Sa Llotja

One of the most outstanding buildings in Palma de Mallorca is often mistaken for a church. Sa Llotja is not and has never been a place of worship of a religious kind; it was the old seat of the Col.legi de Mercaders (Merchants guild), in other words a trading exchange.

Sa Llotja (La Lonja in Castellano) is considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. It was built from 1420 to 1452 by Guillem Sagrera, who was responsible not only for the project, but also for the building of the work down to its sculptural details, such as those of the Ángel de los mercaderes above the main portal and the ten gargoyles, plus various others all of which are of a splendid quality. The Llotja’s indoors forms a single space with two rows of tall, spiralling columns, creating a magnificent space with a splendidly vaulted ceiling. During the 15th century, the Mediterranean Sea came up to the Muralla Islámica (city walls) into which the Llotja building was seamlessly integrated.

The building is currently closed for extensive restauration work, including a new flat roof and some meticulous repair of the stone work including most of the sculptures, all courtesy of the Consell de Mallorca.

The photo (top) was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: January 11th, 2008. The time was 13:54:11. The photo (bottom) was taken from the Internet, courtesy of Archiseek.com.

Muchas gracias.

Mallorcan Roba de Llengües

The cheerful colours of a cloth known as Roba de Llengües is probably the most characteristic visual symbol of Mallorcan art and craft traditions. The age-old cloth typically has a pattern of tongue-like shapes or Llengües of white interspersed with blue, green or red. The colouring technique is similar to that of Ikat. In the old days, yarn made of hemp (Cannabis saliva) was used in this hand-weaving process on large looms. But nowadays, Llengües cloth is mostly woven in a mixture of cotton (70 %) and linen (30 %) instead of using hemp. The yarn is first dyed in white, then sections are dyed in colour to achieve the chosen pattern. Some segments of the yarn are covered altogether to avoid being dyed.

The spirit of the Llengües weaving tradition is still maintained in Mallorca by three textile workshops: Galeries Vicenç in Pollença, Gabriel Riera in Lloseta, and Artesenia Textil Bujosa in Santa Eugènia.

A visit to a Llengües museum is recommended, the Museu Martí Vicenç in Pollença, where details of the process of artisanal loom weaving can be studied and where a huge range of historic designs may be admired, some of which are hundreds of years old.

During the month of November, Palma’s Casal Solleric will present an exhibition about the tradition of Mallorcan Roba de Llengües, including a design recently created by Miquel Barceló, the Felanitx-born painter and artist.

The photo (top) was taken near Valldemossa, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: September 18th, 2009. The time was 15:29:30. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet. Credit is due to diariodemallorca.es.

Muchas gracias.

The Mallorca Record Fair

The Fira Internacional del Disc a Mallorca celebrates its tenth edition this weekend. This year’s record fair started yesterday and will continue until tomorrow, September 13th, at the Palma Arena. Opening hours today will be from 16h00 to 22h00 and tomorrow from 16h00 to 21h00. Entrance admission is 7 € to include one CD at the gate.

I have visited the Fira del Disc on four or five previous occasions. If you are a music lover with tastes leaning towards Punk, Indie, Ska, Rap, Alternative Rock or Reggae, you might well want to make your way to Palma. In case you should go on Sunday, you will be treated to a performance by The Godfathers, a rather successfull Indies Rock band from the Eighties. In all, there will be 22 bands performing live during this three day event. If you are a serious record collector the Palma fair just may have that special vinyl that you have been looking for everywhere. A total of 60 record stalls will offer their wares covering records, CDs, DVDs, posters, T-Shirts and memorabilia. There will also be two photographic exhibitions.

The musician in my photo is Aaron Lordson who was born in Togo (West Africa) but now resides in Spain. He had studied and graduated as a gynaecologist, but left the field of medicine to concentrate on his music two years after he graduated. Occasionally you can meet him in the streets of Palma where I am sure you will be amazed about his fantastic voice. Aaron prefers to sing out in the open over indoor concert halls. He has been touring Spain this year extensively where you would have had a chance to bump into him and his music in Barcelona, Madrid, Marbella, Valladolid, Galicia or someplace. Next year he has plans to go to South America where he has been invited to play the Vinya del Mar festival in Chile. He will then tour Argentina and Brazil.

I understand that Aaron Lordson will perform at the Mood Beach Club in Costa d’en Blanes (Calvia) next Saturday (September 19th) at 21h30.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 17th, 2009. The time was 13:22:31.

Aigües Tortes

The Galeria Pelaires in Palma de Mallorca is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. The gallery was founded by Pep Pinya in 1969 and has since developed into a formidable outlet for contemporary and 20th century art in Mallorca and indeed, in Spain. I understand that King Juan Carlos I acquires some of his art from this Palma gallery.

