Who said it isn’t art?

Today, Badalona(a city very close to Barcelona) has organised a fantastic event for graffiti lovers. About 50 artists have taken part in a competition intended to dignify this type of painting which is seriously in danger of extinction in our city. People passing by could vote for the best graffiti painting while it was still in progress. Believe me, it was very difficult to choose the best one, as many of the them were absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!! Just have a look at the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barcelona used to be a dream city for graffiti artists around the world. Famous names such as Miss Van, Pez, Skum, Debens, Señor Kern, Sixe Art, Kram or Flan have painted some of the walls of our city. However, Barcelona’s City Council has passed a new by-law which aims at cracking down on graffiti. They say they want to stop taggers who just scribble their signature, but the result is that at the moment it is absolutely forbidden to do any kind of graffiti unless you have explicit permission by the proprietor of the building.

In my opinion, good graffiti makes the city more colourful and it is a fantastic way to express not only personal feelings but also political or social messages. Many cities are famous for their murals: NY, Belfast, Berlin. Why not Barcelona?

My favourite picture in the World Press Photo 2008

At the moment the touring World Press Photo is in CCCB in Barcelona. It shows the winning pictures of the annual competition with the same name and tours 100 different cities only on condition that the photos can't be censured.

One of the pictures I have found more shocking is this of the massacre of gorillas in Virunga Park in the Republic of Congo, where more than half of the world’s remaining population of gorillas is found. In 2007, ten endangered mountain gorillas were killed. It seems that the killings were perpetrated by traders who want to exploit the forests, the gorillas' natural habitat, to obtain charcoal. The killings were a warning addressed to rangers who take care of the area and who have attempted to crack down on charcoal trade.

This is only one in a series of pictures by photojournalist Brent Stirton.If you visit his website, you’ll see how impressive these creatures are and you’ll be able to realise the cruelty of the tragic event.

I think some of you were also planning to visit the exhibition. Why don't you tell us about your favourite picture?

Centelles: a good example of photojournalism

Centelles: L’atzar i la memòria

From 27^th of October to 14^th of November there is a new exhibition of pictures by Centelles at Palau Robert, in Barcelona. It’s called “Centelles: l’atzar i la memoria” (Centelles Chance and memory)

The exhibition is collection of images from Agustí Centelles took.

Agustí Centelles is the most important journalist of the Republic on the Civil War.

He took thousands of photos during and after his exile. Those photos were not found until 37 years later, when Franco died. In summer 2008 lots of photos were found, luckily in a cookie box, about the social and political world from the Civil war and Post-war. In times when Centelles was forced to leave the journalism, he devoted his work to the industrial photography and commercial journalism.

The exhibition is free and available from 27^th to 14^th November, at Palau Robert, Passeig de Gràcia 107, Barcelona

American Modern in the Joan Miró Foundation

Once more we’re fortunate to have a new temporary exhibition in Barcelona which is also of great interest.

The Joan Miró Foundation – a visit you shouldn’t miss when you come to Barcelona- is presenting American Modern, a selection of paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington. The show contains over 100 works produced by American artists since the end of the nineteenth century. From landscape painters and the artists working under the influence of Paris, to Abstract Expressionism and even photography, the exhibition shows how modern art has developed in the United States up to the present day.

The artists represented include George Bellows, John Singer Sargent, Arthur Davies, Marsden Hartley, Joseph Cornell, Thomas Hart Benton, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Milton Avery, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, Richard Diebenkorn, Martin Puryear and Robert Mangold.

One of the pictures that particularly caught my attention was in the Afro-American room of the exhibition. It is entitled “Black girl dragging white girl” and it was painted by Kim Dingle in 1951. It seems to me that it could symbolise the heavy burden the white race has meant for the black race. Maybe, I’m interpreting it this way because last summer I visited South Africa where this situation is absolutely obvious. Let’s wait and see what finally happens in the American elections. Maybe it is time for a change and paintings such as this one are only a product of the past.

Alphonse Mucha in Barcelona's Caixa Forum

At the moment we're really lucky to have a fantastic exhibition in Barcelona. It is in the Caixa Forum (a former 19th century factory turned into art gallery and museum) and it includes a compilation of very important works by the world-wide known painter and designer Alphonse Mucha. He's considered one of the most important figures of the Art Nouveau, an artistic style which is called "Modernisme" (Modernism) in Catalan.

Mucha is famous for his portraits of women, all of them idealised and associated to beauty, poetry, mystery and symbolism. He was a very complete artist as he did many different types of works: posters to advertise Sara Bernhardt’s plays, jewellery design, interior design, postcards and, also, adverts for biscuits, bikes or champagne….

In fact, Modernisme or Art Nouveau is a very important style in our city. You have probably heard of Gaudí, but many more artists at the turn of the century were like local Muchas in our city and also aimed at a type of global art which was not only about architecture but also about all sort of decorative and artistic objects to be used and enjoyed in everyday life.

To see a few more of the paintings in the exhibition, click on the link of this slideshare presentation: Alphonse Mucha's images