, not the typical ones… So, I ask you, what is art to you? Perhaps that is a better way to ask, as sometimes when you don’t ask the right question you don’t get the right answer, but when you ask it right, then thigs begin to open up… Sometimes I think art is like a bullfighter (very common in my country) approaching the meanest bull. Or it could be the other way around. What do you think?

Here is a little of what art has been to me over the more than thirty years that I have been at it professionally…

CHEERS

To me Sandro Botticelli is the master of masters of the Renaissance. He created the most beautiful, and meaningful paintings, especially the phenomenal «Birth of Venus». I have heard of many people, including an artist that I know, that almost fainted while standing before this painting. They were stunned by its beauty and captured by the Stendhal (or Florence) Syndrome…

I hope you enjoy this edition of the series…

CHEERS

Parece que nos estamos reflejando en un espejo y lo que vemos es la edad media, con sus guerras y atrocidades, con sus cruzadas y papas sinvergüenzas, y no me refiero a los papas de estos tiempos, pero si a los politicos, a los presidentes y a los que los aconsejan, y sobre todo a los que los votan. Guerras y más guerras… Pero ¿Qué se imaginan estos cerdos, que bombardeando a sus supuestos enemigos llegará la paz? Los generales en sus aquelarres conjurando encantos para ganar la batalla, como brujos… Y esto me lleva a la canción del día, «War Pigs» de Black Sabbath, lanzada en 1970 en el disco Paranoid, el segundo de la banda…

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It seems that we are reflecting ourselves in a mirror and what we see is the Middle Ages, with its wars and atrocities, with its crusades and corruption, murderous popes and a cynical church that governed, cruelly, over all. And I am not referring to the popes of these times. In their place I put the politicians, the presidents and those who advise them, and especially those who vote for evil men. Wars and more wars… But what do these war pigs imagine, that bombing their supposed enemies there will be peace? The generals in their covens conjuring up spells to win the battle, like sorcerers… and this leads me to the song of the day, «War Pigs» by Black Sabbath, released in 1970 on Paranoid, their second album…

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GRACIAS – CHEERS

¡No calles nunca!

¡Nunca!

To me Sandro Botticelli is the master of masters of the Renaissance. He created the most beautiful, and meaningful paintings, especially the phenomenal «Birth of Venus». I have heard of many people, including an artist that I know, that almost fainted while standing before this painting. They were stunned by its beauty and captured by the Stendhal (or Florence) Syndrome…

I hope you enjoy this edition of the series…

CHEERS