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Mordillo

29/9/2011

A bonus in Genoa was the exhibition by Guillermo Mordillo at the Museo Luzzati in the old port area. Although I was familiar with a couple of his works (I always wrongly assumed he was Italian) seeing the real stuff is always that much more rewarding.

Mordillo is still going strong at the venerable age of 78. His silent humour features love, animals, nature, sports, and man's ultimately futile and hopeless endeavors in a language that is laugh-out-loud hilarious, disarmingly simplistic, graphically faultless and vibrantly colorful.

My favourite work from this exhibition is a piece that was commissioned by Amnesty International. It features a monochromatic townscape and police arresting a man who dares to paint the roof of his house in vivid, wavy pink lines. A brilliant depiction of the tragic rendered in comic language.

The exhibition runs till the 8th of January 2012.

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Riviera del Levante

29/9/2011

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The walking season sure started with a bang this year.

First thing before you plan a hike in the Cinque Terre - check the weather. Second thing before you plan a hike in the Cinque Terre - check if any of the paths are closed. We dId the first but did not reckon on the second. So after the obligatory Via dell'Amore path between Riomaggiore and Manarola - where you encounter half the population of Tokyo taking pictures of each other and pay five euros for the privilege - we were told that the coastal path to Corniglia was closed due to a recent rockfall. Alternative route via Volastra. No problem except that Volastra is 335 metres above sea level (and you start at sea level) and by the time you get there you are sweating like a pig in the 27c temperature. Thoughtfully the Italians provide a drinking fountain gushing out cold spring water when you get to the hamlet of Volastra after you climb what must be more than a thousand uneven, unforgiving steps.

From Volastra the ground levels somewhat and the walking is incredibly scenic. In short you start enjoying yourself rather than questioning your mental faculties. The path meanders between steep vineyards and the views down to Manarola and Corniglia almost make up for the litres of sweat you lose on the way up. The steep downward trail to Corniglia isn't easy either as by that time your legs start feeling like jelly. It happened to me once before when I climbed down 999 steps in Nafplio in Greece, and pretty it isn't.

The only pity on this hike is that we did not have enough time for a swim beneath the sheer cliffs of Corniglia. Sadly we also missed out on Vernazza which is probably the most photogenic of the Cinque Terre villages. Bloody rockfalls.

The next day the going had to be a bit easier so we took a train to the picturesque village of Camogli. Camogli was a mercenary town of sorts and had "a thousand white sailing ships"; threw in its weight in various naval battles and (the brochures say) it once held off Napoleon's navy too. The ferry service to the Abbey of San Fruttuoso was still running so we finally had our swim in the best of places on a small shingle beach with the medieval abbazia as a backdrop.

San Fruttuoso is practically only accessible by sea as it's backed up by a very steep cliff (or you can trudge up and down hills to Camogli and you're there in three hours...). Strange place to build an abbey and a bit silly too; flash floods and rock falls made a havoc of the place as recently as 1915.

Still old Fruttuoso must have had a very good sense of aesthetics as he apparently chose this place to be buried - posthumously, in a vision to his worthy deacons who went by the equally suspicious names of Augurio and Eulogio. All this happened some time after 259 A.D. when Fruttuoso was martyred in Tarragon, Spain.

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Staglieno. Out of this World

29/9/2011

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...and into the next one. Ever since Joy Division's second album Closer came out I have been fascinated by its beautiful cover image. At some time I got to know that it's a photo of a grave at the Staglieno Cemetery in Genoa - reputably one of the most beautiful and evocative cemeteries in the world.

I must admit that burial grounds have always had a sort of fascination for me. I can never resist the temptation to go in and have a look round when I pass by a village cemetery. Cemeteries are an ever present reminder of our own mortality and that is precisely why most people shy away from visiting them unless they absolutely have to. Deep down none of us wants to be reminded of our finity and most of our actions are taken in the false belief that we will be here forever. However I would like to think of cemeteries as at worst a reality check and at best as unique outdoor sculpture gardens offering a different dimension of history.

Our own Addolorata Cemetery is quite a masterpiece in its way. Its architect Emmanuel Luigi Galizia made exceptionally clever use of the hill on which it sits - siting the Gothic chapel at its very peak and with all inner roads winding their way from the beautiful entrance gateway up to the same chapel. Some of the private family chapels on the side facing Garibaldi Road are quite astounding in their originality and use of funerary motifs. In Malta we also have a host of military cemeteries, most of them impeccably maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is hard not to be moved when you go round these and see the many graves of British airmen who lost their lives here especially around April 1942 when the blitz on Malta was at its worst. We certainly owe a lot to these brave men.

So visiting Staglieno while in Genoa was a must of course. It is a very sad place and quite frankly after an hour the atmosphere got me, though the day's cloudiness and high humidity must have had an effect as well. The monuments are quite something - not least the Closer grave (actually the Appiani family grave). Close by is the fallen angel reproduced for the cover of Joy Division's single Love Will Tear Us Apart. And up near Staglieno's main chapel is the beautiful angel on the Oneto family grave. The most gruesome sculpture must be the Death and the Maiden grave sculpture.

