MURCIA CITY AND MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS EMBRACES STREET & GRAFFITI ARTISTS IN A REALLY BIG WAY

Urban art: From the Street to the Museum is a really exciting show that is on offer at the Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia (MUBAM) · From 05/04/2017 to 07/09/2017.

GOYA * FOLLY, WAR & MADNESS - tba

The second half to Goya's life and works showcase his overall perspective of life becomes dark and cynical. Now he turns the dramatic Romanticism deep into the monstrous side of the irrational and the dangerous flaws of Enlightenment.

He uses the new invention of "aquatint" (a print resembling a watercolour, made by etching a copper plate with nitric acid and using resin and varnish to produce areas of tonal shading.) as a form of print making to fuel his revelations and revolutionary expressions in order to lampoon, satirize and mock the institutions, practices and commonly held beliefs of his time.

In 1799 Goya published 80 Caprichos prints depicting what he described as "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance, or self-interest have made usual."

Another collection of 82 prints called the Disasters of War, 1810s, Goya vents his visual voice with protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising, the subsequent Peninsular War and the setbacks to the liberal cause following the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1814.

The scenes created withing these prints are singularly disturbing, sometimes macabre in their depiction of battlefield horror, and represent an outraged conscience in the face of death and destruction. Goya expresses the randomness of violence in these prints, and in their immediacy and brutality they have been described as analogous to 19th- and 20th-century photojournalism of the atrocities of war.

They were not published until 1863, 35 years after his death. It is likely that only then was it considered politically safe to distribute a sequence of artworks criticising both the French and restored Bourbons.

Goya created another set of prints - Tauromaquia (the art of bull fighting) between 1815 and 1816, at the age of 69. Bullfighting was not politically sensitive, and the series was published at the end of 1816 in an edition of 320—for sale individually or in sets—without incident. It did not meet with critical or commercial success however.

His late period culminates with the Black Paintings of 1819–1823, applied on oil on the plaster walls of his house the "Quinta del Sordo" (house of the deaf man) where, disillusioned by political and social developments in Spain he lived in near isolation.

The paintings originally were painted as murals on the walls of the house, later they were lifted off the walls and attached to canvas. Currently they are held in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

At the same time, he worked on 22 prints called Los disparates (The Follies), also known as Proverbios (Proverbs) or Sueños (Dreams), again a series of prints in aquatint and etching, with retouching in drypoint and burin, created between 1815 and 1823.

The scenes of the Disparates, which are difficult to explain, include dark, dream-like scenes that scholars have related to political issues, traditional proverbs and the Spanish carnival.

Goya eventually abandoned Spain in 1824 to retire to the French city of Bordeaux, accompanied by his much younger maid and companion, Leocadia Weiss, who may or may not have been his lover.

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APPRECIATE ART & CULTURE * LOVE SPAIN
Resource Books written by
Karla Ingleton Darocas 
and published by
SpainLifestyle.com 

* CLICK  HERE *

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ART FILM * THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL . directed by Luis Buñuel.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH
10:30 * Coffee, Film & Discussion
5 euro donation
DAROCAS STUDIO * Benitachell

Starring Silvia Pinal, Jaqueline Andere, Enrique Rambal Mexico 1962, 35mm, b/w, 94 min.
Spanish with English subtitles.

Watch as the legendary Spanish surrealist film master Luis Buñuel psychologically tortures a mansion full of uptight high society dinner guests.

Leaving Franco Spain for the artistic freedom of Mexico, in 1962 Buñuel stays true to his surrealist roots and makes this iconoclastic film.

It is a film that demands your attention by breaking narrative rules.

It also draws you into the tragic reality of the characters who cannot process nor escape their situation. These characters are a class of people who thrive by materialistic values and conventional attitudes. They are bound to their rules by duty and etiquette. When the reality of their dinner party becomes very strange, it is their base instincts and phobias that come to the surface.

This film is full of sarcastic wit, unconscious and dreamlike images, Freudian slips, drugs, sex, death, suicide - just to make sure you are paying attention... and so much more!!

It is a timeless masterpiece of surrealist art.

It is also a revolt against all oppressive civilizations... like Franco's Spain.

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FINE ARTS TRIP MADRID 2016

Thank you from my heart to Karla Ingleton Darocas for organising an unforgettable few days of visiting art galleries in Madrid. Sorolla House, the Spanish masters at the Prado, the Thyssen museum with a fantastic Renoir exhibition, the Queen Sofía for mind-blowing Dalí and Picasso and the exquisite romantics and costumes of the period at Queen Isabel II House...

A stroll through Retiro Park and a blissful 10 minutes listening to an audio art installation in the glass house, the sights, sounds and architecture of this great city, joyful dinners, cake and coffee morning teas, and hot chocolate and churros at the famous Choclatería San Gines.

