In this blog you are to comment on one or more of the assigned articles in relation with any of the topics touched on in the lecture PDFs every week. Your posts should be brief (150 words or the equivalent to 1 paragraph) and, most importantly, a reflection of your preparation for class.
Los artículos sobre Franco y también sobre los artistas fueron muy interesantes. Tengo que decir que los de franco se me hicieron mas interesantes que los otros. Quizás se me hicieron mas interesantes porque los problemas que causo franco todavía se ven y también en una parte fueron esos problemas que cambiaron a la populación española. Me pareció muy interesante que su tumba todavía tiene flores que para mi esto significa que hay gente que todavía lo extraña, también se me hizo interesante que su tumba todavía esta intocable, yo me imaginaba que la gente iría a destruirla. El articulo sobre Gaudí fue bueno aunque no tan interesante como el de Dalí, el articulo de Dalí me gusto mucho porque aprendí que este artista era una persona muy interesada en la ciencia y esto es algo que casi nunca se menciona. El video fue también interesante pero no mucho, porque pienso que habla mas sobre Estados Unidos que de España.
The first article called “Polishing Gaudi’s Unfinished Jewel” talks about is the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia which is in Barcelona, Spain. This is the famous architecture building by Antoni Gaudi. The reading talks about how this building has been in the works for centuries and it still continues till this day to be in the works. There is somewhat of a controversy because Pope XVI decided to consecrate this temple. The article goes on to talk about Gaudi and how he was at some point due to his involvement with the catholic faith and his deep devotion for it, was close to being considered a saint. There are also arguments of how some believe that his masterpiece should not continue to be finished and should be left unfinished for that mater and how some people believe that because his masterpiece had help from other sculptors and architects, that his masterpiece isn’t just his and as such it doesn’t really matter if other people from now-a-days continue to work on it to finish what he once started.
The Spanish American War video is particularly interesting because it shows how the Spanish who were in charge of the Cuban, Puerto Rico and Philippines territories went to war with the United States. Revelry and acts of a want to not be under the tyrannical rule of the Spanish fueled this war as well as the attack that the American navy ships suffered when the Spanish naval fleets attacked the American ones because of the intervention that the U.S wanted to be part of in these Spanish territories.
The third article called “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” talks about how there is still that damage that was done by all the wrong that Franco did to the country. Sure he may have caused the country to progress but at what cost. The article talks about that when world war II happened, both Mussolini and Hitler were defeated (both were dictators) but unfortunately the Spanish dictator Franco, didn’t, and this was bad because in fact he was on the side that won the war, and continued ruling for 30 more years. This continued his reign of terror basically. Nevertheless there are people who (few ones) supported him and continue to do so and as such there has to be securities in his burial site that make sure that there are no people who bring pro-Franco related things to put in his tomb.
The fourth piece of reading for this week is called “Welcome to the Dali Dimension” which talks about how painter Salvador Dali was not only exiled from the surrealist painting movement but also one of the best painters ever to have existed. At one point he even worked with Sigmund Froid. He also loved to mix in his artwork with science. The milk crown painting that he created is even based off of a scientific symbol.
The final article, “General Francisco Franco” talks about his life, his rise to power, and his life up to his death. It is particularly interesting and I would like to learn more as to his motives of, although he knew he was a dictator and a ruthless one like Hitler, why he denied Hitler’s request to join the Axis power during World War II. Nonetheless, in connection to the third article, it is interesting to see more of who was this Franco dictator who caused so much damage and that up to this day, no one has really healed from the damage he caused the Spanish country. Also I would like to know why he was elected and recognized as the Spanish leader and even for that matter dictator, by Allied forces like Britain and America, when even before being the leader of the Spanish, he was already showing signs of being someone who was unmerciful and a ruthless leader.
Spanish American War Video- Alfred Mahan once said that a nation's power is directly correlated to its naval might. Countries at the time thus had to have a strong navy to be a dominant world power. During the second half of the 19th century, Cuban rebels yearned for independence and they used guerrilla warfare against Spain in this attempt. The U.S. newspapers additionally instigated action against Spain by publishing sensationalized articles (yellow journalism) to ignite war. After the USS Maine was destroyed, American officially joined the war and liberated Cuba as well as the Philippines. The US naval fleet was ordered to find and crush the Spanish navy by the president. Theodore Roosevelt's rough riders captured San Juan Hill and seized the Spanish fort while destroying Cuban ships in Havana. As the US was headed to Puerto Rico, Spain agreed to sign a peace treaty to end the war (which only lasted four months). This time period was an era where Spain was diminishing as a world power and losing its colonial possessions. Articles about General Francisco Franco- He is best known for the victory of the army in the Spanish civil war and he was very ruthless as well as feared. Eventually, other nations recognized him as head of Spain and a right wing dictator. The country recognized "his rule was law" and even after his death, Franco left an aftermath of his rule and he still leaves a haunting influence to this day. Franco built the Valley of the Fallen in 1959 and after he died, the monarchy was returned to Prince Juan Carlos. Although Franco’s committed several atrocities such as executing thousands and imprisoning others, he did however modernize and industrialize Spain. Polishing Gaudi's Unfinished Jewel- This article talks about how the Pope showcased the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia for a religious event to be hosted there. This temple was one of the world's most famous unfinished works of art and it is the culmination of several great artists. Salvador Dali- He was part of the avant-garde movement and he was most associated with surrealism. Dali was inspired by Sigmund Freud’s theories as well as science such as the atomic bomb and nuclear physics— this had led to the production of most of his popular works.
I thought the lecture discussion of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in relation to Catalan Modernism was very interesting. The article noted that as an ardent Catholic, Gaudi was more concerned with artistic representations of nature than of religion. I thought this was a crucial divergence from the previous forms of architecture known to Spain; for example, many cathedrals and mosques viewed columns as representations of reaching up to the heavens. In contrast, Gaudi wanted the inside of the Sagrada Familia to resemble a forest; thus, tall columns look tree-like, and extend far up into the air. Associated with modernity and the Avant-Garde artistic movement, this Catalan Modernism monument exemplifies the controversial history of the time period. In a sense, the controversy regarding whether or not the monument should be finished parallels the controversy between conservative and liberal ideals, the debate between the Enlightenment and Romanticism. In the Sagrada Familia, both the more modern, scientific Enlightenment approach to life is epitomized by the use of organic forms, as well as the more traditional viewpoint in which passion and feelings should be heeded (as the “master of the work was in no great hurry”) which can be related to the notion of progressive ideas as being negative. Overall, I agree that part of the intrigue of the monument itself is the fact that it has been – and continues to be – a work in progress, much like Spanish identity itself.
The article about Gaudi and professor Torecilla explanation of La Sagrada Familia was truly fascinating. The article talks about how Gaudi knew that he would not finish his master piece and that showed trust in those who were helping him. The cathedral is still unfinished but is one of Spain's main touristic attractions. In his modernism style, Gaudi seemed more concerned about emulating the organic elements on nature rather than represent religious scenes. He intended for the cathedral to look like a forest with it's tree-looking columns and the rays of light shining in from its high ceiling. Today PSain charges for tourists to go in and that money is used to finishing this project. The architectures working on it today know that they will not be completely fulfilling Gaudi's exact plan for his unfinished piece of art. To do so would to leave it unfinished. Whenever I think of Cathedrals I think of them as ancient buildings from Renaissance time but this particular cathedral is a modern cathedral and is still taking over 50 years to complete. Modernism at the turn of the 20th century was characterized by curves and elements of nature.
