Este gran ilustrador brasileño se dedico a la ilustración de libros de ciencia y de guerra, o sea, todo lo militar. Su mas famosa obra fue la ilustración del libro «War of the Worlds» («Guerra de los Mundos«) de H. G. Welles escrita entre 1895 y 1897. Nació en Rio de Janeiro en 1876. En 1892 se fue a vivir a Europa. En 1903 hizo 132 ilustraciones que fueron insertadas en el libro de H. G. Welles, despues de que Corrêa le hubiera pedido permiso al autor para hacerlo. Tambien hizo muchas ilustraciones de la guerra Franco-Prusiana (1870-1871). En 1985 sus grabados de mujeres desnudas, violadas y victimas de abusos fueron incluidas en el libro Baco e Anas brasileira de la poeta Yêda Schmaltz. Alvim murió en Bruselas en 1910.
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This great Brazilian illustrator dedicated himself, mostly, to illustrating science and military books. His most famous work was the illustration of the book War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, written between 1895 and 1897. He was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1876. In 1892, he moved to Europe. In 1903, he created 132 illustrations that were included in H. G. Wells’ book after Corrêa had asked the author for permission to do so. He also made many illustrations of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). In 1985, his engravings of naked women, raped and victimized by abuse, were included in the book Baco e Anas brasileira by the poet Yêda Schmaltz. He died in Brussels in 1910.
(Flavio Almerighi/Foto di proprietà di Flavio Almerighi)
Sto parlando di Flavio Almerighi
Ci sono molti modi per conoscere un artista, quindi penso che con queste tre domande conosceremo tutti un po’ meglio questo poeta, un poeta fenomenale.
FLAVIO NELLE SUE PAROLE
VALENCIARTIST: Sei un poeta, pensi che poeti, scrittori, artisti e altri coinvolti nelle belle arti dovrebbero esprimere pubblicamente le loro opinioni sulla politica e sul comportamento di coloro che solitamente occupano posizioni di governo?
FLAVIO: Lo scrittore, ma soprattutto il poeta, è quel tipo di artista che ha una vita “altra” e ne fa opera d’arte. Poi ci sono gli scultori, i pittori, i grandi fotografi, i cineasti, gli artisti multimediali, quelli di strada, i musicisti: ognuno col suo modo di esprimersi e la sua capacità di “saper dare” al contesto umano. Non mi piace definirlo “pubblico” perché è qualcosa di indistinto e impersonale. Io sono fermamente convinto che l’artista abbia il diritto/dovere attraverso le proprie opinioni e la propria arte di esprimersi pubblicamente e di obiettare verso coloro che non si occupano con serietà della cosa pubblica. Garcia Lorca, Neruda, e altri sono stati uccisi o limitati nella loro libertà personale o esiliati proprio per essersi opposti, per avere rappresentato una voce scomoda che i potenti vogliono zittire.
VALENCIARTIST: Come vedi il progresso delle arti? Pensi che la letteratura e la poesia siano all’altezza dei tempi e che possano sopravvivere a quest’era di grandi progressi tecnologici come l’Intelligenza Artificiale (AI)?
FLAVIO: Sono fermamente convinto che le arti, per dimostrarsi tali e non essere mero artigianato, debbano sfidare i secoli senza averne paura. Pensiamo ai greci, agli egizi o alle grandi cattedrali. L’arte in questo mondo usa e getta assume un ruolo importante e identitario. L’abbraccio con il progresso tecnologico e/o con l’intelligenza artificiale le sarebbe fatale. L’intelligenza artificiale può compilare un’ottima lista della spesa, ma non potrà mai fare Poesia. Mi torna in mente l’unico viaggio in Spagna che feci una quindicina di anni fa, quando tra gli altri luoghi visitai la basilica di Toledo. Dentro questo tempio non c’è soltanto oro, ma anche una splendida sagrestia dove sono custodite, tra le altre, quindici opere di El Greco. El Greco rifiutò i principi classicisti come misura e proporzione. Credeva che la grazia fosse l’obiettivo principale dell’arte, io non credo che l’intelligenza artificiale possa concepire la creatività come conseguenza dello spirito perché non ha un’anima., è soltanto industria. Letteratura e poesia sono all’altezza dei tempi, basta non fermarsi al mainstream.