Travelling at 300+ kmph on the high speed train was a thrill. Enjoyed every minute of all of this and grateful to Karla for organising it all and especially her fantastic in-depth knowledge of the paintings, the painters and the juicy gossip about the characters of the time, just fascinating and enlightening. XXXXX

- Kathleen Misson

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Hi Karla.
I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful few days in Madrid - I had a great time and really enjoyed the museums especially with all your immense knowledge surrounding the artists and paintings and of course the Spanish history - although I am now brain dead and absolutely knackered what a time spent with everyone on our whirlwind tour!
- Janis Turner

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Hi Karla
Thank you so much for your lively commentary and company, you were the cherry on the cake, that made our trip to Madrid so perfect.  Having participated in both the Dali lectures and Sorolla, it really helped me to have a better understanding of their art form, rather than just saying "I Like" "I don't like".  And, opened my eyes to alternative art forms as well.

Only disappointment for me, was that the Sorolla Museo was only partically opened.  Having been there last year, before your Sorolla lecture, I was so looking forward to greedily feasting my eyes...

- Helen Baxter

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How did you hear about Karla Darocas educational sessions, trips, films and workshops
* Through attending her other lectures and talks

What did you learn?
* Not just about the paintings but also much more about the lives of the artists

What features did you feel were beneficial in this event?
* Seeing the actual paintings that were shown at the lectures and talks - it makes it so much more real it brings the whole thing into prospective especially with all the extra imput from Karla about the why and how surrounding any particular works.

What elements did you like about the teaching style of Karla Darocas? * Her absolute passion about art which makes the student want to learn more

Would you recommend Karla Darocas teaching and events to others?
* Absolutely

FULL NAME & LOCATION * Janis Turner

*  *  *  *  *  *

How did you hear about Karla Darocas educational sessions, trips, films and workshops
* From having attended her lectures

What did you learn?
* So much that my brain aches but am hungry for more

What features did you feel were beneficial in this event?
* Karla somehow manages to combine not only her immense energy but also a wonderful laid back and thoughtful approach to her lectures that evokes hunger for more knowledge along with an inspirational new viewpoint on the artists whilst delving into their lives and loves.
She brings it all to life and I absolutely love it.

What elements did you like about the teaching style of Karla Darocas? * Her vast knowledge

Would you recommend Karla Darocas teaching and events to others?
* Absolutely

FULL NAME & LOCATION
* Sue Martin from Pedreguer

*  *  *  *  *  *

How did you hear about Karla Darocas educational sessions, trips, films and workshops
* Media

What did you learn?
* Artist technique, brush strokes how you interpret what the you are seeing. Understanding how art changed when able to take the canvas outside into natural light.

What features did you feel were beneficial in this event?
* I learnt about the history and context of when a painting was created. Who influenced the artist, the people who commissioned the paintings. The style of painting and the advent of photography alongside new techniques in painting. All learnt alongside a great deal of fun, Karla makes the time and artists come alive with a great knowledge of history. Fantastic trip and I can highly recommend it to anyone wanting to broaden their understanding. Thanks Karla and all the ladies who came too as that friendship is very important too.

What elements did you like about the teaching style of Karla Darocas? * Making it fun with so much insight

Would you recommend Karla Darocas teaching and events to others?
* Yes

FULL NAME & LOCATION
* Lizzie Clayton

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SCIENCE & THE ATOMIC AGE INFLUENCE ON DALI'S ART LECTURE

After the atomic bombs were dropped on  August 6th and 9th of 1945 on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Dalí took his work in a new direction based on the principle that the modern age had to be assimilated into art if art was to be truly contemporary.

Salvador Dalí was a man of many interests and one of them was the world of science. In his  library were hundreds of books about various aspects of science (physics, quantum mechanics, the origins of life, evolution, mathematics,etc), with notes and observations on the margins. There were also many scientific journals, which he would read to stay updated of developments in science and to which he was subscribed until his death.

Towards the end of his life he was highly interested in the work developed by Stephen Hawking, A History of Time, and in the catastrophe theory of the mathematician René Thom, with whom he was great friends.

Dali's artwork after 1945 is a historical tour of the scientific events of the 21st century, or at least of those that struck him most. Influences include the the atomic bomb, physics, quantum mechanics, the origins of life, evolution, mathematics, geometry, time travel, catastrophe theory and more!

FREUD'S INFLUENCE ON DALI'S SURREAL STYLE

Dali was the first of the visual artists of his era to seriously question and pictorially document Freudian theories. 

”Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening” (1944), Salvador Dali. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid.

Freud by Dali

This lecture and slideshow will explore Freud’s Influence on Dali’s Surreal style with special insights into...
- the concepts "Free Association" 
- and of course “Dream” Painting
- and all the funny stories and fabulous art that goes with Dali's experiments into Freud's theories of the subconscious!

LECTURE AT PARADOR JAVEA ON VELAZQUEZ

Excellent gathering of Anglo-Spanish Society members to be enlightened by the brilliant artworks of the Spanish Master artist - Diego Velazquez.

Thank you to Keith Hyde for arranging this event and for hiring me to lecture. I am always delighted to share my knowledge and my love of these works of art.

There were approximately 60 fine folks at the lecture and a few of my "fans" hung around for this lovely group shot.

SOROLLA LECTURE REVIEW IN COSTA BLANCA NEWS

I had a fun time giving my Sorolla Fine Arts Lecture 

to the Anglo-Spanish Association the other week. 

Today - I find myself in the news...

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