Salvador Dali was also a famous artist from the avant-garde movement who was ironically influenced by science and laws of nature given that he was a master of surrealism. I thought it was interesting to note how his signature resembles a crown while in reality is is the image of a splash in milk.
I also thought the articles about Franco portrayed him as a dictator who brought about modernization to Spain. The article about the Valley of the Fallen where he is buried gives an insight about how this figured is viewed now today in Spain. People are allowed to worship there only for religious reasons and visitors are not allowed in. Monarchy was again restored in 1975 after his death and continues until today.
Franco was Commander and Chief of the Nationalist Army during the Civil War, and once the Nationalists emerged successful in the War, Franco established himself as the Dictator of Spain. His dictatorship was plagued with no mercy for the defeated Loyalists and large-scale repression for the Spanish, illustrated by the 37k killed and the hundreds of thousands imprisoned. As the article, “The Valley of the Fallen” exemplifies that Franco’s dictatorship differs from the dictatorships of Hitler and Mussolini due to the fact that Hitler and Mussolini were both defeated, but Franco won. Furthermore, whereas in Germany, Germans realize that Hitler and the actions he represented were unacceptable, the distinction between right and wrong and Franco’s actions is not as clear, evident by the fact that “Francoist nostalgia” still exists within Spanish society. Spain has failed to reckon with its past, hence leaving many feeling justice is being scarified for the sake of keeping peace. However, the People’s Party, the Catholic Church, and King Juan Carlos I all exhibit a connection to Franco that makes them weary and unwilling to condemn Franco and his actions; therefore, leaving the responsibility to Prince Felipe. Prince Felipe, due to his generational separation from the time of Franco and the fact that he did not live during his reign, holds the remarkable ability to finally help Spain come to terms with its past and move into the future.
This week, I was extremely drawn to the two Franco articles-the first entitled "General Francisco Franco", and the other entitled "Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco" by Jonathan Freedland. The first article is a basic summary of Franco's essential rise to power as the dictator of Spain. I found it extremely interesting that before Franco was even appointed as a ruler of Spain, he suppressed the coal strike of the Asturias "with efficiency but very ruthlessly...this one incident sealed his reputation for brutality". Although of course authoritative figures must convey stern demeanors, Franco's dictator qualities were impossible to notice and it confuses me on how others did not see such early actions as a foreshadowing of tragic events to come. Also, I think it is extremely interesting that even leaders of the Roman Catholic Church opposed his dictatorship although he was a "devout" Catholic-Church and State in Spain usually, and historically, have a strong connection because of Catholicism. According to the article, Franco was basically seen as the best option compared to the Popular Front and potential communist rulers; however, I am curious to what Spaniards differentiated between a communist and a dictator? Although there are literal definition differences, in this historical context both rulers carried out a totalitarianist prospective that oppressed their own country and people. In the second article, security guards at Franco's burial site regulate the grave, along with allowed visitors' cars, to make sure there are no pro-Franco memorials brought. This just shows how much damage Franco's rule caused for his generation, and even generations that currently exist today; however, there is a blurred agreement amongst Spaniards on how truly positive, or negative, Franco's rule was. The article compared this to Nazi Germany acknowledging the terrors put to play under Hitler, along with a political general "falling to his knees in atonement" over the Holocaust; however, in Spain there is still blurring regarding the judgment of the thousands of unjust deaths under Franco. I think this reflects to our previous discussions of Spain's self-destructive tendency to live in the past, or to attain some sense of nostalgia because people continue to disagree about this civil dispute. Although time heals all, I feel as if Franco's rule, as well as legacy, have a very contradicting and controversial depiction,
This weeks articles range from diverse topics of art, war, and human rights. I enjoyed reading the art works of Dali and the architecture of La Sagrada Familia. I am hopeful that sometime in my lifetime the completion of the cathedral will occur. However I was interested in the fact that the structure of the Cathedral is not set in stone and hence is a collaboration of various artists contributing to the unfinished work. Hence if that is the reason behind the building of the cathedral it will be quite a few decades until its completion. As for the article about Dali I thought the ties between science and are were a great point because his paintings (as seen in class) do question the relevance of the technology at the time. However above all of the articles the ones about Franco grabbed my attention. To this day there are still groups of people who would like to see justice be done to those who died under Franco rule. Yet at the same time in doing so there are controversies as to who is to blame since the majority of the people held responsible are dead. I could see why the judge Baltasar Garzon was a fighter for Human Rights but in doing so there are families personal feelings that need to be taken into account. I guess the one theme this article emphasizes on, is a public apology to the families of the victims. Unfortunately they are once more faced with the question as to who should do it? And what should they say? As the article stated perhaps a formal apology will come once everybody from that era has passed away therefore apologizing to the descents of the republicans.
The articles that I found really interesting this week were “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” and “General Francisco Franco.” A statement that caught my eye in the article “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” said that there has been a lot of attention devoted to the crimes of the Nazis that it has been easily forgotten the extent of the horrors in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship. However, the articles did mention that Franco was a very ruthless dictator. Any sign of opposition was not tolerated while he was dictator; his words became law. I was also very shocked reading that there was burial spot and a plaque that honors Franco in the Valley of the Fallen which was mostly built by the prisoners Franco had defeated. I think that these honors have been implemented in the Valley of the Fallen partly because of the forgotten horrors during his dictatorship. There should be an equivalent of Germany’s Willy Brandt moment in Spain to commemorate the losses. However, I really do not think it will happen soon. The church will not do it because Franco was an authoritarian Catholic nor would King Juan Carlos I because he was appointed by Franco when he died nor would any of King Juan Carlos’s predecessors. Also, even after so many years, there are still many people who speak ill of the republicans during the dictatorship. There is an incident that the article “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” depicts that during the burial of the bodies of republicans and their children and grandchildren there were women who broke into pro-Franco songs. When there are people with the same mentality as during Franco’s dictatorship it will be even more difficult to accomplish an apology to the republicans in Spain.
The most interesting article this week was “Polishing Gaudi’s Unfinished Jewel”, which talked about the most famous monument in Barcelona, The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. This famous monument was started by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, born in 1852 and died in 1926. As seen in lecture, Antoni Gaudi was one of the best known architects of Catalan Modernism. His architectural and decorative movement had the use of asymmetry, curves, organic forms and nature. La Sagrada Familia reveals Gaudi’s inclination towards nature, since the inside of the cathedral is supposed to symbolize the inside of a forest, and the columns holding the walls look like trees. This beautiful unfinished building is still a work in progress, with 300 workers and 2.5 million visitors per year. The building is still half way completed, revealing that there is still a lot of work to be done. In continuing with Gaudi’s famous project, there is an ongoing controversy of how Gaudi would have wanted the cathedral to look and be finished. Many architects working on the project say that Gaudi allowed for artistic freedom and left some drawings and measurements to continue the project; however, others are debating if the vision of the cathedral is straying away from Gaudi’s initial vision. Nevertheless, the project is still continuing with public subsidies from tourists and the Catholic Church. La Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed in less than a century.
This week's readings I thought were not as interesting as articles in the past weeks. On the articles about Franco, I would like to see what Professor Torrecilla has to stay and I want to learn more about his dictatorship and the effect it had on people and in Spain. A fact that caught my attention and don't understand is why would Garzon would open an investigation about the people executed under Franco's rule. Like the article mentions Franco is long dead. I also thought that the "pact of silence" was kind of odd but it was a good way to prevent another civil war like the author mentions in the article. Also it seems funny to me how some people don't recognize how many people Franco executed. Since it was during the time of Hitler, people were more focused in Germany than in Spain, when both were killing a lot of people. One article that I found very informative was the article about Dali. I knew his paintings were not paintings that I could appreciate but now I begin to understand them a little more after reading the article and learning that he was real interested in science. More than paintings I find architecture more interesting and I have heard about La Sagrada Familia and I think its amazing how it is still not finished after so many years. Now I have another place on my list on what to visit when I go to Spain.
