Tag: contemporary art

Postcard from Parma, Italy: Festivals fill the streets with art and regional flavors

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

Beginning in early April, for 45 days contemporary art popped up in public spaces and unexpected places throughout the city as part of Parma 360. Although the event map listed 40 venues, we tended to stumble upon them rather randomly.

Man cannot live on art alone. In the midst of the art events, Parma hosted its three-day Street Food Festival with approximately two dozen food trucks and portable booths in Piazzale della Pilotta in the shadow of the Farnese Palace. Street food in Parma covers a broad sweep of flavors. In addition to burgers and brews, vendors offered some of the region’s finest hams, cheeses and wines.

Street Food Festival
Progetti da Provare
Street Food Festival
Storie Sospese
Street Food Festival
Storie Sospese
Storie Sospese
Street Food Festival
Storie Sospese
Street Food Festival
Progetti da Provare
Opus
Fire & Desire
Il Terzo Paradiso
Street Food Festival
Street Food Festival
Progetti da Provare

Am still unsure whether the clever plays on the “do not enter” signs we encountered in our immediate neighborhood were part of Parma 360 or vigilante street art, but hope they remain past yesterday’s closing of the festival.

Postcard from Madrid, Spain: Assembling clutter to stimulate creativity

postcardsfromsanantonio2 Comments

When a woman orders fruit salad for two, she perfects the original sin.

from Greguerias by Ramon Gomez de la Serna

He was a figure so influential, a generation of writers and artists working in 1914 in Madrid were lumped together under his name – “Ramon.”

The contents of the study avant-garde writer/artist Ramon Gomez de la Serna (1888-1963) began assembling in 1910, primarily from Madrid’s sprawling flea market, El Rastro, became a monumental installation piece. The encyclopedic “portable” assemblage serving as his inspirational atelier is now viewed through portals and in mirrored reflections as a museum within a museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art.

I don’t think the mess circling my desk could be viewed as inspirational….

Postcard from Madrid, Spain: Reina Sofia reigns royally over contemporary art

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

One of Madrid’s most overwhelming museums, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia only displays approximately 1,000 works from its collection of more than 20,000 at a time.

Opened in 1990, the museum places Spanish art from the late 19th century to today in relationship to international contemporary art. Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” is perhaps its most famous piece, but the breadth of the collection is enormous. You can browse through some 7,000 of its works online.

And with so much to show, exhibits spill over to two venues in Retiro Park as well – The Crystal Palace and Palacio de Velazquez. Some of the photos above are of the Palacio de Velazquez, currently housing minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre.