Mitoraj: Art and Publicity in Barcelona

When I took this picture some months ago, last summer I think, and I was about to publish it here I suddenly found out that someone else had posted a very similar shot, from the same place. I thought the scene wasn't original enough to show. Things like that happen in public places, you are not the only one around shooting for the web. But now I think, hey, this is my picture, so what the heck, the fact someone posted it first doesn't make me a cheater. So here it is, back from my archives, a detail of one of Igor Mitoraj's itinerant sculptures against a very idyllic billboard at Rambla Catalunya. By the way, the lady, the pose, the golden reflections remind me of (now you will think I went crazy, hmm, more or less) that famous The Graduate scene where Dustin Hoffman is laying back on a beach mattress in the middle of the swimming pool with a hand behind his neck and wearing sunglasses. Need a little help?: The Sounds of Silence. I reckon the comparison is a little ackward, but you know how weird daydreaming can get to be sometimes. How about adding some common sense to the photograph by recalling other Mitoraj sculptures featured in Barcelona Photoblog in the past: A Closer Look on Igor Mitoraj's Sculpture , Grande Toscano, Mysterious Faces, Lying Head and Hold Me Tight.

A Closer Look on Igor Mitoraj's Sculpture

A close look, a very close look in fact and I meant literally, not that I am going to make an essay on Mitoraj. I believe that I have said everything within my reach about this Polish-German sculptor in recent posts. I just wanted to experiment with this head called Polvere d'Oriente made in 1990. Seen from this angle it looks like some Pascua monolyth or ancient God. According to some sources this man represents Buddha.

MITORAJ: The Tuscan or Grande Toscano

The Tuscan or Grande Toscano (Toskanczyk in Polish, Igor Mitoraj's mother tongue) was first exhibited along with Ikaria and Tindaro in La Défense District, Paris in 1983, in fact, they were conceived for that part of the city based upon previous drawings by the artist. Now Grande Toscano is in Barcelona till July 2007 as part of an itinerant exhibition by this famous sculptor born in 1944 in Oederan, a town in the district of Freiberg, Germany, but of Polish parents. I took the liberty of applying some tonal treatment with an HDR software plus a little extra light with Photoshop to both the head in the frame which I think represents the heart or the soul of the Tuscan, and to the female bust coming out of Adam's rib according to what I interpret. Of course Igor if you disagree with such lay approach please let me know. 

To have a better idea I suggest you check my previous posts on Mitoraj. If you are a great fan browse Mitoraj pictures at Flickr or a Mitoraj video at YouTube.

Today's Pick: As you know Google is publishing the daily trends or most searched terms in the engine so I thought it might be useful to you.