Among this week's articles I found both articles on Franco very compelling. I enjoyed the fourth article as it was more of a biography that outlined the key aspects of who Franco in his accomplishments and themes during his reign. It outlines an image of Franco as a conservative who won his reputation not so much domestically, but rather internationally. Moreover, it ties into the other article about Franco and his portrayal of his monument as it expresses the ambivalence present in Spain to this day over how to portray their once leader. Franco's strength was portraying Spain as aloof from other dictator-ruled nations such as Germany and Soviet Russia. By doing so, he gained support of other European nations as well as the United States and maintained an ideology in the nation that was free from communism. Yet, his dictatorship was no different socially as he too deployed the secret police and destroyed any opposition or revolts to his reign. Moreover, many of Hitler's and Stalin's horrors inflicted on people outweigh those done by Franco, thus keeping his reputation clear. Nevertheless, the youth as well as people of SPain face a tough choice on how they would like to view their once ruler: As a man who saved them from the wretchedness of communism, or one who inflicted great amount of misery and abuse of power in his dictatorship? Were I a Spanish citizen, I would have to make the tough choice of defamingFranco and would defend myself saying that even though he prevented Spain from Communism, he delayed the country from reform for an additional 30 years of dictatorship rule. Moreover, there is no equivalent good to that of taking a life, and the numerous families that have suffered losses as well as his abuse of right wing ideologies cement my notion that Franco must be portrayed as how NOT to be a leader.
The most interesting era in Spanish history, for me, has always been the time from the Second Spanish Republic through the end of the civil war with Madrid surrendering to the Nationalists after three bloody years. I have seen Libertarias, Little Ashes, El Laberinto del Fauno, as well as most of BBC’s 6-hour special syndicated by Granada TV, and each one gives fascinating peeks into life during this period, both through fictional representations and true interviews with actual Spaniards who lived during the time. The reason I am so interested in the Spanish Civil War and the sociopolitical (and religious) context leading up to it lies in the extreme polarity of the sides and the passionate fervor with which they were behind their causes. The General Francisco Franco article isn’t much more than an overview of his life including his rise to power, but it does mention that he saw his brutal squashing of the Coal Miner’s Rebellion as simply carrying out an order. Dutiful. Necessary. This summarizes how the “threat” of communism was seen as such at the time, particularly Leninism and later Marxism. While the leftist Republicans afforded suffrage to women and denounced the social oppression of the Catholic Church—ideals of liberal freedom not characteristic of the political climate of Soviet Russia—their large-scale collectivization that proved scarcely successful was perceived by Western capitalist powers to be quite contrarily very imposing upon personal freedoms. Most interestingly is that, after decades of Franco’s fascist dictatorship, the pendulum of the political climate in Spain has swung dramatically to the left making them one of today’s most perceived-liberal countries, affording same-sex marriage and de facto (by the new constitution) legalization of cannabis. In the thick, now, of the European debt crisis, with Spain being a major player, it will be interesting to see how the country moves forward sociopolitically in reaction to measures of austerity and further such economic tension.
In the article “Polishing Gaudi’s Unfinished Jewel,” there are many different views about completing la Sagrada Familia. As I was reading this article, my initial opinion was that architectures should have left the building in the way it was when Gaudi had died. As I read on, I then realized that if it is taking so long for the building to be finished, Gaudi could not have expected to be the one to completely finish the job. Maybe Gaudi wanted to start the historical building and allow many generations to contribute a collective amount of new architectural styles. Since Gaudi died in 1926, there is no way that the architects are still following the exact same ideas and styles that he had. If their prediction that la Sagrada Familia will maybe be finished in less than a decade, then many people living today will not live long enough to see the finished product. Therefore, I feel Gaudi’s goal and vision for the building was to create a piece of art that expresses the styles of many generations of Spain for over a century. In a way, the building serves as Spain’s very own architectural timeline.
"Polishing Gaudi's Unfinished Jewel" was an article about La Sagrada Familia. As mentioned in lecture, this monumental building was not finished by its original designer and will most likely not be complete for another fifty years! I found the article to be very interesting because a lot of Gaudi's ideas were expressed thoroughly- especially the idea that whatever happens happens. Gaudi knew that he would not finish the building and he also knew that decades later many people would still be working on it with a lot of effort. And the effort is shown! Many people are attracted to the building (who wouldn't be, it's gorgeous!) and it has a lot of meaning for Spain and the church.
"General Francisco Franco" was also a very interesting article which spoke about Franco's dictatorship years. Something that stood out to me A LOT from this article was that it stated "Franco was seen as the better bet of the two." It stood out to me because it kind of made me realize that politically Spain was like the spanish saying goes, "entre la espada y la pared." Politically Spain had to choose between bad and worse.
"Spain and the legacy of Franco" reflects that Franco is still thought of today. His legacy continues to haunt Spain even if it was a negative one. Many people of Spain still have gratitude for the progress that Franco brought, but there is also some shame because of the things lost along the way.
My favorite article this week was definitely the article on the painter Dali. It was amazing to read and learn of his perspectives while creating art. I was very pleased to read that his main influence came from science. Such interest was depicted, for example, in his painting/signature of the crown of milk. It was great to read that art was correlated with science for Dali. It definitely gives a different perspective to all his art pieces! Surrealism, as we saw in lecture, was definitely a very gruesome period in art. The video shown in class where the eye of a woman is being cut out/sliced... Yuck! But as professor Torecilla mentioned, it only comes to show how realistic this period was!
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War begun led by Francisco Franco against the Republicans. Once the Civil War ended, Franco became the Generalisimo, the “true leader of Spain.” Although he was a totalitarian fascist leader, he received the support from the Catholic Church due to his fight for unity, traditionalism and anti-capitalism. I see this as something ironic, because under Franco, Spain was ruled as a dictatorship with not much freedom and imposed traditional customs. Thousands of people were oppressed; many of them killed, exiled or disappeared. Nevertheless, people did support his rule at the time and till now. This can be seen through the monument at El Valle de los Caidos, which was built by Franco in1959. Many people against Franco and his rule and legacy argue that El Valle de los Caidos only glorifies the injustices that happened during Franco’s rule and the repression that people faced. Still, there are many other people who attend mass at El Valle de los Caidos and fight against the closure of this site arguing that it is part of Spain’s history. I think that it is very difficult to make a decision. Not only because we are talking about history, but because we have to take into consideration the point of view of people who know and experienced the events in history. As the article stated, even with Franco dead, it will be difficult to make decisions regarding El Valle de los Caidos, it will take time and as the article mentioned, maybe it will be up to the grandchildren generation to make those decisions.
Franco: I found the articles on Franco interesting because they did not portray him as a horrible dictator at all. In fact, they made it seem like the people appreciated him. In the Valley of the Fallen article, the government has to prevent people from coming to honor the grave and only to attend the mass given at the church. Also, the second article made it seem like Franco was a great solution to the bigger problem of Communism that Western Europe and America were facing. Of course, living under a democracy, it seems absurd that people would be satisfied under a dictatorship, but if he was protecting the people, he was doing his job.
Gaudi: I also liked the Gaudi article because I originally thought that the people should not do many renovations on La Sagrada Familia because unfinished was how Gaudi intended it to be. However, after reading the article, I understand and appreciate what a collaborative effort the cathedral really was and is. Why would he have left drawings and sketches if he had not wanted it to be finished at some point? And isn’t any great work of architecture done by a group of people? Nobody can do all of that by themselves. I’m sure Gaudi would be impressed today by the work that they are putting into his cathedral.