When the art gallery proprietor-to-be first discovered that premises were available where later Sala Pelaires was opened, he initially thought of opening a floristry. He had previously been making his money in the fashion business. However, it was upon the insistence of his then wife, Nini Quetglas, that Pinya tried his hand at modern art, hitherto without much representation in Spain. Spanish dictator, Franco was still alive at that time and many artists had emmigrated to neighbouring France. Sala Pelaires was the first gallery in Mallorca showing work by Joan Miró. In fact, I think it was mainly through Pinya’s association with Miró and his friends (Picasso, Calder et al.) that the gallery became so successful.

The exhibition at the Centre Cultural Contemporani Pelaires celebrating the 40th anniversary is called Aigües Tortes (Distorted Waters).

Two contemporary artists – but which art is not contemporary at the time of its making? – are the protagonists of this show: Rebecca Horn (Germany) and Yannis Kounellis (Greece/Italy).

My photo shows a detail of Rebecca Horn’s sculpture Baño de Gotas de Rocío Vistas a Través de la Bola de Cristal (A Bath in Dew as Seen Through the Cristal Ball). The exhibition will be open until the end of September. A visit to the exhibition is highly recommended. Whilst enjoying the art pieces you can also appreciate the grandeza of the premises, Can Sureda d’Artà, a beautiful town palace dating from the 17th century and, at some time in the past, a Colegio de Señoritas de la Anunciación run by nuns.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 13th, 2008. The time was 12:42:27.

Konstantinos Kavafis

There is no evidence that the eminent Greek poet, Konstantinos Kavafis (Constantine Petrou Cavafy, 1863-1933), has ever been to the island of Mallorca or to the island capital, Palma.

But, if ever the fancy should take you, you could pay homage to the good man who was born, lived and died in Alexandria (Egypt), during a visit to the Jardins de s’Hort del Rei, in Palma de Mallorca, and read part of a short poem by Kavafis inscribed there.

The Catalan artist Josep Maria Subirachs (Barcelona, 1927) is the creator of a sculpture placed in these lovely gardens, being titled Jònica (1963). The sculpture is made of marble and carries the inscription of an excerpt of the poem Ionic by Cavafy. As is so very often the case in Mallorca, the Municipal authorities of Palma were not prepared to pay any fees for the artist’s creation but, after much haggling accepted the sculpture as a gift in 1983, simply paying for the material used and the man hours spent.

I could not find a manuscript of the ‘Ionic’ poem on the Internet. Instead let me offer you a Cavafy manuscript of the poem Keriá (Candles).

If you would like to know more about the poet Cavafy, you might want to consult the C. P. Cavafy website.

Should you like to know more about the artist Subirachs, you will find the biography of J. M. Subirachs on the Caixa Penedès website.

The photo (top) was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 18th, 2004. The time was 11:07:58. The photo (bottom) was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 13th, 2009. The time was 14:07:56. The image of the handwritten poem ‘Keriá’ was taken from the Internet. Thanks are due to Wikipedia.

Calder, Nancy And Miró

A large scale mobile sculpture by American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is on permanent exhibition in Palma’s Jardins de s’Hort del Rei, just below the Palau de l’Almudaina in Passeig Antoni Maura. The sculpture is called Nancy (1972); the object was part of an exhibition of Calder’s work in Sala Pelaires (a Palma gallery) in September/October of 1972. The American artist enjoyed a lifelong friendship with Mallorca’s Joan Miró, who in turn was instrumental in getting Calder’s exhibition organised at Pelaires. Both artists had met and become friends whilst living and working in Paris (France) in 1928.

Miró persuaded his friend Calder to donate the sculpture to the Ajuntament de Palma in 1973 but, as so often, the bureaucrats did not show much enthusiasm about the present. A sizeable amount of customs duties and excise tax would have had to be paid. But luckily some bigshots in Madrid considered the work of art worthy of being classified as a patrimonio nacional, thus allowing the sculpture to be exempt from import duties. Now, the townhall in Palma graciously accepted the free gift.

The artist’s wish was to have his mobile displayed in Palma’s new Parque del Mar, between the Cathedral and the sea, allowing for the winds of the sea breeze to gently keep Nancy moving. But the only place where the mobile was ever exhibited under the custody of the Palma mandarins were the s’Hort del Rei gardens from 1974 till 1985, and again from 1994 until today.

If you want to go and see the Calder mobile, you might also wish to pay a visit to Joan Miró’s nearby work Monument a la dona, often refered to as Miró’s Egg, just outside the Grand Café Cappuccino in Carrer Conquistador.

The photo (top) was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 17th, 2009. The time was 15:00:16. The photo (bottom) shows the cover of a cataloge for an 2004-05 exhibition of works by Calder and Miró at Fondation Beyeler, Basel (Switzerland) and Phillips Collection in Washington DC (USA). This image was borrowed from the Amazon.com website. Thank you very much.

The Writing on the Wall

On one of your shopping excursions in Palma’s old town you may have noticed some small graffiti doodles over the last year or so, such as in Carrer Sant Feliu, Carrer Montenegro and the whole Sa Llotja district. Some of these graffiti drawings are relating the image of an insect to the word ‘god’, or the image of a four-legged animal to the word ’spacesheep’. In case you should be interested, I can reveal the name of the artist: Albert Pinya.

