Modernisme, Modern Art, Modern Flamenco

September 1, 2023

Barcelona is a large, spread out city, but the main neighborhoods and main sites to see are fairly walkable. It is probably 50 percent tourist, 50 percent residents. And the ones I talked to like it that way. All living together, apartments and hotels in the same neighborhoods. I walked in El Born and Ramblas Catalunya but also took full advantage of the easy to navigate subway system. It has several lines, color coded and like most city subways, many intersect. I bought a Hola Barcelona Metro card good for 4 days. You can buy in single 2 and 3 day passes as well. Just don't lose that paper card!

My hotel Yurbban Trafalgar is in the El Born neighborhood, just near Place Catalunya, a major square in the city with shopping and restaurants abound. I managed to get a room with a balcony. Then, fighting jet lag on almost 30 hours of not much sleep, I went to a Mediteranean restaurant in Eixample neighborhood called La Palmera, where I enjoyed Squid and Squid Ink Croquettes and Grilled Hake with sauteed vegetables. Deliciós! 

And remember, it's Catalunya or Catalonia as their identity, not Spain. Catalon is the prevailing language, though signs will be in Catalon, Spanish, and English. 

Oh yeah, my hotel also has a rooftop pool and bar. I apparently needed the "drink of the summer" Aperol Spritz.

Also, the hotel offers guests a daily free wine and cheese hour, Wine-O'Clock.  Can't pass that up can I?

Bound by the Mediteranean Sea on the east and mountains on the west. If you venture to Parc Guell in the western hills, make sure you purchased a ticket before you go. It is very popular, just like every site in Barcelona is. In fact, you should buy all tickets in advance for every museum, church, or architectural tour you are interested in. I visited the Picasso Museum, La Pedrera Casa Mila, Fundacion Joan Mira, a Guitar Trio Concert at Palau de la Musica Catalana, and the centerpiece of the skyline, La Sagrada Familia. All reserved before I left home.

So there was Modernisme styled architecture, Modern Art, and a Modern twist on classic Flamenco

Modernisme 

Modernisme is the name given to artistic and architectural movement in Barcelona in the mid to late 19th Century as a way to expand on Catalon Renaissance and to forge a unique Catalonian identity through paintings, skuptures, and architecture. Antoni Gaudi is one of the prominent figures in this path. His ideas and style can be seen in the Sagrada Familia and Pedrera Case Mila. 

Wealthy residents of Barcelona hired Gaudi and others to create different Art Nouveau facades for their apartment buildings. Walking down large pedestrian areas like Ramblas Catalunya you can view the colorful and wave-like buildings. It seems to be a competetion to see who can out-do the other building owners.

Here are some photos of Casa Mila for examples of curvy exteriors and archway interiors. Case Mila is said to have no straight angles anywhere in the building. 

Modern Art

Picasso at some point in his career may be considered in the Modern Art realm, although he didn't necessarily begin that way. You may read about his story elsewhere, but I just enjoy looking at the works with my limited knowledge of art and art history. But Picasso is from Barcelona and spent significant time painting here and many of the subjects from his balcony and surroundings.

At the Picasso museum, the paintings and skulptures are organized by the phases of his life, from standard human portraits to styles infused with pointilism and his own cubism. See, I guess I do know some art. But then you see as Picasso is older, he somewhat reverts to childlike drawings in the Pigeons series, with sticklike figures for the birds. All interesting to me. Is it Modern Art?

 

Picasso drew this when he was 14!

From the "Blue" period after a close friend's suicide

From the "Rose" period

Funny littls birds in Pigeon series

Or is this Modern Art?

I went to the museums on Monjuic on the southern hills of Barcelona. One is the Fundació Joan Miró. Also of Barcelona, Miró was an early 20th century artist, whose works perhaps can't be categorized. Realism or expressionism I think. Some, maybe even me, would say, is that art? When it is a squiggly line like a line graph on white canvas? Or artisic mosaics using cloth or rope as a canvas? Yeah I think it might be. But that is modern art and who am I to judge?

Also, the views from Monjuic are quite spectacular. I'm falling for Barcelona.

These are from the Monjuic Cable Car up to Monjuic Castle, which served as a lookout to the citizens of Barcelona for approaching enemies!

Modern Flamenco

Or at least a modern-ish twist on Flamenco styles.

I visited the Palau de la Musica Catalana - Palace of Catalan Music for a concert of a Barcelona Guitar Trio and Flamenco Dancers.

Flamenco guitar music is a distinctly Spanish music, originating in the Andalucian region of southern Spain. This is folk music. But each song is a melodic intro, then a really fast playing of the strings for the chorus, and really fast melody again. You need deft fingers to accomplish the striking music. Every song is in 3/4 time measure and feet, heels, and toes move in that fashion also. I think I even heard a song in 11/8 time measure: 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5.

Accompanying the music of course is the dancing of male and female elaborate costumes and fast moving steps and twirrels. I kept thinking throught the performances of both the guitar trio and the dancers is that American Jazz and Tap Dance so obviously has its roots in this type of music and dance. How they tap and move their feet. How the guitars play off of one another like improvisational jazz members do. It's fascinating, passionate, and gorgeous! The performers requested no photographs during the performance, so maybe you'll have to go yourself! Look for any performance schedule on the Palau web site: Palau de la Musica Catalana

In my theme of modernism, these performers used some modern jazz stylings like Chick Corea and Paco de Lucia, who is a major influence on jazz guitar. All you have to do is listen to artists like Al DiMeola and John McLaughlin to see the influence. So, a modern fusion twist with this Spanish Guitar Trio was a wonderful thing to experience. 

They playfully performed some Michael Jackson songs, all three playing a single guitar at once; one man sitting, one man over his shoulder, one man from underneath, playing upside down fingerings. Now, I hear you say, "Michael Jackson!?" That isn't modern! Well, while those songs were 40 years ago! But modern in a sense that flamenco is fold music that has been around for nearly 300 years, so on that context it may be modern. Hey it's my blog and I'm going with it! 

So, we have artistry in Barcelona that is Modernisme, Modern Art, Modern Flamenco. 

Salud!