In the nineteenth century two opposing views of what “Spanish identity” developed, as a consequence, a bloody civil war occurred. Even though the Spanish civil war resulted in the death of thousands of people and the devastation of several parts of Spain, it also made important artistic and architectural contributions. From this time period two of the most recognized Spanish artists surged, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Both Picasso and Dali reflected the circumstances in which Spain developed; Picasso, for example, illustrated the misery and suffering that results of war. Dali, on the other hand, was a surrealist painter that focused on themes such as desire and passion. However, Dali also reflected an important idea of Spain in the nineteenth century, the importance of science and modernization. The article explains Dali’s deep interest on science, which hints his support for Spain’s modernization and progress. Moreover, the Spanish civil war made artistic movements such as Picasso’s cubism and Dali’s surrealism possible.
I think the author of “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” has a point: the wounds of Franco’s regime are still too fresh for the current government and for Spain today to deal with them. The author makes the point that there are still many Franco-supporters alive today and we know the Church is still powerful in Spain. It would cause far too many problems for Spain to dig into their past and really begin to come to terms with everything. It’s unfair to assume that all Spaniards are strong enough or disciplined enough to confront their collective past without getting too emotional and too driven about it. Furthermore, what’s likely to happen is that people will be blamed. Novelist Javier Cercas puts it best, “The civil war is still here,” and he’s right; as long as there are direct descendents of people who were involved with Franco, there will be people trying to blame them for their parent’s and grandparent’s actions. And to reiterate, there are still groups of people who don’t think Franco was completely in the wrong, or who think that he may have gone too far but his intentions were fine, these same groups would rise to defend Franco and his image. It’s better then to wait, to wait until such a time when everyone, or the overwhelming majority, views Franco’s regime as something that should be understood but not defended.
Claire Lemieux: I found this week’s New York Times article, “Polishing Gaudí’s Unfinished Jewel” very interesting because I was surprised by the quotes from Gaudí about the construction of his Temple Expoiatori de la Sagrada Família. According to his quote in this article, Gaudí chose to leave some of the construction that he had planned for the Temple scheduled for a later date “so that another generation will collaborate on the Temple”. If I were an artist I would definitely want to express my particular vision through my aesthetic choices, whether in architecture, painting, sculpture, etc., rather than see it as a collaborative process. Just as a college student, I would hate to write a literary analysis with a group of people. Then again, I know that the building of a cathedral is a massive undertaking, which defies the rules of other art forms. The debate over what Gaudí intended for the cathedral and if the present architects are respecting his wishes reminded me of our discussion in last week’s lecture and discussion of Goya’s intentional ambiguity in the title of his drawing, “El sueño de la razón produce monstruos”. He purposely left it open to different interpretations with the viewer having the choice. Just like artistry as a collaborative endeavor is not for me, this sort of coyness in one’s message is not my style, but of course it is creative thinking like Gaudí’s and Goya’s that keeps art new and interesting (and why I critique art rather than create it).
The article on the history of Francisco Franco was very interesting. Known as a ruthless dictator of Spain for many decades, Francisco Franco was born into a military family in Galicia in the year 1892. He was educated at Toledo's Infrantry Academy from 1907 to 1910 and he served in Spanish Morocco from 1910 until 1927. It was in Morocco that Francisco Franco made a name for himself fighting Moroccan nationalists and in the year 1927 Franco was promoted to full general and made principal of Saragossa Military Academy.
Franco stayed out of politics until he was ordered to put down a strike of coal miners in the Asturias. Franco suppressed the strike both efficiently and ruthlessly. It was this event that sealed Franco's reputation for brutality.
By the year 1936, Franco was chief of staff for the military and in this same year Franco initiated a revolt against the Popular Front. The revolt started in the Canary Islands where Franco was governer and eventually spread into Morocco. By October 1936, Franco was appointed Generalissimo of Nationalist Spain and head of state. He had all the support of the right wing factions. Over the next couple of years Britain, France, Fascist Germany, and America all recognized Franco's government as the legitimate ruling body of Spain.
From 1939 onward, Franco was the dictator of Spain and his government displayed all of the characteristics of a right-wing dictatorship. His rule was law. Franco initiated a secret police, and all opposition was ruthlessly dealt with. Fair elections and opposition to the regime were completely unacceptable during Franco's regime and in the year 1947 a law was passed that made Franco head of state for life.
Although some opposition did occur, Franco's regime continued until his death in 1975. When he died in November of 1975, the monarchy was restored in Spain when Prince Juan Carlos was appointed head of state, as Franco had decreed. In conclusion, Francisco Franco was a ruthless military commander who became dictator of Spain by defeating the left-wing Popular Front. He is known for his stature as dictator for life and also for the industrialization and modernization of Spain.
Salvador Dali is one of the most-renowned Spanish artists ever known. His use of surrealism really defies the commonplace art forms that were current in Spain during that time. He definitely exemplified the avant-garde artistic movement that was occurring during this period. Painters like Pablo Picasso and himself embraced these new art forms. Both of them, and many more painters, wanted to bring forth new ideas within their paintings. As Professor Torrecilla mentioned in lecture, the use of surrealism was intended to reflect a world of dreams, nightmares, and desires - all encompassing passion. These elements were not normally portrayed, but Dali did indeed change this notion. Furthermore, this new art form focused on the themes of sex and violence, as well. The article tells about Dali's fascination with physics and especially with the atomic bomb. This further explains his fondness for surrealism and depicting violence within his works. His masterpieces may be "disturbing," nonetheless he is one of the most influential painters who fully embraced this avant-garde period. Picasso and Dali knew that Spain needed to modernize and their respective styles emphasized this spirit of moving forward.
La Sagrada Familia is a beautiful building that I hope to one day see finished. I goggled images of the inside of the building and even though it's incomplete, the structure of the inside of the sagrada familia is outstanding. I have never seen such a beautiful building. The extreme details on the outside of the building makes me imagine that the architectures working on this building not only are extremely talented, because there is no doubt about that, but the architectures must really love there job because the obsession with detail and designs on this building are just torturing. Additionally, the article about Franco was very interesting and i learned from it a lot. the article filled in the unanswered questions from the lecture. For instance, I would have never compared Franco's dictatorship to the Holocaust in Germany, and this article does. I knew that Franco was a horrible dictator but not in comparison to Hitler. to add, it definitely agree with Spaniards and justify there anger toward wanting justice even after Franco's death. Lastly i have to add that Dali an out-standing painter but i am personally impacted by Goya's Paintings, in particular by Goya's Black Paintings and The images of war.
Salvador Dali is one of the more curious figures in Spanish history and culture. He is easily one of the most recognizable artists from Iberia, and his unique style sparked an entire movement of surrealism. What I found most interesting from the article "Welcome to the Dali Dimension" is how Salvador Dali truly crafted his artwork in a way that masked his critique of society and government. As Professor Torrecilla mentioned in lecture, the conflict that ensues in our dreams was truly the central focus of Dali's artwork. This is evidenced by his painting "El Gran Masturbatador." But another painting of Dali, the painting that has someone's head exploding like an atomic bomb, combines this thought of conflict within dreams with a critique of the world as a whole and their use of the atomic bomb to destroy. Clearly, the tree as a shape of a mushroom cloud shows the contrast between what exists in reality and what people have thought up in their imaginations (the atomic bomb), which was soon to be reality.
