JaZzArt en València

FLOWERS? FLOWERS FOR ME?
(Chapter 1)

Flowers for me dearest lady?

For me who has shunned your love,
your looks, your gentle touch?
Better leave those flowers, lady,
lying on a grave out there
than in my hands that do not care,
and that have never touched your skin.
Or is it that you don’t seem
to adore these precious flowers
and to while away the hours
you now have brought them to me?

C.2024 – Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 25 NOV 2024 – Valencia, España

FEATURES by VALENCIARTIST today presents a magnificent artist from Wales, Sara Allwright, known to many of you here in the WP blogosphere. You can find her and follow her blog, Sara Allwright Fine Art which I am sure you will find interesting and entertaining. But now here is a bit of background on Sara. In her own words:

I left school at 15 years of age, without any formal qualifications, direction, or plan. After several years of going to night school I gained my qualifications in Art & Design and Psychology. I then went on to receive a BA (Hons) Painting & Critical and Contextual Studies degree.

I spent 20 years as an Art and Design lecturer in Higher Education; which I thoroughly enjoyed…engaging young minds into the world of art and creativity.

I now spend my time painting, and I’m in the process of writing my ‘memoir’.
I have exhibited and sold my art work in various exhibitions and galleries.
Most notably, the ‘Royal Cambrian Academy’, Conway. Wales, the ‘Albany Gallery’, Cardiff. Wales, & ‘The National Waterfront Museum’, Swansea. Wales.
Once I have completed my ‘memoir’, I will endeavour to have it published.

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SARA’S INTERVIEW

VALENCIARTIST: As a visual artist, how have you prepared for your profession and how far do you wish to reach with your art?

The art world can be fickle, and I soon realised I needed to find a way for my art work to be seen. I completed a number of courses; WordPress for Business, SEO for Business, Social Media for Business, & Excel for Business (to calculate my vast earnings from selling my art)!
I have now joined the wonderful world of ‘blogging’.
Primarily, I paint for me, but I would love for my art to be seen, hung on many walls, admired by as many people as possible.
Once completed…I would be thrilled If my ‘memoir’ were to be published.

VALENCIARTIST: Understanding that artists are usually well trained and educated individuals with ties to the community and internationally, as well as many connections to the news media (well informed), do you believe that artists (of all genres) have a duty to speak out publicly reference political, economic or social issues that affect one’s country or community? Or internationally?

No, I don’t think artists have a ‘duty’ per se. Or should feel obligated to speak out publicly. But I think it’s important that artists have free reign to produce work that may be seen as controversial, or pushing the boundaries. Work that highlights environmental, social, and political issues, to engage in relevant and pressing topics. As with any art form, if it elicits a response, it creates a dialogue.

VALENCIARTIST: What do you consider art to be?

I consider art to be another form of communication. A voice which can be used as a vehicle for expressing, perceiving and understanding many aspects of life. Whether it be social problems, metaphors, autobiographical narratives, nostalgia of time or place, to the more abstract ideas.
Art, is a subject, whether observed, listened to, touched, or read. It enables the artist to express or question our lifestyle, or society in general. Art is created in order to elicit some sort of response, emotion, or memory.
The recipient will come to their own conclusions, or subjective opinions based on their own personal experiences, upbringing, lifestyle, and so forth.
Art is beautiful, art can be ugly, art is powerful.

THE ART OF SARA ALLWRIGHT

NOTA BENE:

If you are an artist, a writer, or in any manner involved in the world of art, you can also participate as a protagonist in FEATURES by VALENCIARTIST. All you have to do is reply with your email address so that we can send you the information.

CHEERS

This is one of my favourites women artists. She was born in Catalunya but mostly made a name for herself while in Mexico. They say she is a surrealist but I think she was more of a fantasy/literature oriented artist creating her own style… Anyways, here, in this video, you will get a good introduction and I urge you to look for more (especially exhibitions) about the art and the life of this artist.

CHEERS

He elegido los cuadros de la ultima etapa pictórica de la gran artista norteamericana Dorothea Tanning para ejemplificar lo que es y hasta donde llega la figuración en el arte plástico. Como ya os he dicho, solo hay dos tipos de arte, el arte figurativo y el arte abstracto y no confundáis esto con los estilos y los movimientos artísticos, pues no son la misma cosa. Acordaos que todo lo que no sea figuración es abstracción en el arte visual. La abstracción no puede contener ningún rasgo de figuración, ni elemento alguno que se asemeje, aunque sea remotamente, a las cosas de la vida, o sea a la naturaleza. La figuración viene de muchas maneras. En estos cuadros que os he elegido como ejemplares, veréis las figuras distorsionadas, y los colores que surgen casi de la nada, pero por muy abstractos que parezcan, los cuadros siguen siendo, por ley y por convenio, arte figurativo.

