He is one of the most recognized Spanish artists. Commissions for large public sculptures come to him from half the world. And in February, he faces “Macbeth” as a director, set designer and costume designer. Happy with his new project: ‘La Puerta del Alma’ for the Basilica of Vera Cruz, in the holy city of Caravaca
James Plensa (Barcelona, 1955). Dress in strict black. Slow movements. Hugely successful artist. The interview will take place in a magical space near the Basilica de la Vera Cruz, where he will give a distinguished contemporary touch. It gives the impression that the silence that reigns here surrounds us, lives, listens and sees.
– How do you feel in the midst of this silence?
– How wonderful, silence makes it easier for you to be at peace, something that is sorely lacking these days.
– Well, let’s talk almost in a whisper, if you like.
– [Sonríe]
– Do you work with the same enthusiasm as always?
– After the time of the pandemic, which was very complex and has brought so much suffering to many people, who have lost family and friends in a very sad and lonely way, I see a new return to activity, perhaps with more encouragement than before, perhaps because we have experienced what the total paralysis of everything means. There is a great desire to do business internationally. In my case, I had the privilege of being able to continue working in my workshop, but I also understood what it means when everything is paralyzed. Now I have returned with a renewed passion for travel, and creating installations, exhibitions and projects. I am very stimulated, far from falling into a routine.
– Have you slowed down? Commissions come from all over the world.
– I think I write less and earn less than before. I thought maybe it’s because I’m getting older and I don’t feel like it anymore. Not long ago I read some of Oscar Wilde’s lyrics where he said that the older he got the less he wrote, because when you start you need to understand life, but now what you need is to live it. That’s right: I don’t feel the need to talk about life anymore, now I want life. I do less projects, but I enjoy them immensely and give myself body and soul.
– Did you feel scared?
– No, to be honest I wasn’t afraid, what I did feel was a lot of sadness… So many people disappeared, the elderly were so helpless… Laura [su mujer] and I was aware of what was happening in all parts of the world because we have friends everywhere. Fortunately, both my family and I had no problems. What I think we need to do now is turn the page and look to the future.
– For the first time he designed a work, ‘La Puerta del Alma’, not only for a basilica, but for a holy city, Caravaca de la Cruz.
– The Basilica [de la Vera Cruz] It’s extraordinary, and what it represents, as well as this holy city, but I have to tell you that what convinced me to carry out the project was the people here, the members of the Brotherhood of Vera Cruz. We have developed a project that really excites me, I am more interested in spirituality than religion. They have an ecumenical will that I applaud: anyone from any place, religion and culture who wants to share their spirituality in this place is welcome. They gave me the chance to project a door. I don’t want a door that closes, I want a door that, when it opens, looks like it hugs you and invites you in. A door that would be at the height of the Basilica, but also at the height of my ambition to make this information clear: I don’t want to know where you come from or who you are, the most important thing is that you came and we are together . The hand of a blessed Christ is the protagonist of the door, which neither rejects nor chooses. When opened, the sculpted hand expands and becomes the Christ of generous love protecting and embracing all humanity.
– Would you project a work for a mosque or a synagogue?
– If I am commissioned by people as great as the ones I have found here, without any problem.
– And if in the end the realization of your project is not carried out? Look at the controversy sparked with Antonio López’s doors in front of Burgos Cathedral.
– When you agree to develop a project, you also accept that it can be rejected. It’s part of life. I have a lot of projects in the drawer that I think were great and for a thousand reasons – economics, criteria, because politicians or tastes change… – have not been executed. And nothing happens. I really enjoyed making the project. From now on it is no longer up to me to decide whether to do it or not. If it is done, he would be the happiest man in the world; if it’s not done, it wouldn’t be the most unfortunate either.
– Are you a quiet man?
