(Image by Francisco Bravo Cabrera/All Rights Reserved)
Those Little Purple Trees (Listening to Mozart’s Oboe Quartet K.370)
So they’ve discovered space and planets, with telescopes and instruments that measure even the slightest degrees of their absolute silence, and they say it’s a void dark and eternal, they call it the universe and say it’s empty. But it isn’t, no, not at all. In those places, that now we cannot see, there are forests, not of oak or pine, but of little purple trees whose leaves and branches are whispering about the futility of their discoveries and how they waste our time.
Little purple trees grow, as do those imagined asteroids that orbit moons and dance with icy comets, and become the daring iconoclasts sipping tea in earthly gardens.
Astronomers deny them as they do not fit within their schemes, which are filled with laws and theories like gravity. They’ve convinced us there are things we’ve never seen, or ever will, like light years and black holes in outer space, but for purple trees, in their schemes there’s no place.
Little purple trees are a judgement against closed-minded reason, existing just to mock outlandish theories, with their tiny roots and purple shade which they provide in every season…
They’re the essence of truth, the more absurd, the more phenomenal, precise, perfect, fantastic, makes them more real than quantum calculations and more meaningful than algebraic equations.
And when the day arrives and we sail through purple groves in wooden ships smelling faintly of lilac, we will know with certainty there is no space, that we exist within a garden, where nothing’s empty, and we will see, next to apple, olive, pear and orange, little purple trees.
Pero están hablando mucho de los que apoyan al terrorismo y muy poco de las víctimas. Los amantes de los terroristas hablan de paz pero… La verdad se impone sobre las mentiras propagandísticas de los que apoyan al terrorismo.
(«Lunitas» Francisco Bravo Cabrera/Derechos Reservados/All Rights Reserved)
(Escúchalo con tapones – Best heard with headsets)
LUNITAS AZULES
Vemos lo que queremos, sin darnos cuenta que lo vemos no es lo que es.
¿Por qué?
Porque hemos pintado la realidad con el color de nuestros sueños, la hemos ahumado en el horno de nuestros deseos, y la hemos embellecido con el brillo negro de nuestro dolor, y…
Nuestra vida cotidiana la hemos llenado con esa sarta de tonterías que nos cuentan, como aquello de que hay plátanos aromáticos y que los anacardos son dulces. El olor amargo de sus mentiras nos seduce y nos hace pensar que lo feo es hermoso, y aun así, insistimos, una y otra vez, con voluntad inquebrantable, que debemos deleitarnos con la aroma de los plátanos, verdes o maduros, de Canarias o del futuro.
Pienso que viajamos hacia las lunitas azules que otros han imaginado… Vivimos rodeados de desconocidos,
que creemos conocer, pero que no los conocemos… Y por mucho que nos queramos convencer que compartimos luz y amor estamos engañando al señor que ocupa la silla turca, pues hacer lo que se puede no es crecer, es mantenerse firmemente en el purgatorio del presente sin escape ni futuro…
No queremos a nuestros ancianos porque ya no nos parecen útiles, hemos olvidado el amor que nos dieron y todo lo que fueron. Si aún fueran útiles, ¿Los seguiríamos queriendo? Lo dudo porque ya bien convencidos estamos de que no sirven, y somos unos desalmados, abusadores. a los ancianos los apartamos, los escondemos y los condenamos a los rincones oscuros.
Y nos imaginamos lunitas azules bailando con nuestro mundo de estupideces e ilusiones…
Mira, toca, prueba, huele, y deja que el viento, que roza tu piel, te acaricie y no temas ni pienses que al viento te envicies, pues solo Dios sabe de dónde viene y a dónde va.
El agua, que moja tu pies en la orilla, viene de un océano que llora, y la que con sed imploras, de un río frío que ruge. El mundo, guiado por la voluntad de la mayoría votante, gira como un trompo donde lo han creado científicos urdiendo su plan, que disfrazan de leyes, teorías y aguinaldos, para saciar nuestra curiosidad e iluminarnos, aunque yo estoy seguro que nos mienten…
Dicen que hay una sola, pero yo sé que hay muchas lunitas azules que bajan a beber el agua de esta orilla gris y pedregosa. .
No sé por qué corremos tanto, para llegar y no hacer nada. Creemos en lo que no existe, y nos hartamos de chismes durmiendo entre laureles. Siempre reformando lo perfecto, en los tribunales, disputas argumentando, y en el lodo transformando la realidad en ilusiones cantando a coro viejas canciones…
¿No podemos convivir sin pelearos? ¡No, ¡Qué va! ¡Es imposible! Porque nosotros tenemos la razón, ¡Nosotros! Los demás no existen.
Así que toma todas tus lunitas, azules, rojas o verdes, grandes o pequeñitas, pues lo que te diré, charlatán, lo juro, te las puedes ir metiendo por el mismísimo culo.