It is indeed an artist who created the very precisely executed graffiti images, or so opines his gallery representative for Spain, Ferran Cano (below on the left; the artist can be seen on the right). Albert Pinya was born in Palma de Mallorca in 1985, but now lives and works in Berlin (Germany).

For those of you interested in some of Pinya’s gallery work (acrylic on canvas), here is one painting called ‘Majorca’. The artist has successfully shown his work in Milan and Turin (Italy), Chicago and New York (USA), Antwerp (Belgium), Berlin (Germany), Basel (Switzerland), Barcelona and Caceres (Spain). This is an artist we may well hear more of.

The photo (top) was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 16th, 2009. The time was 13:49:22. The photo (centre) was taken from the Internet courtesy of Diario de Mallorca. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Gómezdelacuesta Blog. Muchas gracias.

The Glory Restored

The beautiful stained glass window in Palma’s cathedral suffered a bit of a mishap just over a year ago when some stormy weather in February of 2008 caused severe damage to a number of the window’s panes and also, to part of the stone masonry holding the panes in place. The large rose window is renowned for its glory and beauty. No wonder, as it was designed in 1903 by none other than Antoni Gaudí of Sagrada Familia fame in Barcelona.

Luckily, and just in time for last Sunday’s Corpus Cristi celebrations, the window has now been restored to its original glory. Of the 1,115 panes of glass, 535 have been replaced. All glass panes have been re-set in lead.

You may want to pay another visit to La Seu any time soon, as Palma’s cathedral is called by the locals. Remember that access to the cathedral outside of times of church service is through the Casa de Almoina which houses the Museo de la Catedral. Entrance admission is 4 €, unless you are a resident in Mallorca and can prove your status. In this case, entrance admission is granted for free.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: June 16th, 2009. The time was 13:49:22.

A Mallorcan Stonehenge

Mallorca is the proud home of plenty of prehistoric sites, numbering well over one thousand. Many of them have deteriorated into a pretty poor shape with their original form barely recognizable. Others are still in the process of slowly being excavated. If the sites have lasted for 3,000 to 4,000 years, why rush? About 100 sites or so are in a good state of preservation, and well worthy of a visit, such as Ses Païses, S’Hospitalet Vell, Son Fornés or Son Real, to name but a few.

Some of the Mallorcan prehistoric sites may have been places of rituals or worship. A Mallorcan Stonehenge was not amongst them as far as one can gather at this moment in time.

Two artists have created a work of art that is both, a tribute to the prehistoric eminence of this island and also, an homage to the enigmatic stone circle found at Stonehenge (UK). The artists are a married couple with the names of Ben Jakober and Yannick Vu; their stone circle is called Las Estelas del Sol, dating from 2007, and can be seen at the Fundació Yannick y Ben Jakober near Alcúdia. According to the artists, their installation is “inspired by the megaliths or stone circles, also known as cromlech. It is probable that they were astronomic alignments, used to celebrate rituals related to the cult of Mother Earth”. The work of art was assembled out of 12 obelisks that were found on the island, each weighing in excess of 9 tons; the overall dimensions of this magical stone circle are a diameter of 7,500 cm and a height of approx. 350 cm.

You can admire this Mallorcan stone circle for free every Tuesday from 09h30 to 12h30 and 14h30 to 17h30, and some admiration would be justified. On other days (Wednesday to Saturday) entrance admission will be charged at 9 €.

The photo (top) was chosen from my archive. It was taken near Alcúdia, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 18th, 2008. The time was 14:20:54. The photo (bottom) was taken from the artists’ website. Thank you.

The Esglèsia de Sant Julià

Campos del Port is a very lively pueblo in the South East of the island with some 8,000 inhabitants, lamenting the dubious circumstance that there are no tourist facilities to speak of within its municipal boundaries. Other than that the village is probably best known for Pomar, perhaps Mallorca’s best pastisseria.

Campos del Port is usually not recognised for its beautiful church, the Esglèsia parroquial de Sant Julià, although it should be. The church exterior may not be any more spectacular than that of any other Catholic church in Mallorca, but the interior is quite different and in a stunning way so. Sant Julià was built between 1858 and 1873 in the Neoclassical style. The church’s enormous proportions surprise somewhat, as does the sheer beauty of its vaulted ceiling, splendidly decorated in white, blue and golden stars.

As if that were not enough, the Esglèsia de Sant Julià also offers an artistic gem in the shape of a 17th century oil painting attributed to non other than Bartolomé Esteba Murillo (Nuestro Señor de la Paciencia). One would normally have to visit places like the Museo del Prado (Madrid), the National Gallery of Ireland (Dublin), or the Hermitage (St. Petersburg) to see one of Murillo’s paintings.

The photos were taken in Campos del Port, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 10th, 2009. The time was 13:03:17 and 12:53:41, respectively.