– I don’t think the people who work with me in the studio said that about me [sonríe], but what is certain is that I try not to be overwhelmed by situations. I am very emotional and maybe I learned to hide them behind a mask, although not very rigid as it is quite easy to destroy. I try to stay calm when I’m doing something that really interests me: always send a message of optimism. I think art has kind of misused the tragic and terrible message, as if there is no tomorrow, and I am convinced that there is a tomorrow and that beauty has an extraordinary capacity for transformation and regeneration. I have been trying to convey this message of optimism for a thousand years.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t look like circumstances are on your side.”
– Recently I was thinking about the fact that in practice we have always lived at war. What happens is that it only seems like war if it hits you directly. The world is becoming more global and it is becoming increasingly clear that we are always at war. It seems that it is impossible for peace to be the common denominator, the moments of peace are so minimal that it seems as if they do not exist.
– Ukraine, that horror that doesn’t stop.
– I have always thought that the worst that can happen is the death of a person, and that there is no ideology that deserves the death of a single person. Everything we see about the war in Ukraine is so absurd, so painful. I exhibited in Kiev in 2012 and exhibited several times in Moscow. I have friends in Ukraine, I have friends in Russia, where I exhibited for the last time in St. Petersburg, at the Hermitage. I can hardly imagine that one and the other are fighting each other.
– In February 2023, the opera ‘Macbeth’ arrives at the Liceu, for which you are director, set designer and costume designer. Why ‘Macbeth’?
– I have been reading and rereading this work for many years. ‘Macbeth’ fascinates me, among other things, by the importance of the invisible in this work. For example, Macbeth realizes that he has not killed a king, a man, a creature; has killed the possibility of sleep. There’s no mud or blood in my ‘Macbeth’, and Lady Macbeth isn’t the bad one either. We’re all a little Macbeth, a little Lady Macbeth, a little Macduff, a little Malcolm, a little Duncan. At some point in our lives we ran into these characters, we behaved like them. When they talk about Macbeth representing power and Lady Macbeth manipulation, that strikes me as a very superficial view.
– How do you come up with this character?
– As a state of mind, as a daydream.
– What makes us strong, what saves us?
– I believe that our imperfection and the will to get better. I still read them a lot and have contributed to the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I think it’s one of the most beautiful poems ever written, but it’s a poem. The reality is that we don’t apply a single comma of this text to anything. His 30 articles are beautiful, they are of absolute beauty, of the same beauty as the ‘Song of Songs’, which I also keep reading with urgency because in them we find the pursuit of absolute love, which we will never achieve. That you go over the walls of Jerusalem in search of the person you love to take her to the room where your mother conceived you…; I think it’s one of the most beautiful things ever written. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, each point is a lesson in intelligence, but also a state of desire. I think this makes us human, yes, our imperfection and our desire to improve.
– The far right is gaining ground.
– When I was very young, I read books that always talked about history as a pendulum theme, and it seems they were right. When we have achieved something great or very good, we suddenly go to the other side. For example, it was inconceivable to me that Trump could be elected after Obama. If we already knew how Obama worked, we should have made it to the next one to be better than him. Well no, let’s go back! And this happens to us very often. This rise of the far right is not their success, it is our fault; We’ve done something wrong as a society, just as we’ve done it wrong with the climate, leaving our children a world no better than the one we’ve inherited. With the far right gaining ground in Italy, we have the rise of Vox in Spain, Marine Le Pen in France and even territorial gains in Sweden, countries with great democratic traditions. It’s really worrying.
– Do you still have faith?
– I continue to trust, as I said before, that beauty, creation, is a balm that transforms, heals wounds and improves people. But his way of penetrating society is so slow. There are so many great artists, there are so many extraordinary works of art, and yet we seem to be desensitized to them.
– What advice did they give you that got you thinking?
– Once the director of the Tel Aviv Museum said about Petrarch and the journey: ‘Jaume, always try to be a foreigner’. This does not mean that you are not comfortable where you are, but that you should question your position in life. And always be open to new experiences, to be surprised. I understand that the place where we were born is just a starting point from which we can discover where and how we can develop. I, who have known countless cultures, do not stop asking myself who I am, where I am going…
– How do you have fun?
– Me? In my study. I am very surprised that Laura tolerates me because I am so boring. [sonríe].
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