26 SEP 2025 – Francisco Bravo Cabrera – Esmirna, Turquía
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LITTLE BLUE MOONS
(Written while listening to The Seasons by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
We see what we want, and yet nothing is real. What we think we are seeing are mere fragments extracted from our dreams. We have burned reality with the flames of our repressed desires, and seasoned it it with slag, and filled it with the nonsense we are fed, like when they told us bananas are pedantic, and robots romantic, and sugar-filled beaches with dunes and a man on the moon…
I think we have conjured little blue moons in a universe someone’s invented.
We live surrounded by strangers we fancy and think we know well. But you don’t really know all these friends and these neighbours, so let me explain. There are wounds that won’t heal, though we mend them throughout an eternity. While thinking we’re doing the best that we can, we neglect our dear elders, forgetting the years that they’ve given us, forgetting the love they’ve unconditionally given us. Utility comes first in the minds of abusers, and when they judge you’re no longer of use, those vile, heartless users, they cast you aside, to a lonely exile, in dark, scary corners.
And still, though you may not see them, there are little blue moons that surround us…
Look… Touch… Taste… Smell… Feel the wind that circles around you and that keeps eagles soaring, you don’t know where it came from or where it’s going. Dip your feet in the sea that is weeping; have a drink from a river that’s roaring, while the world, steered by the will of the voting majority, spins round in circles in a space that’s imagined by the experts of science and the masters of tales, who have jointly devised a scheme filled with lies to deceive us, to control us they’re trying, though I know, without a doubt, they are lying…
They say there is one, but I know there are more little blue moons on this grey, stony plane.
We rush and we fret as we try to arrive to a bland nowhere land barely alive, where there’s nothing to say and nothing to do, where there’s nothing to see, where nothing is true, where nothing’s of import, not me and not you, Where they’re always constructing, where other’s have built, Cannot we decide to coexist?
No, such thing! Quite impossible! For us, we right, and we stand tall and strong, and all others, sans doute, are obviously wrong!
So take all your moons, blue or little or large, and shove them quite deep, yes, quite deep up your arse!
C.2025 – Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 28 SEP 2025 – Somewhere sailing the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey
(«Self-Portrait 2008» by Francisco Bravo Cabrera. C.2021, All Rights Reserved)
Art is art because it is art…well because it is made by humans…and art can be figurative or abstract, but mostly either good or bad…
Art is not subjective, taste is. Art is purely and completely objective. There are parameters to let us know what is good and what is bad art. Hollow art, badly done, bad technique, bad choices, bad taste, all let you know it is bad art. Now, maybe some people in this world are willing to pay hundreds of thousands for it, but it does not change the fact that it is bad art…
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El arte es arte porque es arte…bueno, porque es creado por humanos…y el arte puede ser figurativo o abstracto, pero sobre todo, puede ser bueno o malo…
El arte no es subjetivo, el gusto sí lo es. El arte es puramente y completamente objetivo. Existen parámetros que nos indican qué es buen arte y qué es mal arte. El arte que está vacío, mal hecho, con mala técnica, malas decisiones y mal gusto, es arte malo. Ahora, quizás algunas personas en este mundo estén dispuestas a pagar cientos de miles por ello, pero eso no cambia el hecho de que es un mal arte…
(Waiting for a beer in El Carmen, C.2021, All Rights Reserved)
Today I saw a report about an “artist” whose work is being sold online, as nft, at auctions and that has already made 300.000 US dollars.
But there is no such artist. The artist is AI! However the programmer and the human artist behind this fallacy talk about this artificial thing as if he was a real artist.
For me art remains strictly and absolutely within the realm of humans and only humans. No machine can make art. Just as no animal can make art.
We shouldn’t be fooled by these gimmicks or by their “creators” who tell us that their AI artist is advancing and developing his art.
In conclusion, we’ve many artists, human ones, as it should be. We need technology to advance health care and other industrial aspects, and not to meddle in the arts.
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446), Italian architect and engineer, widely regarded as one of the key figures in the dawn of the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his ground-breaking work in architecture, especially for designing the iconic dome of the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore), which became a symbol of Renaissance innovation and human achievement.
Brunelleschi was total genius. He started his career as a sculptor, then focused on architecture and engineering. In these fields he made his greatest contributions to history. He is often credited with developing the principles of linear perspective, which revolutionized the way space and depth were represented in art, influencing painters like Masaccio and later Renaissance artists.
MAJOR WORKS
The Dome of Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze). This is his masterpiece. Brunelleschi developed an innovative solution to construct the massive dome without the use of scaffolding, creating a double shell structure that was both stable and aesthetically harmonious. The dome remains one of the largest and most impressive domes in the world.
