An Artsy Afternoon

This afternoon I ventured to the Reina Sofia Museum with my roommate Stephanie. I had hoped to go all semester and this was the first afternoon I actually made it there!

Esta tarde me aventuré al Museo Reina Sofía con mi compañera de cuarto que se llama Stephanie. He esperado todo el semestre y esta tarde fue la primera tarde en que podía ir.

This is a video called "The Serpentine Dance" by the Lumière brothers and it was mesmerizing! It was projected on a huge screen and Steph and I stood and watched for quite some time. Check out the smaller, yet still entertaining, Youtube version! It was one of my favorite pieces.

Esto es un video que se llama “La Baile Serpentina” por los hermanos Lumiere y fue fascinante. Fue proyectado en una pantalla enorme y Stephanie y yo la miraron por un rato largo. Mira la versión más pequeña de Youtube aquí. Fue una de mis obras favoritas.

Francesc Català-Roca Monumento a Colón

My favorite room in the Reina Sofia was called Neo-Realism in Spanish Photography. It featured walls and walls of black and white photographs taken in Spain during the 50s and 60s. It was a nice contrast to all of the contemporary and abstract pieces in the museum. The photos depicted many Spanish cities and people. They were interesting and beautiful. We especially liked one of a very excited man with a very bored woman in the background.

Mi sala favorita en el Museo Reina Sofía se llamaba El neorrealismo en la fotografía española. Mostró muchas paredes con fotos en blanco y negro tomadas en España durante los años 50 y 60. Era un buen contraste con las obras contemporáneas y abstractas en el museo. Las fotos representaban muchas ciudades españolas y gente española. Eran interesantes y bonitas. Particularmente a nosotros nos gusta una foto de un hombre muy emocionada con una mujer muy aburrida en el fondo.

Picasso's Guernica

We saw lots of risque art as well as many modern and abstract pieces. Of course, Picasso's famous Guernica was a highlight. The fourth floor was devoted entirely to post-war art and was called "Is the War Over? Art in a Divided World." There were many political pieces that dealt with Franco's regime in Spain. One of the displays showed scantily dressed women denouncing Franco and his followers. One of the women had a speech bubble that said, "Prefiero masturbarme toda mi vida más que joder un franquisto." Type that one into a translator (WARNING: before you translate please know that it is an R rated phrase). If that doesn't get the message across to Franco I don't know what does.

I was sad that I didn't get to see more of the Reina Sofia but I will definitely be making a return trip soon to see the rest of the museum.

One more day of classes and it is officially spring break! Tomorrow afternoon we are going to celebrate with a trip to El Tigre, our favorite tapas bar, to celebrate with some tapas and sangria. Friday morning we are off - first stop Krakow, followed by a day trip to Auschwitz, three days in Prague, and the grand finale in Munich. It will be fun to experience the history and culture of Eastern Europe and attempt to communicate... Our Krakow hostel has even invited us to a toga party on Saturday night. Blog posts to come following spring break but in the meantime, feliz Semana Santa a todos!

¡Hasta la próxima!