Carlos Gutierrez
ReplyDeleteLos artículos sobre Franco y también sobre los artistas fueron muy interesantes. Tengo que decir que los de franco se me hicieron mas interesantes que los otros. Quizás se me hicieron mas interesantes porque los problemas que causo franco todavía se ven y también en una parte fueron esos problemas que cambiaron a la populación española. Me pareció muy interesante que su tumba todavía tiene flores que para mi esto significa que hay gente que todavía lo extraña, también se me hizo interesante que su tumba todavía esta intocable, yo me imaginaba que la gente iría a destruirla. El articulo sobre Gaudí fue bueno aunque no tan interesante como el de Dalí, el articulo de Dalí me gusto mucho porque aprendí que este artista era una persona muy interesada en la ciencia y esto es algo que casi nunca se menciona. El video fue también interesante pero no mucho, porque pienso que habla mas sobre Estados Unidos que de España.
The first article called “Polishing Gaudi’s Unfinished Jewel” talks about is the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia which is in Barcelona, Spain. This is the famous architecture building by Antoni Gaudi. The reading talks about how this building has been in the works for centuries and it still continues till this day to be in the works. There is somewhat of a controversy because Pope XVI decided to consecrate this temple. The article goes on to talk about Gaudi and how he was at some point due to his involvement with the catholic faith and his deep devotion for it, was close to being considered a saint. There are also arguments of how some believe that his masterpiece should not continue to be finished and should be left unfinished for that mater and how some people believe that because his masterpiece had help from other sculptors and architects, that his masterpiece isn’t just his and as such it doesn’t really matter if other people from now-a-days continue to work on it to finish what he once started.
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish American War video is particularly interesting because it shows how the Spanish who were in charge of the Cuban, Puerto Rico and Philippines territories went to war with the United States. Revelry and acts of a want to not be under the tyrannical rule of the Spanish fueled this war as well as the attack that the American navy ships suffered when the Spanish naval fleets attacked the American ones because of the intervention that the U.S wanted to be part of in these Spanish territories.
The third article called “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” talks about how there is still that damage that was done by all the wrong that Franco did to the country. Sure he may have caused the country to progress but at what cost. The article talks about that when world war II happened, both Mussolini and Hitler were defeated (both were dictators) but unfortunately the Spanish dictator Franco, didn’t, and this was bad because in fact he was on the side that won the war, and continued ruling for 30 more years. This continued his reign of terror basically. Nevertheless there are people who (few ones) supported him and continue to do so and as such there has to be securities in his burial site that make sure that there are no people who bring pro-Franco related things to put in his tomb.
The fourth piece of reading for this week is called “Welcome to the Dali Dimension” which talks about how painter Salvador Dali was not only exiled from the surrealist painting movement but also one of the best painters ever to have existed. At one point he even worked with Sigmund Froid. He also loved to mix in his artwork with science. The milk crown painting that he created is even based off of a scientific symbol.
The final article, “General Francisco Franco” talks about his life, his rise to power, and his life up to his death. It is particularly interesting and I would like to learn more as to his motives of, although he knew he was a dictator and a ruthless one like Hitler, why he denied Hitler’s request to join the Axis power during World War II. Nonetheless, in connection to the third article, it is interesting to see more of who was this Franco dictator who caused so much damage and that up to this day, no one has really healed from the damage he caused the Spanish country. Also I would like to know why he was elected and recognized as the Spanish leader and even for that matter dictator, by Allied forces like Britain and America, when even before being the leader of the Spanish, he was already showing signs of being someone who was unmerciful and a ruthless leader.
Spanish American War Video- Alfred Mahan once said that a nation's power is directly correlated to its naval might. Countries at the time thus had to have a strong navy to be a dominant world power. During the second half of the 19th century, Cuban rebels yearned for independence and they used guerrilla warfare against Spain in this attempt. The U.S. newspapers additionally instigated action against Spain by publishing sensationalized articles (yellow journalism) to ignite war. After the USS Maine was destroyed, American officially joined the war and liberated Cuba as well as the Philippines. The US naval fleet was ordered to find and crush the Spanish navy by the president. Theodore Roosevelt's rough riders captured San Juan Hill and seized the Spanish fort while destroying Cuban ships in Havana. As the US was headed to Puerto Rico, Spain agreed to sign a peace treaty to end the war (which only lasted four months). This time period was an era where Spain was diminishing as a world power and losing its colonial possessions.
ReplyDeleteArticles about General Francisco Franco- He is best known for the victory of the army in the Spanish civil war and he was very ruthless as well as feared. Eventually, other nations recognized him as head of Spain and a right wing dictator. The country recognized "his rule was law" and even after his death, Franco left an aftermath of his rule and he still leaves a haunting influence to this day. Franco built the Valley of the Fallen in 1959 and after he died, the monarchy was returned to Prince Juan Carlos. Although Franco’s committed several atrocities such as executing thousands and imprisoning others, he did however modernize and industrialize Spain.
Polishing Gaudi's Unfinished Jewel- This article talks about how the Pope showcased the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia for a religious event to be hosted there. This temple was one of the world's most famous unfinished works of art and it is the culmination of several great artists.
Salvador Dali- He was part of the avant-garde movement and he was most associated with surrealism. Dali was inspired by Sigmund Freud’s theories as well as science such as the atomic bomb and nuclear physics— this had led to the production of most of his popular works.
I thought the lecture discussion of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in relation to Catalan Modernism was very interesting. The article noted that as an ardent Catholic, Gaudi was more concerned with artistic representations of nature than of religion. I thought this was a crucial divergence from the previous forms of architecture known to Spain; for example, many cathedrals and mosques viewed columns as representations of reaching up to the heavens. In contrast, Gaudi wanted the inside of the Sagrada Familia to resemble a forest; thus, tall columns look tree-like, and extend far up into the air. Associated with modernity and the Avant-Garde artistic movement, this Catalan Modernism monument exemplifies the controversial history of the time period. In a sense, the controversy regarding whether or not the monument should be finished parallels the controversy between conservative and liberal ideals, the debate between the Enlightenment and Romanticism. In the Sagrada Familia, both the more modern, scientific Enlightenment approach to life is epitomized by the use of organic forms, as well as the more traditional viewpoint in which passion and feelings should be heeded (as the “master of the work was in no great hurry”) which can be related to the notion of progressive ideas as being negative. Overall, I agree that part of the intrigue of the monument itself is the fact that it has been – and continues to be – a work in progress, much like Spanish identity itself.
ReplyDeleteThe article about Gaudi and professor Torecilla explanation of La Sagrada Familia was truly fascinating. The article talks about how Gaudi knew that he would not finish his master piece and that showed trust in those who were helping him. The cathedral is still unfinished but is one of Spain's main touristic attractions. In his modernism style, Gaudi seemed more concerned about emulating the organic elements on nature rather than represent religious scenes. He intended for the cathedral to look like a forest with it's tree-looking columns and the rays of light shining in from its high ceiling. Today PSain charges for tourists to go in and that money is used to finishing this project. The architectures working on it today know that they will not be completely fulfilling Gaudi's exact plan for his unfinished piece of art. To do so would to leave it unfinished. Whenever I think of Cathedrals I think of them as ancient buildings from Renaissance time but this particular cathedral is a modern cathedral and is still taking over 50 years to complete. Modernism at the turn of the 20th century was characterized by curves and elements of nature.
ReplyDeleteSalvador Dali was also a famous artist from the avant-garde movement who was ironically influenced by science and laws of nature given that he was a master of surrealism. I thought it was interesting to note how his signature resembles a crown while in reality is is the image of a splash in milk.
