Journey To Barcelona
I did it this time! My forearm felt as though it had been continually punched. It was sore to the point that my complaining to those close to me had become annoying to them and I am not a complainer by nature. My neck was also somewhat painful but not as bad. Something wasn’t just right. I went to a doctor who suggested an X-ray and an MRI. Lo and behold I had blown out two disks in my upper neck and as a result, surgery was recommended to repair it. I was the new proud owner of two lovely and costly titanium clam-like replacements for the disks in my neck. I had no idea what the future had in store for me. Without going into the details of the year-long drama, I slowly recovered. What I remember is what an authority everyone was on my physical pain. It was amazing how everyone knew it better than me. I didn’t know if I would be in pain for the rest of my life or what the quality of life would be like. But I did learn to listen to my instincts and to be my advocate regarding anything health-related. Listen to your inner voice!
Lying in bed in pain, I did a great deal of thinking. I took stock and swore to myself that if I ever got out of bed, I would dedicate my life to the investigation of art—mine and that of others—to walking the path of an artist. After all, I had my MFA. I had a couple of exhibitions after that, but life got in the way, and my pursuit of a viable art practice lagged and lagged.
So I came up with a plan. “The Grand Plan”. It was a detailed plan to pursue a sustainable art practice. I still refer to it. I made healing and recovery a priority with the hope of gathering some semblance of mobility. With prescribed medication and weed I was able to maintain a somewhat normal quality of life.
The first part of my plan was to leave Los Angeles and search for art residencies outside the United States. This would give me an emotional clean slate to create work with the company of other artists and would put me in a creative bubble that I was longing for. I applied to three residencies; In Capetown, Barcelona, and St. Petersburg. I weighed the pros and the cons, for example, the cost, and the political climate, and carefully pondered my decision. I had the advantage of having visited all those cities before so I had a good idea of what was in store. I went with what would become one of the best choices in my life. I decided on Barcelona. So in March 2018, I packed my bags and I landed in the Gracia District where I would reside at the Jiwar Creation Society residency for the next two months. I got acquainted with my new fellow artists/roommates and began mentally preparing for the work that I was to create. I explored the city searching for ideas for an exhibition we would be having at the end of my time at the residency.
One particular day I bought a ticket to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) it suddenly hit me. I suddenly found my new series right in front of me. Designed by Frank Gehry, I could automatically tell his signature stamp because the materials that he used were his classic white panels which were the same used as the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, a museum with which I was very familiar. In front of the museum, is an expansive two-tiered plaza used as a thoroughfare and cafes. It turns out the area was a skateboarding hot spot used by some of the best skaters in the world. I watched them do their acrobatic stunts and pondered how I could produce a successful series with what I was seeing. I searched to find a consistent and visually interesting series. I then sat against the wall with others and watched these amazingly talented men performing their sport.
I pulled out the camera out of my backpack and took some shots here and there not knowing exactly what I was looking for. The first day I was there for approximately two hours and after arriving back at my flat I sat down with a nice bottle of good Spanish wine and slowly reviewed my images of the day. I took perhaps one hundred images and a couple of them caught my interest. The most interesting photographs I took were those of the skaters in mid-air. They looked as though they were flying or dancing in the air while defying gravity. There was an oddness to the images and I found them to be interesting. I was excited about what I was capturing with my camera.
The next day I landed in my newfound spot and focussed on fine-tuning my shots by photographing my subject in mid-air with face towards me. Those became the most interesting to me. I was captivated by their physical effort and their facial expressions. I also appreciated the repetition of doing the same manoeuvers over until it was a perfect execution of artistic expression and sport. The practice, determination, and drive these skateboarders had was inspiring.
For two full weeks, I sat in my spot and patiently shot with determined consistency. I did get a bit of resistance from some of the skateboarders. Some did not want to be photographed which I respected but for the most part, nobody else cared. My goal was to capture each skateboarder solo in mid-air. I decided it was okay for other observers to be included in the images as it was such a crowded public space and it didn’t affect my visual goals.
I found the surrounding counter-cultural scene to be just as interesting as what I was documenting with my camera. Just people hanging out and enjoying their lives. Weed wafting in the air, beer cans or flasks hidden in their backpacks or brown paper bags. There were the groupies and their admirers watching the free entertainment that was in front of them. It was a free show for all to enjoy. It was also late March when everyone was enjoying the warmer March weather and sunshine.
I then returned to my flat and began editing my series. For me, the editing process is not done in a day. The images need to resonate and stand out. I pick them up and put them away. I later returned with a fresh eye and looked again and again. Toward the end of my stay, the Residency set up a group exhibition in our flat which was very well received and where I could meet others in the local art scene. My work was well received and my stay at the Jiwar exhibition was successful. I created I new series that I was proud of and I reignited my art practice.
As a side note, what I didn’t mention earlier is I also had another secret agenda; I was looking to find a way to get back to Europe. In my younger days, I had studied in Switzerland and London and was seeking a way to make a move back. I just didn’t know where until I fell in love with my new adopted city Barcelona. The Modernista architecture, food, easy transport vibrant culture pulled me in a way I could not resist.
Upon my return back to Los Angeles I applied for my Spanish visa. On December 27, 2019, I turned the key to my new flat which turned out to be in the same building as the residency. And that was shortly before the entire world changed with the COVID pandemic. I got to enjoy six glorious weeks until the hammer dropped and we were restricted in our homes for one hundred and eighty days. So I adopted two Jack Russell puppies Sonny and Cher to keep me company, Zoomed a lot with my friends, and considered how to proceed in furthering my art practice. Nothing is ever done in a straight line. Twists and turns in life always happen. I’ve come to embrace that part of life because it is the journey and how one handles it that is the adventure and that’s what my life is now, an adventure.