VALENCIARTIST: Se dovessi stilare una top 3 dei grandi artisti (di tutti i generi) chi includeresti e perché?
FLAVIO: Il primo artista che voglio citare è Pasquale Panella, poeta e paroliere, figura unica nel panorama musicale italiano: il cantautore Lucio Battisti deve ai suoi testi la sua seconda giovinezza musicale. È un istrione magnifico. Il secondo artista che voglio citare è un pittore veneto del Rinascimento Italiano Giorgio Barbarella meglio noto come il Giorgione. Trovo il suo quadro La Tempesta unico e affascinante, mi fermerei ore a osservarlo, e ogni volta svela un particolare nuovo, magnifico. L’ultimo ma non ultimo che voglio ricordare è Omero il leggendario autore di Iliade e Odissea, tutto l’Occidente deve qualcosa a questi poemi, lessi l’Odissea nel 1976, non per obbligo scolastico, e mi sono avvicinato alla scrittura grazie a esso.
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Flavio Almerighi è nato a Faenza il 21 gennaio 1959. Sue le raccolte di poesia Allegro Improvviso (Ibiskos 1999), Vie di Fuga (Aletti, 2002), Amori al tempo del Nasdaq (Aletti 2003), Coscienze di mulini a vento (Gabrieli 2007), Durante il dopocristo (Tempo al Libro 2008), Qui è Lontano (Tempo al Libro, 2010), Voce dei miei occhi (Fermenti, 2011) Procellaria (Fermenti, 2013), Caleranno i Vandali (Samuele, 2016). Storm Petrel (edizione bilingue di Procellaria, Xenos Books Los Angeles 2017), Cerentari (antologia fuori commercio Tempo al Libro 2017), Isole (Ensemble 2018), Ignoti (e book gratuito Collana Lotta di Classico a cura di Massimo Sannelli 2018), Lettere (Macabor, 2021), Risorgive (Macabor, 2022).
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Da VALENCIARTIST, felicissimi di chiacchierare con Flavio, esprimiamo i nostri più sinceri ringraziamenti e gli mandiamo un grande abbraccio dalla Spagna.
(Foto propietat de Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Drets Reservats/Photo property of Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
Com tots els dies, comencem amb un cafe al meu bar preferit…
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Like I do everyday, I start the day off with coffee at my favourite bar…
(Foto propietat de Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Drets Reservats/Photo property of Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
I del bar a fer una volta per la ciutat de les arts i les ciències al riu… bé, el que anomenem el riu, era el riu, però ara és un gran parc, els jardins del Túria…
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And from the bar I take a walk to the City of Arts and Sciences on the River, well, at least it used to be the River and now it is a huge park called The Gardens of the Turia…
(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(FBC/All Rights Reserved)(Fotos propietat de Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Drets Reservats/Photos property of Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
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La ciutat de les arts i les ciències, construïda el 1996, és un enorme complex de museus i teatres dissenyats per l’arquitecte valencià Santiago Calatrava.
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The City of Arts and Sciences, constructed in 1996, is a huge complex of museums, gardens, an opera house and theatres. It was designed by a Valencian architect, Santiago Calatrava.
(Foto propietat de Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Drets Reservats/Photo property of Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
(Image of Art Digital by Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
“What is Truth”
Johnny Cash wrote “And the lonely voice of youth cries what is truth?” (“What is Truth”/Album Starportrait 1971)…
John Lennon wrote «I’ve had enough of watching scenes of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas. All I want is the truth now, just gimme some truth…» («Gimme Some Truth» from Imagine 1971).
Both of these powerful songs (among many, many more) were written in those years. I reckon those were the years when values had value…
But the youth are not the only ones asking that question. And neither are the angry people. As we get older…and older…truth becomes more of a memory, or a metaphor. Its borders grow more porous and porous as the years go by because truth is slowly being replaced with memories and memories get edited and changed as the years advance. After all, is not remembering a mental editing process?
