In this session of the mythological workshop we stayed at the MACA to visit the temporary exhibition on floor 1: "Now the rush remained still. Abstract experiences around Manolo Millares". In this exhibition, curated by Rosa Castells, we can see works created in a more abstract context, from the pioneers of the avant-garde in Paris to Spanish informalists, among whom the work of Canarian artist Manolo Millares stands out. For the visit we designed a playful experience that invites observation, imagination, critical thinking and reflection from the subjectivities of each participant.
We are interested in this encounter between the general public, diverse and intergenerational, and the museum. We believe it is important to break prejudices about how and who has the right to enjoy art. Can we only appreciate art if we are experts in the subject? Is it necessary for the observer to know the historical context of the work/artist to activate their thinking?
There are no rules for enjoying a work of art, what is essential is the capacity for observation and wonder. These are capacities that are nourished by knowledge, but they begin with attitude.
Eusebio Sempere and his partner Abel Martín learned the silkscreen printing technique in Paris, in the workshop of Cuban artist Wifredo Arcay. When they returned in 1960, they introduced this printing technique in Spain, creating beautiful silkscreens of themselves and their artist friends gathered around the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca. At first, Sempere and Martín worked together until, in the mid-1960s, Abel became a reference figure in the silkscreen printing trade, taking charge of the technical process with great quality in the prints and portfolios that came out of their workshops in Cuenca and Madrid. And thus he became a key figure in the reproduction and dissemination of contemporary art in our country.Furthermore, the deep conviction that graphic work deserved the status of an original work, that it brought contemporary art within reach of a large majority of the public, turning it into a mass phenomenon, and the respect and enthusiasm that both (Eusebio and Abel) profess for graphic work, enriches the Art of the 20th Century Collection itself. An impressive display of drawings, engravings, lithographs and silkscreens completes the extensive roster of essential artists that traverse the most suggestive territories of the artistic framework of the twentieth century. This exhibition showcases works created in the most abstract context, from the pioneers of the avant-garde in Paris to Spanish informalists, among whom stands out the work of Canary Islands artist Manolo Millares, to whom we pay tribute on the 50th anniversary of his death.
The Mitolatorio began its journey in April 2020. During the pandemic, it functioned as a digital collaborative map of contemporary myths. It was a way to stay connected with the outside world, redefining public space from our homes.One of the pillars of the Mitolatorio has always been urban redefinition, because reviewing our emotions about public space empowers us within it, because paying special attention to it makes us more aware of its peculiarities, and it helps us value all elements of the public and urban landscape by placing on the samelevel the architectural (a building with an emblematic façade), the vegetal (the tree in the plaza where we played) and the human (the neighbor who always sat on the same park bench), among others. We believe that this perspective can becomeradical in an unexpected way if it is carried out from the perspective of a work from the Museum previously seen, smelled, and creatively discussed.The mediation of the works and places will be based on carrying out creative actions with them as objects, to promote critical and expanded observation of the work and subjective, bodily and also critical exploration ofurban space. To the significant power of the work-place binomial we thus add two contributions: that of the practices of mediated plastic creation from the workshops and laboratories of María Maraña, and that of the techniques of proprioceptive exploration and identity fabulation from the interactive practices of Sergi Hernández.