A very "popular" grave locally is the one of Caterina Campodonico (despite my best efforts I could not locate it) - a woman who sold nuts on the streets of Genoa and invested her life savings to have a statue of herself here among the rich and powerful. She wears a shawl decorated with all sorts of er...nuts. I strongly suspect that having one's statue here was something of a fashion in days gone by and cadavers-to-be must have vied to engage the best sculptors before starting their afterlife.

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Liguria - Finally a Break

29/9/2011

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First holiday in ages. Marthese and myself had planned a trip to Paris originally but after countless booking requests to a hundred budget hotels being turned down I reckoned they can stuff Paris up their collective sarkozies for the time being. We have both been there before so it can always wait. We turned our attention to Italy and zeroed in on Genoa since we'd never been. The Cinque Terre and the Riviera del Levante are near enough for day trips and I have always wanted to visit Staglieno Cemetery ever since I heard Joy Division's ethereal music. Not a difficult decision then.

A few queries and we landed a good cheapo place - Palazzo Morali, a real palazzo actually http://www.palazzomorali.com/home.html - slap bang on the waterfront and a steal at 75 Euro per night breakfast included. More than that absolutely no cancellation policy and no upfront non-refundable deposits bollockses if you book directly with the hotel. The Signora just asked for my mobile number and requested that we inform her if we had a change of plan.
Pretty neat. Trust - you don't find that a lot around these days.

Genoa is not an immediately likeable place but we were prepared for that - the Rough Guide said as much. An elevated four lane motorway scars the waterfront and despite Renzo Piano's best efforts to regenerate the old port (an otherwise highly successful exercise) this road remains a hugely visible scar. In a way very much like Piano's plans for Valletta where he has to create something beautiful amidst a kitsch seventies block of apartments which the authorities are probably too scared to demolish. We had a decent fourth floor room with over the top decor; a great view of the painted Palazzo San Giorgio if you turn eyes right and an unobstructed view of the highway and the old port beyond if you stare straight ahead. Double glazed windows kept the noise out. A very convenient Metro stop was just round the corner.

But delve deep into Genoa's narrow streets and vicoli and it's very rewarding. The oldest part is the closest thing to an Arab medina I have seen in mainland Europe - smells included. Six and seven storey palazzi totter precariously over miniscule squares. Churches and niches abut everywhere - some sitting on top of a ground floor of shops underneath. It's weird but it is very much alive and you get a real sense that the area has been lived in continuously for so long. I am normally highly suspicious of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites listings but Genoa's warren definitely deserves it. It is quite simply unique.

Genoa also has it's big draw - the newish Aquarium rated as the second largest in Europe, but frankly this seems more like it is geared up for families with (noisy) children. I almost feel guilty having been there against Marthese's express animal-loving objections. Otherwise the waterfront hosts all sorts of activities (mostly noisy) and is a vibrant place to stroll or just people-watch.

Genoa cannot really compete in the tourism stakes with the big boys of Rome, Venice and Florence which is just as well as prices here are much more sensible. The priciest meal for two comprising mixed fish and complete with wine, dessert and espresso came to a modest 70 Euro. At the other end of the scales a plate of trofie con pesto can be had for as little as five euro. Definitely a draw if you're on a budget.

Would I go there again? Oh I really wouldn't mind.

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Work progressing well...

22/9/2011

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I started inking this work at the beginning of September. Three weeks and thousands (upon thousands) of pen strokes later I am pretty much nearing completion of the "monochrome phase" where I use only pen to do just about everything. The coloring will be something else - but it will definitely have to be subtle and subdued - nothing in-yer-face. Up to now I have used just one pen (frugal? who me?) and that's the reliable Faber Castell TGIS Technical pen size 0.13.

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Work in Progress

8/9/2011

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The one that looks like Amy-minus-beehive and the other one taking shape...

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Doodle to Drawing

1/9/2011

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Ever since I decided to use pens again (just a month or so ago that is) I've made it a point to spend fifteen to twenty minutes a day doodling. Doodling is such a great way to unwind and "unstiffen" your hand (the left hand in my case) and sometimes the doodling itself generates ideas.

I am starting on a new drawing from one of my more "accomplished" (ahem) pieces of doodling.

It started off with the usual ugly face, a retro hairstyle, Amy eyelashes, an unlikely evening dress, and then an equally ugly partner of sorts. Then I put in a formal garden for a background. Nice composition or just weird?

I will try to make this a "dark" picture with a night sky and full moon.
It's all there in my head I hope. Let's get going!

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Mordillo

Riviera del Levante

Staglieno. Out of this World

Liguria - Finally a Break

Work progressing well...

Work in Progress

Doodle to Drawing

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