#art, These Are the Expressionists – Los expresionistas…

(«Dos bailarinas»/Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Derechos Reservados/All Rights Reserved)

René Magritte, el gran pintor surrealista, dijo una vez: «La mente ama lo desconocido. Ama las imágenes cuyo significado es desconocido, ya que el significado de la mente misma es desconocido.» Y aunque no era un expresionista, per se, lo que dijo se lo añado al expresionismo porque el expresionismo busca representar imágenes cuyo significado es desconocido. Esa es la esencia del expresionismo. Estoy completamente de acuerdo en que la mente es un misterio y que ama símbolos, imágenes y todo lo relacionado con misterios. Los expresionistas no buscan reproducir la vida, sino crearla en el lienzo con pintura.

Van Gogh podría haber sido el Padre del Expresionismo en la pintura. Él aportó gran energía y emoción en sus obras, algo que los expresionistas también buscan hacer. En la música expresionista, se puede decir que Arnold Schönberg es el Padre de la Música Expresionista. Comprendió la profundidad de los sentimientos y la búsqueda interna del artista, quien busca plasmar una expresión de la realidad que pocos pueden entender. Así dijo: «Si es arte, no es para todos, y si es para todos, entonces no es arte.» Y creo que captó el verdadero significado del expresionismo en todas las formas de arte.

Dentro del Expresionismo podemos encontrar el Surrealismo, el Simbolismo, el Futurismo, el Fauvismo, el Cubismo, el Vorticismo y el Dadaísmo. Todos estos, que se consideran entre las muchas vanguardias del arte del siglo XX, se sublevan contra los parámetros establecidos en el Impresionismo y el Postimpresionismo. Fue arte que surgió del resentimiento y la tragedia, ya que los expresionistas originales lucharon contra los peligros y los horrores de su mundo, que estaba mayormente enredado en guerras mundiales. Por lo tanto, la necesidad de expresar mundos ocultos y secretos se convirtió en la motivación, y fue el catalizador que permitió la creación de sus obras maestras.

Entre los muchos expresionistas que admiro se encuentran los pintores: Edward Munch, Otto Dix, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka y Gabriele Münter. En el ámbito de la música, grandes compositores expresionistas son Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinsky y Alexander Scriabin. En el cine, podemos encontrar películas expresionistas como El Gabinete del Dr. Caligari (1920), De la Aurora a la Medianoche (1920), Destino (1921) y Nosferatu (1922). Y, por supuesto, tenemos escritores como Kafka y filósofos como Hume, Bergson, Nietzsche, Proust y Kant. Todos buscaron dignificar e envigorizar al Nuevo Hombre y rechazar los principios anteriores, en su mayoría ligados a la sociedad anterior al siglo XX.

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René Magritte, the great surrealist painter once said: «The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.» And although he was not an expressionist, I can certainly add that statement to expressionism because representing images whose meaning is unknown is the essence of expressionism. I agree wholeheartedly that the mind is a mystery and that it loves symbols, images and everything concerning other mysteries. Expressionists seek not to reproduce life but to create it in the canvas with paint…

Van Gogh could well have been the Father of Expressionism in painting. He brought forth great energy and emotion in his paintings and this is something that expressionists seek as well. In expressionist music, one can say that Arnold Schönberg is the Father of Expressionist Music. He understood the depth of feeling and the internal quest of the artist as he seeks to bring forth an expression of reality that few can understand. So he said: «If it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, then it is not art.» And I think he captured the true meaning of expressionism in all manners of art.

Within Expressionism we can find Surrealism, Symbolism, Futurism, Fauvism, Cubism, Vorticism, and Dadaism. All of these, which are some of the vanguards of XXth Century art, are a revolt against the parameters set in Impressionism and post-Impressionism. It was art that grew out of resentment and tragedy as the original expressionists battled the dangers and the horrors of their world which was mostly entangled in world wars. Therefore the need to express hidden and secret worlds became the motivation, the catalyst that allowed for the creation of their masterworks.

Among the many expressionists that I admire are painters like Edward Munch, Otto Dix, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka and Gabriele Münter. In the field of music great expressionist composers are Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinsky and Alexander Scriabin. In the cinema we can find expressionist films like, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), From Morn to Midnight (1920), Destiny (1921), and Nosferatu (1922). And of course you have writers, like Kafka and philosophers, like Hume, Bergson, Nietzsche, Proust, and Kant. All sought to dignify and invigorate the New Man and reject the previous principles mostly tied to pre XXth Century society.

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(Don’t forget to like, comment and share)

GRACIAS – CHEERS

#poem, «The Conditional Comfort of the Snooze Button»

(«Serafina»/Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)

THE CONDITIONAL COMFORT OF THE SNOOZE BUTTON

Thoughts pretend
Actions are real
Seek comfort,
Make a deal.
Reality is enhanced in your dreams,
and dreams become what they seem,

and you sleep knowing the alarm bell will wake you so you won’t miss your bus to destiny…

Routine runs
while daylight fades,
so how can you be what I say?
How can I ignore the warnings,
when I know that changes
can be so alarming?
Strange women come and slap my face,

and what if I sleep till noon tonight, the alarm bell will wake me in due time to catch my bus to destiny…

Beer and pretzels
Warm recliner
Espresso coffee at roadside diners
My head is thoroughly confused
Synapses fried with too much news
I don’t want to think no more,