I also thought the articles about Franco portrayed him as a dictator who brought about modernization to Spain. The article about the Valley of the Fallen where he is buried gives an insight about how this figured is viewed now today in Spain. People are allowed to worship there only for religious reasons and visitors are not allowed in. Monarchy was again restored in 1975 after his death and continues until today.
Franco was Commander and Chief of the Nationalist Army during the Civil War, and once the Nationalists emerged successful in the War, Franco established himself as the Dictator of Spain. His dictatorship was plagued with no mercy for the defeated Loyalists and large-scale repression for the Spanish, illustrated by the 37k killed and the hundreds of thousands imprisoned. As the article, “The Valley of the Fallen” exemplifies that Franco’s dictatorship differs from the dictatorships of Hitler and Mussolini due to the fact that Hitler and Mussolini were both defeated, but Franco won. Furthermore, whereas in Germany, Germans realize that Hitler and the actions he represented were unacceptable, the distinction between right and wrong and Franco’s actions is not as clear, evident by the fact that “Francoist nostalgia” still exists within Spanish society. Spain has failed to reckon with its past, hence leaving many feeling justice is being scarified for the sake of keeping peace. However, the People’s Party, the Catholic Church, and King Juan Carlos I all exhibit a connection to Franco that makes them weary and unwilling to condemn Franco and his actions; therefore, leaving the responsibility to Prince Felipe. Prince Felipe, due to his generational separation from the time of Franco and the fact that he did not live during his reign, holds the remarkable ability to finally help Spain come to terms with its past and move into the future.
ReplyDeleteThis week, I was extremely drawn to the two Franco articles-the first entitled "General Francisco Franco", and the other entitled "Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco" by Jonathan Freedland. The first article is a basic summary of Franco's essential rise to power as the dictator of Spain. I found it extremely interesting that before Franco was even appointed as a ruler of Spain, he suppressed the coal strike of the Asturias "with efficiency but very ruthlessly...this one incident sealed his reputation for brutality". Although of course authoritative figures must convey stern demeanors, Franco's dictator qualities were impossible to notice and it confuses me on how others did not see such early actions as a foreshadowing of tragic events to come. Also, I think it is extremely interesting that even leaders of the Roman Catholic Church opposed his dictatorship although he was a "devout" Catholic-Church and State in Spain usually, and historically, have a strong connection because of Catholicism. According to the article, Franco was basically seen as the best option compared to the Popular Front and potential communist rulers; however, I am curious to what Spaniards differentiated between a communist and a dictator? Although there are literal definition differences, in this historical context both rulers carried out a totalitarianist prospective that oppressed their own country and people. In the second article, security guards at Franco's burial site regulate the grave, along with allowed visitors' cars, to make sure there are no pro-Franco memorials brought. This just shows how much damage Franco's rule caused for his generation, and even generations that currently exist today; however, there is a blurred agreement amongst Spaniards on how truly positive, or negative, Franco's rule was. The article compared this to Nazi Germany acknowledging the terrors put to play under Hitler, along with a political general "falling to his knees in atonement" over the Holocaust; however, in Spain there is still blurring regarding the judgment of the thousands of unjust deaths under Franco. I think this reflects to our previous discussions of Spain's self-destructive tendency to live in the past, or to attain some sense of nostalgia because people continue to disagree about this civil dispute. Although time heals all, I feel as if Franco's rule, as well as legacy, have a very contradicting and controversial depiction,
ReplyDeleteThis weeks articles range from diverse topics of art, war, and human rights. I enjoyed reading the art works of Dali and the architecture of La Sagrada Familia. I am hopeful that sometime in my lifetime the completion of the cathedral will occur. However I was interested in the fact that the structure of the Cathedral is not set in stone and hence is a collaboration of various artists contributing to the unfinished work. Hence if that is the reason behind the building of the cathedral it will be quite a few decades until its completion. As for the article about Dali I thought the ties between science and are were a great point because his paintings (as seen in class) do question the relevance of the technology at the time.
ReplyDeleteHowever above all of the articles the ones about Franco grabbed my attention. To this day there are still groups of people who would like to see justice be done to those who died under Franco rule. Yet at the same time in doing so there are controversies as to who is to blame since the majority of the people held responsible are dead. I could see why the judge Baltasar Garzon was a fighter for Human Rights but in doing so there are families personal feelings that need to be taken into account. I guess the one theme this article emphasizes on, is a public apology to the families of the victims. Unfortunately they are once more faced with the question as to who should do it? And what should they say?
As the article stated perhaps a formal apology will come once everybody from that era has passed away therefore apologizing to the descents of the republicans.
The articles that I found really interesting this week were “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” and “General Francisco Franco.” A statement that caught my eye in the article “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” said that there has been a lot of attention devoted to the crimes of the Nazis that it has been easily forgotten the extent of the horrors in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship. However, the articles did mention that Franco was a very ruthless dictator. Any sign of opposition was not tolerated while he was dictator; his words became law. I was also very shocked reading that there was burial spot and a plaque that honors Franco in the Valley of the Fallen which was mostly built by the prisoners Franco had defeated. I think that these honors have been implemented in the Valley of the Fallen partly because of the forgotten horrors during his dictatorship. There should be an equivalent of Germany’s Willy Brandt moment in Spain to commemorate the losses. However, I really do not think it will happen soon. The church will not do it because Franco was an authoritarian Catholic nor would King Juan Carlos I because he was appointed by Franco when he died nor would any of King Juan Carlos’s predecessors. Also, even after so many years, there are still many people who speak ill of the republicans during the dictatorship. There is an incident that the article “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” depicts that during the burial of the bodies of republicans and their children and grandchildren there were women who broke into pro-Franco songs. When there are people with the same mentality as during Franco’s dictatorship it will be even more difficult to accomplish an apology to the republicans in Spain.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting article this week was “Polishing Gaudi’s Unfinished Jewel”, which talked about the most famous monument in Barcelona, The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. This famous monument was started by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, born in 1852 and died in 1926. As seen in lecture, Antoni Gaudi was one of the best known architects of Catalan Modernism. His architectural and decorative movement had the use of asymmetry, curves, organic forms and nature. La Sagrada Familia reveals Gaudi’s inclination towards nature, since the inside of the cathedral is supposed to symbolize the inside of a forest, and the columns holding the walls look like trees. This beautiful unfinished building is still a work in progress, with 300 workers and 2.5 million visitors per year. The building is still half way completed, revealing that there is still a lot of work to be done. In continuing with Gaudi’s famous project, there is an ongoing controversy of how Gaudi would have wanted the cathedral to look and be finished. Many architects working on the project say that Gaudi allowed for artistic freedom and left some drawings and measurements to continue the project; however, others are debating if the vision of the cathedral is straying away from Gaudi’s initial vision. Nevertheless, the project is still continuing with public subsidies from tourists and the Catholic Church. La Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed in less than a century.
ReplyDeleteThis week's readings I thought were not as interesting as articles in the past weeks. On the articles about Franco, I would like to see what Professor Torrecilla has to stay and I want to learn more about his dictatorship and the effect it had on people and in Spain. A fact that caught my attention and don't understand is why would Garzon would open an investigation about the people executed under Franco's rule. Like the article mentions Franco is long dead. I also thought that the "pact of silence" was kind of odd but it was a good way to prevent another civil war like the author mentions in the article. Also it seems funny to me how some people don't recognize how many people Franco executed. Since it was during the time of Hitler, people were more focused in Germany than in Spain, when both were killing a lot of people. One article that I found very informative was the article about Dali. I knew his paintings were not paintings that I could appreciate but now I begin to understand them a little more after reading the article and learning that he was real interested in science. More than paintings I find architecture more interesting and I have heard about La Sagrada Familia and I think its amazing how it is still not finished after so many years. Now I have another place on my list on what to visit when I go to Spain.
