The artist pays tribute to diversity by mixing alphabets from different languages on beams that will cast their shadows on the Rambla
Jaume Plensa (Barcelona, aged 66) will leave his mark on one of the icons of culture in Barcelona, a city with which the brilliant sculptor has had more disagreement than indulgence. Plensa will change the face of Liceo with the installation of ‘Constelaciones’, some sculptural doors made with plots of symbols and letters from different alphabets, a motif he has used in many of his works as a symbol of diversity and cultural integration.
The bars are placed in the three public access arches of the facade overlooking the Rambla of the lyrical Colosseum, designed 175 years ago by the architect Oriol Mestres and rebuilt after the fire that reduced it to ashes in 1994. that will be placed when the curtain opens next season, 2022-2023.
“I hate the word door. Everything that closes makes me nervous,” said the sculptor, presenting his project, taking on the paradox of designing three large leaves for this iconic opera house in Barcelona. He explained that he bars as “a tribute to the Liceu, to music, to the bars of Gaudí and Miró”. “It is also a tribute to the diversity of the Rambla, the artery of diversity in Barcelona”, he added, repeating one of his mottos: “art is useless and that is why it is so important.”
Instead of pivoting hinges on a vertical axis, your gates open by pivoting on a horizontal axis. “They will cast shadows on the ground and people will walk on the shadows before entering. It will be something magical, like the world of theater,” said the creator. “They will be a song for the hope of positive globality. It is not the standardization of the alphabets, but the beauty of seeing very diverse cultures that are mixed together, but keep their identity,” he assured.
The bars are made of six millimeter thick stainless steel. Each will weigh approximately 500 pounds and will rotate on an axis embedded in the beginning of the arch just above the capital of the pilasters. The minimum step when open will be about three feet high.
The Liceo also showcased the costume designs and sets Plensa created for ‘Macbeth’, the Verdi opera which he will direct in 2023. «’Macbeth’ is the duality body-soul. It is the best definition of sculpture,” explains Plensa. He said that when the Colosseum’s artistic director, Víctor García de Gomar, offered him to do “Macbeth” amid a pandemic, his imagination took off. “Macbeth” was also written during a pandemic in London, and I started drawing like crazy.” “I wanted to make a completely mental opera in which we can see ourselves,” he concluded.
Plensa has given away three of the seven of his pieces that he houses in his hometown, from which he feels increasingly distant. “This city is going through a moment of desolation, as if it has lost interest in itself. I am lucky enough to live in Sant Just and this saves me,” he declared at the time. “In Barcelona I must be Gaudí and Count Güell,” he said during the pandemic, to show that if Barcelona let the last Plensa see, this is because he gave away the works.Until 2016, it only had a few hours in the Catalan capital and was installed in the 1990s. These are the ones you can see today:
‘Escullera’, 1988. Three cast iron anthropomorphic figures installed on the outskirts of Nou Barris in 1988. In 1999, one was moved to Via Júlia and the other two to lawns descending to Àngel Pestaña square. In 2019, neighbors denounced leaving the trio behind, full of trash.
‘Dell’Arte’, 1990. Cast iron manhole cover with inscription ‘The Divine Comedy’. Sculpture garden of the Joan Miró Foundation.
‘Dell’Arte’, 1990. Cylindrical cast iron tower. Since 2012 in the courtyard of Can Framis of the Vila Casas Foundation.
‘Born’, 1992. Two pieces of cast iron on the Paseo del Born. The first is a quadrangular structure on a granite bank and the other two spheres under the opposite bank.
‘Carmela’, 2016. Face of a girl, made of cast iron and 4.5 meters high, in front of the Palau de la Música.
‘Ànima’, 2017. Human figure of steel with letters from eight alphabets. Facade of the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.
‘Blau’, 2020. Two meter high basalt head made in 2016. Lobby of the Hospital Clínic and donated by Plenza as a thank you to all the health personnel who have worked against the pandemic.
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.