‘Cause I’ve a snooze button I command when the alarm clock warns me I should stand and take my bus to destiny…

C.2024, Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 24/04/2024/10/05/2025 – Valencia, Spain

Bon dia

Y mira que dan puñaladas traperas por ahí…

#music, Great British Bands, Chapter 18: The Who

(Photo from Mojo Magazine)

Ok… so what can I say about the Who? Well I always liked them and was a fan, although not a huge fan. I thought their music was kick-arse and powerful and at times rather boring, but that’s just me… A bit of history: They got together in 1962 as The Detours and then when Keith Moon joined the group they changed their name to The Who… This great British band, that served as inspiration to Led Zeppelin, were: Roger Daltrey (vocalist), Pete Townshend (guitars, keyborards and vocals), John Entwistle (bass and vocals) and Keith Moon (drums). They will forever be remembered as one of the top English bands… Some stats: The Who has sold over 100 million records worldwide; placed 27 singles on the UK and US Top 40; 17 albums on the Top 10; having won 18 gold records; 12 platinum records and 5 multi-platinum records in the US alone… «I Can’t Explain» was their first hit in 1965… The Who gained greater fame and recognition in the rock world by performing in such festivals as Monterey,​ Woodstock and the Isle of Wight. And, of course, there was Tommy, released in 1969. They lost Keith Moon in 1978 and John Entwhistle in 2002. In 1990 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

(Photo: The New Barcelona Post)

The only other thing I can say about The Who is that they are phenomenal, so take a listen. I chose one of my faves from the early days, «Pictures of Lily» written, like most Who songs, by Pete Townshend and released as a single in 1967. It is quite possible that the song refers to Lillie Langtry, a music-hall star who died in 1929, as the song states. There is an interesting cover by David Bowie…

CHEERS

CHEERS

#poem, «Smoking in the Rain»

(«Smoking in the Rain»/Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)

SMOKING IN THE RAIN

(Written while listening to Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 in D Major (No. 6 in D-flat Major, S. 244)

I am he,
who before was not,
a simple man that understands.
I am the quiet fool
that will take a stand
and fight the good fight
on every corner of every street…

I am the dancing soul
that moves to the beat
of bongos and tambourines,
of djembes and doumbeks
and of the clapping hands
that built my home.
I’ll now join those that raise their arms
in praise,
praise for peace and love
while smoking in the rain…

I was the rifleman in olive green,
that in foreign mountains
had grown and seen
the tears of sweat
and the sweat of tears
while no yet having too many years
of life experience in peace and love
without having
life experience…

I’m now determined.
I now will be
the one who seeks light from above.
I’ll comprehend
my brother’s love,
my brother’s pain,
and though we all might be
just quite insane,
we’ll all sit smoking in the rain…

C.2024, Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 24/04/2024/10/05/2025 – Valencia, Spain

CHEERS

#music, Great British Bands, Chapter 18: The Who

(Photo from Mojo Magazine)

Ok… so what can I say about the Who? Well I always liked them and was a fan, although not a huge fan. I thought their music was kick-arse and powerful and at times rather boring, but that’s just me… A bit of history: They got together in 1962 as The Detours and then when Keith Moon joined the group they changed their name to The Who… This great British band, that served as inspiration to Led Zeppelin, were: Roger Daltrey (vocalist), Pete Townshend (guitars, keyborards and vocals), John Entwistle (bass and vocals) and Keith Moon (drums). They will forever be remembered as one of the top English bands… Some stats: The Who has sold over 100 million records worldwide; placed 27 singles on the UK and US Top 40; 17 albums on the Top 10; having won 18 gold records; 12 platinum records and 5 multi-platinum records in the US alone… «I Can’t Explain» was their first hit in 1965… The Who gained greater fame and recognition in the rock world by performing in such festivals as Monterey,​ Woodstock and the Isle of Wight. And, of course, there was Tommy, released in 1969. They lost Keith Moon in 1978 and John Entwhistle in 2002. In 1990 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

(Photo: The New Barcelona Post)

The only other thing I can say about The Who is that they are phenomenal, so take a listen. I chose one of my faves from the early days, «Pictures of Lily» written, like most Who songs, by Pete Townshend and released as a single in 1967. It is quite possible that the song refers to Lillie Langtry, a music-hall star who died in 1929, as the song states. There is an interesting cover by David Bowie…

CHEERS

CHEERS

#poem, «Smoking in the Rain»

(«Smoking in the Rain»/Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)

SMOKING IN THE RAIN

(Written while listening to Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 in D Major (No. 6 in D-flat Major, S. 244)

I am he,
who before was not,
a simple man that understands.
I am the quiet fool
that will take a stand
and fight the good fight
on every corner of every street…

I am the dancing soul
that moves to the beat
of bongos and tambourines,
of djembes and doumbeks
and of the clapping hands
that built my home.
I’ll now join those that raise their arms
in praise,
praise for peace and love
while smoking in the rain…

I was the rifleman in olive green,
that in foreign mountains
had grown and seen
the tears of sweat
and the sweat of tears
while no yet having too many years
of life experience in peace and love
without having
life experience…

I’m now determined.
I now will be
the one who seeks light from above.
I’ll comprehend
my brother’s love,
my brother’s pain,
and though we all might be
just quite insane,
we’ll all sit smoking in the rain…

C.2024, Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 24/04/2024/10/05/2025 – Valencia, Spain

CHEERS

Bon dia

La pura verdad diría yo…