ReplyDeleteAmong this week's articles I found both articles on Franco very compelling. I enjoyed the fourth article as it was more of a biography that outlined the key aspects of who Franco in his accomplishments and themes during his reign. It outlines an image of Franco as a conservative who won his reputation not so much domestically, but rather internationally. Moreover, it ties into the other article about Franco and his portrayal of his monument as it expresses the ambivalence present in Spain to this day over how to portray their once leader. Franco's strength was portraying Spain as aloof from other dictator-ruled nations such as Germany and Soviet Russia. By doing so, he gained support of other European nations as well as the United States and maintained an ideology in the nation that was free from communism. Yet, his dictatorship was no different socially as he too deployed the secret police and destroyed any opposition or revolts to his reign. Moreover, many of Hitler's and Stalin's horrors inflicted on people outweigh those done by Franco, thus keeping his reputation clear. Nevertheless, the youth as well as people of SPain face a tough choice on how they would like to view their once ruler: As a man who saved them from the wretchedness of communism, or one who inflicted great amount of misery and abuse of power in his dictatorship? Were I a Spanish citizen, I would have to make the tough choice of defamingFranco and would defend myself saying that even though he prevented Spain from Communism, he delayed the country from reform for an additional 30 years of dictatorship rule. Moreover, there is no equivalent good to that of taking a life, and the numerous families that have suffered losses as well as his abuse of right wing ideologies cement my notion that Franco must be portrayed as how NOT to be a leader.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting era in Spanish history, for me, has always been the time from the Second Spanish Republic through the end of the civil war with Madrid surrendering to the Nationalists after three bloody years. I have seen Libertarias, Little Ashes, El Laberinto del Fauno, as well as most of BBC’s 6-hour special syndicated by Granada TV, and each one gives fascinating peeks into life during this period, both through fictional representations and true interviews with actual Spaniards who lived during the time. The reason I am so interested in the Spanish Civil War and the sociopolitical (and religious) context leading up to it lies in the extreme polarity of the sides and the passionate fervor with which they were behind their causes. The General Francisco Franco article isn’t much more than an overview of his life including his rise to power, but it does mention that he saw his brutal squashing of the Coal Miner’s Rebellion as simply carrying out an order. Dutiful. Necessary. This summarizes how the “threat” of communism was seen as such at the time, particularly Leninism and later Marxism. While the leftist Republicans afforded suffrage to women and denounced the social oppression of the Catholic Church—ideals of liberal freedom not characteristic of the political climate of Soviet Russia—their large-scale collectivization that proved scarcely successful was perceived by Western capitalist powers to be quite contrarily very imposing upon personal freedoms. Most interestingly is that, after decades of Franco’s fascist dictatorship, the pendulum of the political climate in Spain has swung dramatically to the left making them one of today’s most perceived-liberal countries, affording same-sex marriage and de facto (by the new constitution) legalization of cannabis. In the thick, now, of the European debt crisis, with Spain being a major player, it will be interesting to see how the country moves forward sociopolitically in reaction to measures of austerity and further such economic tension.
ReplyDeleteIn the article “Polishing Gaudi’s Unfinished Jewel,” there are many different views about completing la Sagrada Familia. As I was reading this article, my initial opinion was that architectures should have left the building in the way it was when Gaudi had died. As I read on, I then realized that if it is taking so long for the building to be finished, Gaudi could not have expected to be the one to completely finish the job. Maybe Gaudi wanted to start the historical building and allow many generations to contribute a collective amount of new architectural styles. Since Gaudi died in 1926, there is no way that the architects are still following the exact same ideas and styles that he had. If their prediction that la Sagrada Familia will maybe be finished in less than a decade, then many people living today will not live long enough to see the finished product. Therefore, I feel Gaudi’s goal and vision for the building was to create a piece of art that expresses the styles of many generations of Spain for over a century. In a way, the building serves as Spain’s very own architectural timeline.
ReplyDelete"Polishing Gaudi's Unfinished Jewel" was an article about La Sagrada Familia. As mentioned in lecture, this monumental building was not finished by its original designer and will most likely not be complete for another fifty years! I found the article to be very interesting because a lot of Gaudi's ideas were expressed thoroughly- especially the idea that whatever happens happens. Gaudi knew that he would not finish the building and he also knew that decades later many people would still be working on it with a lot of effort. And the effort is shown! Many people are attracted to the building (who wouldn't be, it's gorgeous!) and it has a lot of meaning for Spain and the church.
ReplyDelete"General Francisco Franco" was also a very interesting article which spoke about Franco's dictatorship years. Something that stood out to me A LOT from this article was that it stated "Franco was seen as the better bet of the two." It stood out to me because it kind of made me realize that politically Spain was like the spanish saying goes, "entre la espada y la pared." Politically Spain had to choose between bad and worse.
"Spain and the legacy of Franco" reflects that Franco is still thought of today. His legacy continues to haunt Spain even if it was a negative one. Many people of Spain still have gratitude for the progress that Franco brought, but there is also some shame because of the things lost along the way.
My favorite article this week was definitely the article on the painter Dali. It was amazing to read and learn of his perspectives while creating art. I was very pleased to read that his main influence came from science. Such interest was depicted, for example, in his painting/signature of the crown of milk. It was great to read that art was correlated with science for Dali. It definitely gives a different perspective to all his art pieces! Surrealism, as we saw in lecture, was definitely a very gruesome period in art. The video shown in class where the eye of a woman is being cut out/sliced... Yuck! But as professor Torecilla mentioned, it only comes to show how realistic this period was!
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War begun led by Francisco Franco against the Republicans. Once the Civil War ended, Franco became the Generalisimo, the “true leader of Spain.” Although he was a totalitarian fascist leader, he received the support from the Catholic Church due to his fight for unity, traditionalism and anti-capitalism. I see this as something ironic, because under Franco, Spain was ruled as a dictatorship with not much freedom and imposed traditional customs. Thousands of people were oppressed; many of them killed, exiled or disappeared. Nevertheless, people did support his rule at the time and till now. This can be seen through the monument at El Valle de los Caidos, which was built by Franco in1959. Many people against Franco and his rule and legacy argue that El Valle de los Caidos only glorifies the injustices that happened during Franco’s rule and the repression that people faced. Still, there are many other people who attend mass at El Valle de los Caidos and fight against the closure of this site arguing that it is part of Spain’s history. I think that it is very difficult to make a decision. Not only because we are talking about history, but because we have to take into consideration the point of view of people who know and experienced the events in history. As the article stated, even with Franco dead, it will be difficult to make decisions regarding El Valle de los Caidos, it will take time and as the article mentioned, maybe it will be up to the grandchildren generation to make those decisions.
ReplyDeleteFranco: I found the articles on Franco interesting because they did not portray him as a horrible dictator at all. In fact, they made it seem like the people appreciated him. In the Valley of the Fallen article, the government has to prevent people from coming to honor the grave and only to attend the mass given at the church. Also, the second article made it seem like Franco was a great solution to the bigger problem of Communism that Western Europe and America were facing. Of course, living under a democracy, it seems absurd that people would be satisfied under a dictatorship, but if he was protecting the people, he was doing his job.
ReplyDeleteGaudi: I also liked the Gaudi article because I originally thought that the people should not do many renovations on La Sagrada Familia because unfinished was how Gaudi intended it to be. However, after reading the article, I understand and appreciate what a collaborative effort the cathedral really was and is. Why would he have left drawings and sketches if he had not wanted it to be finished at some point? And isn’t any great work of architecture done by a group of people? Nobody can do all of that by themselves. I’m sure Gaudi would be impressed today by the work that they are putting into his cathedral.