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I have chosen the paintings from the last pictorial stage of the great North American artist Dorothea Tanning to exemplify what figurative art is and to what extent it reaches. As I have already mentioned, there are only two types of art: figurative art and abstract art. And do not confuse this with artistic styles and movements, as they are not the same thing. Remember that everything that is not figurative is abstract in visual art. Abstract art cannot contain any traits of figuration or any elements that resemble, even remotely, the things of life, meaning «things» found in nature. Figuration comes in many ways. In these paintings I have selected as examples, you will see distorted figures and colours that emerge almost from nothing. But no matter how abstract they may seem, the paintings remain, by law and by convention, figurative art.

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Hay mucho que decir sobre la obra de Dorothea Tanning pues a lo largo de su vida experimentó, buscó y se desarrolló en varios estilos. Os invito a buscar mas sobre esta gran artista.

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And there is much to be said about Dorothea Tanning. Her career took her through several styles of art. I invite you to look further.

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GRACIAS – CHEERS

Well she is from Calgary, Canada, and I must confess I had never heard of her before finding out that she had done a cover for Vogue magazine. (If you did not know the subject is the North American model Kaia Gerber)

She is also represented by Gagosian Gallery, owned by Larry Gagosian, art innovator (and creator of «superstars») who is also Weyant’s boyfriend. Prior to her relationship with Gagosian no one had ever heard of her.

Here are some of her works:

So, what do you think?

CHEERS

Jazz was invented at the turn of the XX Century in New Orleans. It immediately spread, confusing itself at times with the blues, with ragtime, with Dixieland. Later it was merged into rock by such greats as Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report, and even…I dare say…early rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton. The group Traffic also was greatly influenced by jazz and the solos created by these artists show tremendous knowledge of harmony and improvisation, both essential elements of jazz.

But can jazz, in other words the music created by improvisation, the player as composer and swing (rhythm), be applied to other arts. Surely it can be applied to dance and choreography, but what about painting? I say yes! Absolutely! A painting has to define itself, no matter how well planned and sketched it has been by the artist. The canvas, the composition, has to create itself, and there must be room of improvisation and of course, the composition must swing, it must have dynamics and that is akin to rhythm…

Of course it also helps if the composition represents elements of music or musicians. My series of JaZzArT is created by illustrating fictional (or not) jazz groups that I have imagined (or seen). They try to capture the moment onstage when there is a pause in the music and the players breathe…

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CHEERS

Russafa es uno de mis barrios preferidos de la ciudad. Por sus calles encuentras bares, restaurantes, tiendas y muchas, muchas naranjas, y las naranjas ahora ya se están poniendo anaranjadas me encanta verlas… Pero, aunque la capital se salvo de la DANA del 29 de octubre, no fue así en el resto de nuestra provincia que sufrió los estragos de esa horrible tormenta que ha dejado miles y miles de damnificados y un numero muy, pero que muy alto de muertos. Las aguas se lo llevaron todo y va tomar tiempo, mucho tiempo, para que las cosas en muchos de nuestros pueblos regresen a la normalidad. Fue un horror que causó pánico y desespero, pero después que la lluvia dejo de caer, después que el lodo al fin se detuvo, cuando salió un tenue rayo de sol y amaneció el dia, vimos a cientos de miles de voluntarios, guiados por el corazón y el deseo de ayudar a sus hermanos, que partieron hacia los pueblos, acto de solidaridad, para echar una mano. Ya han pasado tres semanas y aún están allí, al pie del cañón, esos voluntarios…muchos de ellos gente joven, el orgullo de nuestra Comunitat…pues el trabajo no se ha acabado y si el pueblo no ayuda al pueblo ¿Quién lo va a ayudar?

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Russafa is one of my favourite neighbourhoods of the city. Along its streets, you find bars, restaurants, shops, and many, many orange trees, and being that the oranges are now turning orange, I love seeing them… But, although the capital was spared from the horrible storm of October 29, this was not the case for the rest of our province, which suffered the consequences of that horrible storm that left thousands and thousands of victims and a very, very high number of deaths. The waters swept everything away, and it will take time, a lot of time, for things in many of our towns to return to normal. It was a horror that caused panic and despair. But after the rain stopped, after the mud finally ceased to carry away everything in its path, and when a faint ray of sunshine appeared and the new day finally dawned, we saw hundreds of thousands of volunteers, guided by their hearts and the desire to help their neighbours, heading to the towns, in an act of solidarity, to lend a hand. Three weeks have passed, and they are still there, at the forefront, those volunteers… many of them young people, the pride of our Comunitat… because the work is not over, and if the people do not help the people, who is going to help them?

Well she was greatly celebrated during the 1950’s and her works were purchased by such notable establishments as the Whitney Museum of American Art… She was born in Westchester, New York… Her work, during the 40’s and 50’s, abstract art, earned her quite a reputation. Then she was lost to art history… Although she started her career calling herself an abstract expressionist, by the late 1950’s she had switched to figurative… She taught art at Queens College of New York among other institutions… She died in New York at the age of 80 in 2003… Why do I feature her? One plain and simple reason, she is a recognised (by art history) woman artist that has been thrown into the rubbish bin much too soon and without any reason. I do believe that if you are an artist, or a student of art, you should know as much as possible about any and all artists that have ever figured in art history (or that should). So here are a few samples of her work.

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CHEERS