"Like hundreds of other people,
since Hemingway I've been fascinated by the drama of the bullring.
You don't have to be an artist to feel that - just an ordinary
human being. And that's exactly what makes us different from the
animals. It's a well-known fact that we share 99% of our DNA with
chimpanzees, and there's no doubt that you can teach a chimpanzee
lots of things - but you can never teach him how to draw, sing
or compose.
Nowadays, for an artist to confront the universe of the bullring
is a seemingly impossible task. I believe that it's one of the themes
that demands the greatest humility. It's not easy to have something relevant
to say after Goya and Picasso - to name but two. And it's impossible
to escape the iconic influence of one's forerunners, especially when
you're enthralled - as I am - by this confrontational experience which
is more of a sacred mystery than a show.
For years, I didn't dare tackle this subject. I used to tear up my useless
attempts to convey this world. They seemed to me terribly clumsy, pointless
and even laughable. Worse still, they seemed pathetically banal!
Then came my animal pictures ... other animals. There were rhinoceroses,
elephants, bears, horses .. And one fine day a bull muzzled in on my
artwork. All that remained for me to do was to fit a human figure into
the picture.
The magic of the bullring comes from this vital confrontation between
pure, brutal force and an elegant, slender fragility. It's the world
upside-down. Before our very eyes we have a paradox that we find - and
will always find - difficult to comprehend. Because this says it all:
brutality is overwhelmed and struck down by fragility!
In short, it's David and Goliath, played over 100 times - the old Biblical
myth, coming to you live!" |
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