Francesca Zuccola
ReplyDeleteIn the nineteenth century two opposing views of what “Spanish identity” developed, as a consequence, a bloody civil war occurred. Even though the Spanish civil war resulted in the death of thousands of people and the devastation of several parts of Spain, it also made important artistic and architectural contributions. From this time period two of the most recognized Spanish artists surged, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Both Picasso and Dali reflected the circumstances in which Spain developed; Picasso, for example, illustrated the misery and suffering that results of war. Dali, on the other hand, was a surrealist painter that focused on themes such as desire and passion. However, Dali also reflected an important idea of Spain in the nineteenth century, the importance of science and modernization. The article explains Dali’s deep interest on science, which hints his support for Spain’s modernization and progress. Moreover, the Spanish civil war made artistic movements such as Picasso’s cubism and Dali’s surrealism possible.
I think the author of “Spain and the lingering legacy of Franco” has a point: the wounds of Franco’s regime are still too fresh for the current government and for Spain today to deal with them. The author makes the point that there are still many Franco-supporters alive today and we know the Church is still powerful in Spain. It would cause far too many problems for Spain to dig into their past and really begin to come to terms with everything. It’s unfair to assume that all Spaniards are strong enough or disciplined enough to confront their collective past without getting too emotional and too driven about it. Furthermore, what’s likely to happen is that people will be blamed. Novelist Javier Cercas puts it best, “The civil war is still here,” and he’s right; as long as there are direct descendents of people who were involved with Franco, there will be people trying to blame them for their parent’s and grandparent’s actions. And to reiterate, there are still groups of people who don’t think Franco was completely in the wrong, or who think that he may have gone too far but his intentions were fine, these same groups would rise to defend Franco and his image. It’s better then to wait, to wait until such a time when everyone, or the overwhelming majority, views Franco’s regime as something that should be understood but not defended.
ReplyDeleteClaire Lemieux:
ReplyDeleteI found this week’s New York Times article, “Polishing Gaudí’s Unfinished Jewel” very interesting because I was surprised by the quotes from Gaudí about the construction of his Temple Expoiatori de la Sagrada Família. According to his quote in this article, Gaudí chose to leave some of the construction that he had planned for the Temple scheduled for a later date “so that another generation will collaborate on the Temple”. If I were an artist I would definitely want to express my particular vision through my aesthetic choices, whether in architecture, painting, sculpture, etc., rather than see it as a collaborative process. Just as a college student, I would hate to write a literary analysis with a group of people. Then again, I know that the building of a cathedral is a massive undertaking, which defies the rules of other art forms. The debate over what Gaudí intended for the cathedral and if the present architects are respecting his wishes reminded me of our discussion in last week’s lecture and discussion of Goya’s intentional ambiguity in the title of his drawing, “El sueño de la razón produce monstruos”. He purposely left it open to different interpretations with the viewer having the choice. Just like artistry as a collaborative endeavor is not for me, this sort of coyness in one’s message is not my style, but of course it is creative thinking like Gaudí’s and Goya’s that keeps art new and interesting (and why I critique art rather than create it).
The article on the history of Francisco Franco was very interesting. Known as a ruthless dictator of Spain for many decades, Francisco Franco was born into a military family in Galicia in the year 1892. He was educated at Toledo's Infrantry Academy from 1907 to 1910 and he served in Spanish Morocco from 1910 until 1927. It was in Morocco that Francisco Franco made a name for himself fighting Moroccan nationalists and in the year 1927 Franco was promoted to full general and made principal of Saragossa Military Academy.
ReplyDeleteFranco stayed out of politics until he was ordered to put down a strike of coal miners in the Asturias. Franco suppressed the strike both efficiently and ruthlessly. It was this event that sealed Franco's reputation for brutality.
By the year 1936, Franco was chief of staff for the military and in this same year Franco initiated a revolt against the Popular Front. The revolt started in the Canary Islands where Franco was governer and eventually spread into Morocco. By October 1936, Franco was appointed Generalissimo of Nationalist Spain and head of state. He had all the support of the right wing factions. Over the next couple of years Britain, France, Fascist Germany, and America all recognized Franco's government as the legitimate ruling body of Spain.
From 1939 onward, Franco was the dictator of Spain and his government displayed all of the characteristics of a right-wing dictatorship. His rule was law. Franco initiated a secret police, and all opposition was ruthlessly dealt with. Fair elections and opposition to the regime were completely unacceptable during Franco's regime and in the year 1947 a law was passed that made Franco head of state for life.
Although some opposition did occur, Franco's regime continued until his death in 1975. When he died in November of 1975, the monarchy was restored in Spain when Prince Juan Carlos was appointed head of state, as Franco had decreed. In conclusion, Francisco Franco was a ruthless military commander who became dictator of Spain by defeating the left-wing Popular Front. He is known for his stature as dictator for life and also for the industrialization and modernization of Spain.
Salvador Dali is one of the most-renowned Spanish artists ever known. His use of surrealism really defies the commonplace art forms that were current in Spain during that time. He definitely exemplified the avant-garde artistic movement that was occurring during this period. Painters like Pablo Picasso and himself embraced these new art forms. Both of them, and many more painters, wanted to bring forth new ideas within their paintings. As Professor Torrecilla mentioned in lecture, the use of surrealism was intended to reflect a world of dreams, nightmares, and desires - all encompassing passion. These elements were not normally portrayed, but Dali did indeed change this notion. Furthermore, this new art form focused on the themes of sex and violence, as well. The article tells about Dali's fascination with physics and especially with the atomic bomb. This further explains his fondness for surrealism and depicting violence within his works. His masterpieces may be "disturbing," nonetheless he is one of the most influential painters who fully embraced this avant-garde period. Picasso and Dali knew that Spain needed to modernize and their respective styles emphasized this spirit of moving forward.
ReplyDeleteLa Sagrada Familia is a beautiful building that I hope to one day see finished. I goggled images of the inside of the building and even though it's incomplete, the structure of the inside of the sagrada familia is outstanding. I have never seen such a beautiful building. The extreme details on the outside of the building makes me imagine that the architectures working on this building not only are extremely talented, because there is no doubt about that, but the architectures must really love there job because the obsession with detail and designs on this building are just torturing.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, the article about Franco was very interesting and i learned from it a lot. the article filled in the unanswered questions from the lecture. For instance, I would have never compared Franco's dictatorship to the Holocaust in Germany, and this article does. I knew that Franco was a horrible dictator but not in comparison to Hitler. to add, it definitely agree with Spaniards and justify there anger toward wanting justice even after Franco's death. Lastly i have to add that Dali an out-standing painter but i am personally impacted by Goya's Paintings, in particular by Goya's Black Paintings and The images of war.
Salvador Dali is one of the more curious figures in Spanish history and culture. He is easily one of the most recognizable artists from Iberia, and his unique style sparked an entire movement of surrealism. What I found most interesting from the article "Welcome to the Dali Dimension" is how Salvador Dali truly crafted his artwork in a way that masked his critique of society and government. As Professor Torrecilla mentioned in lecture, the conflict that ensues in our dreams was truly the central focus of Dali's artwork. This is evidenced by his painting "El Gran Masturbatador." But another painting of Dali, the painting that has someone's head exploding like an atomic bomb, combines this thought of conflict within dreams with a critique of the world as a whole and their use of the atomic bomb to destroy. Clearly, the tree as a shape of a mushroom cloud shows the contrast between what exists in reality and what people have thought up in their imaginations (the atomic bomb), which was soon to be reality.
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