The Pazzi Chapel (Basilica di Santa Croce). This chapel is a model of Renaissance architecture, featuring a balanced, harmonious design with classical elements like domes and arches. It exemplifies Brunelleschi’s mastery of space, geometry, and proportions.
Ospedale degli Innocenti. This hospital, in Florence, is another seminal work of Brunelleschi’s. It was one of the first buildings to incorporate the use of classical columns in a fully realized Renaissance style, blending classical forms with modern functionality.
WHY HE IS CONSIDERED THE CREATOR OF THE RENAISSANCE
Brunelleschi shifted the focus of architecture and engineering toward a renewed study of the classical past. This led to the Renaissance revival of ancient Roman and Greek principles, blending them with the new humanist ideals of the time. His mastery of perspective, both in art and architecture, also played a phenomenal role in the development of Renaissance visual culture.
Brunelleschi led the transition from medieval Gothic architecture to the balanced, proportioned, and rational designs that characterize Renaissance architecture. By combining art, mathematics, and engineering, he pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible in construction, influencing generations of architects and artists who followed.
In truth, Brunelleschi was more than just an architect; he was an inventor and a visionary, embodying the spirit of Renaissance innovation and exploration.
(From 1888/90/Image source: Wikimedia Commons/licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)
Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1868–1944) was born in Amsterdam. He was an artist and printmaker. He is known for his intricate etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs that often featured animals, botanical forms, and fantastical or symbolic imagery. De Mesquita was a Sephardic Jew who was largely self-taught. But he became a prominent figure in Dutch graphic art during the early 20th century. He was a bold and visionary printmaker from whom Escher learned much.
His work is influenced by Art Nouveau and Symbolism, and his prints often explore themes of nature, mortality, and mysticism. He taught at the Rijksnormaalschool voor Teekenonderwijzers (a teacher training school for drawing), where one of his most famous students was M.C. Escher, who credited de Mesquita as a major influence on his artistic development.
Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita were murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. After the war, Escher and others helped preserve and promote de Mesquita’s artistic legacy. Today, he is recognized as a master printmaker whose work bridges naturalism and the fantastical, and whose influence extends well beyond his lifetime.
(Image source: Instagram of ngadc)
The above image «Evil Speaking Little Women» contains the Nazi boot print. Escher saved this etching, along with many of his teacher’s works, from the hands of the Nazi destructors.
El vernissage será el jueves, 9 de octubre, a las 1930 horas… Os espero, pues el 9 de octubre es el día de la nuestra Comunitat Valenciana y, ¡Lo celebraremos juntos!
Although I have returned to my home base in Spain, I have not been able to keep up with you, my friends and subscribers. But I am posting at least once a day.
The reason? I am preparing for my 2025 art show at the Sala d’Exposicions de Ciutat Vella in València. The exhibition, which will feature over 50 paintings and drawings, will open on the 9th of October and will run for 10 days.
I also acknowledge that I have repeated many articles, but at the same time, I am preparing new ones and simultaneously developing other projects that I have at hand, not to mention commissions. Besides, many of you were not familiar with them, and it was good to repeat them.
It is always important for me to express that my main task here is to share and disseminate information about art, artists, music, and current affairs. It would be lovely if we could exchange ideas to keep the dialogue on art alive and spreading. That’s why I write short articles which quickly get to the point so that you can read them without much difficulty. And of course, I hope you like my poetry…
Well, the ethics of writers, painters, or court jesters, I am obliged to disclose that what I write…everything without exception…is a product of my imagination. It has nothing to do with me or with my personal reality. Everything is pure fiction, contrived, worked on and filled with the artistic way that one can develop ideas. One of my greatest references, Konstantin Stanislavski, said that raw emotion is not art, and that has become a kind of motto for me that I apply to life and most definitely to creation of my art.
Art is the catalyst for emotions, it manages to bring out the deepest ones that we have lost in there because we constantly repress them. But art can make you cry, laugh, think, become euphoric, horrified, can make you change the course of your life, and also, sometimes, make you angry as hell.
But please understand that everything…that I write… is a contrived and fictitious artistic creation. Art is not life. Art is not natural. Art is not spontaneous. Art is not created. Art is a manifestation of the will of the artist. So I beg you not to label me a conservative or a liberal or an idiot, because nobody knows what the true Francisco, who that artist is, what he really thinks and what he believes. And finally, I want to thank you for your attention and kindness, and ask you to continue visiting our page VALENCIARTIST. And please don’t forget to comment. I read them all and I appreciate them greatly. And you can agree or disagree, but do it in a civilised manner and with good, solid arguments. And any suggestions for future posts I will most gladly accept too.
And for those of you who are painters, writers, or artists of any genre, you can be the protagonist of FEATURES by VALENCIARTIST (in your preferred language), you just have to reply to this post with your email, and we will send you all the information.
JaZzArt en València 