Above: Detail of mosaic portion of “Eskuz Esku” in Basque, or “Hand to Hand.” Lead artist John Pitman Weber and assistant Alicia Vallejo Sanz, a 2010 project of Itinerario Muralistico of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
While Bilbao with the Guggenheim and San Sebastian’s Running of the Bulls have made those cities well known in the United States, Vitoria-Gasteiz is the actual seat of government of Basque Country. With a population of about 250,000, the Basque capital lies only 40 miles outside Bilbao. The hyphenation reflects the duality of Spain’s sometimes dueling cultures: Vitoria is Spanish while Gasteiz is the Basque half of its name.
We went specifically to visit its contemporary art museum – a postcard yet to be mailed. Our quick day trip did not do the city justice, but I want to share a few images of the town. With art as our agenda, some of the city’s major murals captured our attention as we dodged periodic showers alternating with brilliant blue skies.
A cooperative community undertaking, Itinerario Muralistico installs large-scale projects transforming Vitoria-Gasteiz into “the painted city.” We only stumbled across a small portion of the street gallery, failing to tap into the wealth of information available on an interactive map.
We interrupt this post for a quick lunch stop of salad and pizza at La Tagliatella. The blog will take you to the Artium Museum soon.
Postcards from Barton Springs 