But getting deeper into the subject one can read in the New Testament of the Holy Bible that when Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilot, Pilot also asked “What is truth?” Was that because he was doubtful of his own power, or of Jesus’s power? I do not know…
So I must conclude that truth is important, but illusive. It’s one of those «somethings» that people cannot easily understand or define. History shows us that truth, as a principle, is not something that people will always readily adhere to. But I ask, can it be that we ask such a question to justify our position regarding such a quest, the quest for truth? I do not know. We may think we are in the truth. Or we may know we are lying, cheating bastards as far away from the truth as one can get. But we question, “what is truth?”, so that we can remain at peace with ourselves hoping that someone will come up with a definition that might clear us of our guilt.
Jesus also said “I am the way, the truth and the life…”. And what exactly does that mean? The way? The way towards Heaven? The truth? The same truth that will “set us free”? The life? A meaning a fruitful, happy existence in peace? Perhaps…
But people do demand truth. The truth they demand is a political concept, or think of it as a social construct. People want truth to be incorporated into justice. This is the truth that seals a social contract between governments and the people guaranteeing a dignified life for all. Truth is a demand for rights, for opportunities and for freedom.
After all we live in a world where there are so many that are oppressed by governments have reduced them to merely existing, not living as dignified human beings. We live in a world where many countries willingly and openly violate Human Rights. The people suffering these atrocities demand freedom, justice, and the truth that will deliver them from oppression, the truth that will set them free. The truth they seek is truth as the opposite of hypocrisy, chauvinism, manipulation and lies.
But still there is no truth for many. Twenty-one centuries of civilization and there is still no universal “truth” out there that can save the people from suffering tyrannical regimes. For those people truth is not an honourable concept, it is a joke. When Jesus said that he was the way, the truth and the life, he referred to a spiritual concept. Perhaps he had those people in mind, those that can more easily appreciate his words for they are lost, manipulated, enslaved.
When a man is in that situation the thought acquires a much stronger meaning because even suffering the strongest bonds of a brutal dictator, a man’s mind can be at peace. This is the life. When there is nothing to lose one loses the fear of losing anything, even one’s life. That is the way. When one confronts the mind games and manipulations, they no longer are powerful repressive techniques. One is at peace. That is the truth. One suffering thus knows that the tyrant will destroy his body but only God can take his soul. That is the way of life and of truth. That is the door to deliverance.
So no matter how many voices of lonely youth cry out “what is truth?” or how many angry men demand (from someone) “give me some truth”, truth remains a relatively harmless issue for debates. But when it is a matter of life and death, truth becomes an imperative and a way towards God.
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*”What is Truth”/written by Johnny Cash from the album Starportrait, 1971. *”Gimme Some Truth”/written by John Lennon from the album Imagine, 1971.
C.2025, Francisco Bravo Cabrera/10 FEB 2025/Valencia, España
(Photo by and property of Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
“What is Truth”
Johnny Cash wrote “And the lonely voice of youth cries what is truth?” (“What is Truth”/Album Starportrait 1971)…
John Lennon wrote «I’ve had enough of watching scenes of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas. All I want is the truth now, just gimme some truth…» («Gimme Some Truth» from Imagine 1971).
Both of these powerful songs (among many, many more) were written in those years. I reckon those were the years when values had value…
But the youth are not the only ones asking that question. And neither are the angry people. As we get older…and older…truth becomes more of a memory, or a metaphor. Its borders grow more porous and porous as the years go by because truth is slowly being replaced with memories and memories get edited and changed as the years advance. After all, is not remembering a mental editing process?
But getting deeper into the subject one can read in the New Testament of the Holy Bible that when Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilot, Pilot also asked “What is truth?” Was that because he was doubtful of his own power, or of Jesus’s power? I do not know…
So I must conclude that truth is important, but illusive. It’s one of those «somethings» that people cannot easily understand or define. History shows us that truth, as a principle, is not something that people will always readily adhere to. But I ask, can it be that we ask such a question to justify our position regarding such a quest, the quest for truth? I do not know. We may think we are in the truth. Or we may know we are lying, cheating bastards as far away from the truth as one can get. But we question, “what is truth?”, so that we can remain at peace with ourselves hoping that someone will come up with a definition that might clear us of our guilt.
