LLEI D'ART 14

Art isn’t having itsbestmoment: it hasbeen supplantedby whim, daringandcommercial nous and so thereareplentyof clever dicksmakinga killing. Price remainsdisconnected to value. Stupidity iswell ingrained, and there is a fear of saying ‘thisdoes nothing forme!’ There is consternationbecause the silver-tonguedcan treat us likecavemen for not adoring the rubbish they’repawningoff as if itwerea sweet branchof jasmine. There is apartyguilty for thismadness: critics,museologists, poachers, casual aficionados,milquetoastsof all kinds and salesman –who, in thenameof sensitivity andmodernity, defendall kindsof dog’sdinners that awakennothing from man’s emotional resources. Art ismadebyman forman, everythingelse is just rhetoric, darkness, andevengreat cruelty. Today it’s just enough to feel likeanartist, but not just anyone canbeanartist.Writinga versedoes notmake youapoet. Nor does imagininga free-standingobjectmake youa sculptor. Everyonecopies eachother; they repeat eachother, hopelessly – there is no futurebecause there is nopresent. Everyone seeks tobe famous andwealthy, regardlessof the product andwhomake it. Thereare somepatheticcases, born of theARCOart fair or just of achallenge that puts thecart before thehorses. Mr. Palomar says: ‘wecan’t knowanythingbeyondourselves if wedon’t knowourselves. Theuniverse is themirrorwherewe canonly contemplatewhatwehave learnt to knowabout in ourselves’. A sure thing is thatwhenanartist arises, hecreates lovers. It is an intrinsicnatureof art itself. III Using languages. I’mcertainly not against usingdifferent languages, but I amagainst disdain for Spanish: its non-use is somethingnegative, not only culturally, but also sociologically andeconomically. The fact that Poznan’s recently-opened RodríguezGallery, currently exhibitingKekeVilabelda, sends their press statements inEnglish is understandable; but the fact thatmanyCatalangalleriesdo so inCatalanandEnglish toaSpanish-languagepublication isbewildering! Suchahugeamount of artists inanon-Anglo-Saxonmedium or precedencename theirworks inEnglish. Butwhat is it for? Whoare theydeceiving? I’ve just received thepress release for SergioBelinchón’s exhibitionat Valencia’sEspai Tactel, with itsGerman titleGrüsseausSpanien¬–what’s thepoint? Wealready knowhe lives inBerlinand that this fact is always playedonby himandhis team. EspacioValverde recently sentmeanEnglish-onlypress release for anexhibitionat itsMadridheadquarters for a Spanish-mediumpressoutlet.Whatever youcan say in your language you should say insteadof usingclichéexpressions fromother languages you knownothingabout. UsingEnglish, relevant or not, isoneof theproblemsof (non-)communication and the lackof solvency nowadays. The vastmajorityof executiveposts arenowcovered, not byprofessionals, but rather thosewhocan speakEnglish. Then, of course, youget what’s happening thesedays. Amagazineaimedat a local audiencemust be in the language of that community. Serrad’Or is a relevant and important example.Whenamagazine ispublishedbeyond theSpanish- speaking sphere, inEuropeor theUSas is thecasewith Llei d’Art , themost astute thing is abilingual publication. IV Publicity. The vastminority affectedby theworldof art is constantlywondering thesedayswhat’sgoingonwith MenchuGal’swork. Anexhibitionof theauthor’sworkhas beenorganizedat Rome’sCervantes Institutewhich, given its capacity, can’t beespeciallywide-ranging. However, for a fewweeks now, the full-pagepublicity around theexhibition hasbeenoverwhelming. Oneof thepages announces the exhibition:MenchuGal: AFreeSpirit, witheight supporting logos. On thenext page, a round table is advertised:Menchu Gal: Colour inCubism, presentedbyMiguel Zugazaand FranciscoCalvoSerraller and sponsoredby theMenchuGal Foundation, whichnobody knows anythingabout norwho runs andpays for it. We know it’s not theCervantes, nor is it theMinistry, although itmaybepossible that it’s theBasqueGovernment, theKutxa Bankor LorenartGallery. Also, I would like to know if theworkusedas abackgroundon theadpages, although signedbyMenchuGal, is actuallyby theauthor: it’s not a recognizable iconof herwork, nor does it have the values that it consolidates. I don’twish tocreateconfusion. Newspapers,magazines, suchas Llei d’Art tonameone, all liveonadvertising, not dreamsor flattery. Given this, the institutions that promote art, theartists thatwish topublish theirworksor galleries shouldall doadvertising so that themediamight takeonwhat they aredoingor negotiating. I’mnot against the fact that advertisinghappens, but rather how it has in this case. If only itwere soeasy! Anauthor, onewell-lovedandoft-dealt withbymyself, does notmaintainor increase their prestige throughadvertisingpages in suchacompletely awkward manner. Nor do they increase their value – for this they needa coincidenceof various actions: advertising, of course, but also studios, rigorouspublications, exhibitions ingreatmuseums, belonging toan important collection, awell thought-out catalogue, etc. CarmenGal Orendaín (Irún1917/18 –SanSebastián2008), better knownasMenchuGal, lived inMadrid from1946 until just beforeher death. Herwork, whosehighpoints are portraits and landscapes, is usually ascribed to theMadrid School, her beingoneof itsmost vigorous components. Her quality is aboveher prices and the strategies undertaken to increase them… It ispossible that thisbehavior aroundMenchuGal’swork is hurtingher reputationas it sowsdoubt aboutwhat is happeningandwhat theaimof this campaign is. and...V Afinal coda for absences. ThDespiteeverything, I remain optimistic. If thisweren’t thecase I wouldn’t continueon in theseefforts tobringmyself closer toart andexpresswhat this approachgives tome, showsmeandhow it conditions me. Graciánused to say that complainingweakensone, and 32