Jesus also said “I am the way, the truth and the life…”. And what exactly does that mean? The way? The way towards Heaven? The truth? The same truth that will “set us free”? The life? A meaning a fruitful, happy existence in peace? Perhaps…
But people do demand truth. The truth they demand is a political concept, or think of it as a social construct. People want truth to be incorporated into justice. This is the truth that seals a social contract between governments and the people guaranteeing a dignified life for all. Truth is a demand for rights, for opportunities and for freedom.
After all we live in a world where there are so many that are oppressed by governments have reduced them to merely existing, not living as dignified human beings. We live in a world where many countries willingly and openly violate Human Rights. The people suffering these atrocities demand freedom, justice, and the truth that will deliver them from oppression, the truth that will set them free. The truth they seek is truth as the opposite of hypocrisy, chauvinism, manipulation and lies.
But still there is no truth for many. Twenty-one centuries of civilization and there is still no universal “truth” out there that can save the people from suffering tyrannical regimes. For those people truth is not an honourable concept, it is a joke. When Jesus said that he was the way, the truth and the life, he referred to a spiritual concept. Perhaps he had those people in mind, those that can more easily appreciate his words for they are lost, manipulated, enslaved.
When a man is in that situation the thought acquires a much stronger meaning because even suffering the strongest bonds of a brutal dictator, a man’s mind can be at peace. This is the life. When there is nothing to lose one loses the fear of losing anything, even one’s life. That is the way. When one confronts the mind games and manipulations, they no longer are powerful repressive techniques. One is at peace. That is the truth. One suffering thus knows that the tyrant will destroy his body but only God can take his soul. That is the way of life and of truth. That is the door to deliverance.
So no matter how many voices of lonely youth cry out “what is truth?” or how many angry men demand (from someone) “give me some truth”, truth remains a relatively harmless issue for debates. But when it is a matter of life and death, truth becomes an imperative and a way towards God.
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*”What is Truth”/written by Johnny Cash from the album Starportrait, 1971. *”Gimme Some Truth”/written by John Lennon from the album Imagine, 1971.
C.2025, Francisco Bravo Cabrera/10 FEB 2025/Valencia, España
(Dibujo original a lápiz y tinta china de Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Derechos Reservados)
Vivimos en una época donde quieren esconder los huesos pero quieren pintarlos. Se contradicen, sin dudas. Pero eso no importa porque el objetivo, el fin, es confundir. Se proclaman las libertades para los grupos sociales que se han auto titulados, pero nos quitan las libertades a todos poquito a poco, gota a gota para que no nos demos cuenta. Pero somos muchos los que nos hemos dado cuenta, nos hemos despertado del sueño bobo que soñábamos despues de habernos tomado los miles de fármacos, y otros soporíficos, que nos metieron por la garganta. Y cuando abrimos los ojos lo que hemos visto es la escoria y no el acero.
Éramos acero, lleno de fuerza, vida, vitalidad, energía, pensamientos creativos, música con sentido espiritual, social, politico etcétera. Luchamos por un mundo libre donde, respetando los derechos ajenos, nos pudiéramos manifestar como nos diera la gana. El amor era libre, el sexo no era tabú y las relaciones las vivíamos libres de las ordenes dictadas por las iglesias o por los juzgados. La revolución cultural nos dio gran fuerza y marcó las pautas para los años venideros…
Pero ahora somos la escoria. Nos gobiernan, nos manipulan, nos tergiversan las palabras, nos soslayan las intenciones, nos meten imbeciles en la política y nos dicen que son lideres. Y lo peor de todo es que los que más nos gobiernan y nos limitan son los algoritmos que controlan todos nuestros medios sociales, nuestras supuestas redes sociales «libres». Que sí, que empezaron como redes libres, pero que hoy están todas controladas. Ya no existe nada, la realidad es una ficción que fabrican las élites para hacernos pensar que vivimos en países democráticos.
Los hipócritas son ahora los sabios, las elites son ahora los sacerdotes y los reyes son ahora los magos, que igual que el gran mago de Oz, se esconden tras las cortinas para que no veamos lo enano que son. Se han soltado los caballos; se han soltado los dementes, y la policía, ¿Donde está?
