09 Duranguesado In.Pdf

© Author: Xabier Sáenz de Gorbea • Editor: General Office of Turist Promotion • Design and photographs: Sonia Rueda • Printing: Flash Composition S.L. • Legal deposit: BI-2701-07 1- Martín de Saracíbar (1804-1891) “Vulcan” (1850) 2- Vicente Larrea (1934) Tribute to Kirikiño (1966) 3- Néstor Basterretxea (1924) “Estela Hirugarren Hilarria” (Third Tombstone Stele) (1993) 4- Mikel Lertxundi (1951) Untitled (1985-2006) 5- Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1936-1994) and Fernando Olabarria (1939) “Game of Pelota” (1970) 6- Vicente Larrea (1934) “Abstraction” (1994) 7- Bernabé de Garamendi (1833-1898) and Serafín Basterra (1850-1927) Monument to Pedro Pablo Astarloa (1886) 8- Imanol Marrodán (1964) “Seetor. (Aintzinaren etxea)” (Seetor. The House from Long Ago) (2005) 9- Higinio Basterra (1876-1957) Sacred Heart (1922) 10- Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969) “Pity” (1951) 11- Joxe Amantegi (1966) Monument to Alejandro Aldekoa (1993) 12- Mikel Lertxundi (1951) “Oreka, naturaren hildotik” (Balance, Towards Nature) (1993) 13- Juanjo Novella (1961) “Dantzari” (Dancer) (1997) 9. DURANGALDEA The Durangaldea district offers a continuity of moun- tainous landscapes scattered with towns and inten- sive manufacturing activity. The centre is composed of Durango and Iurreta, an area that holds a significant number of sculptures, both ancient and contemporary. The district stretches from Otxandio to Trabakua, taking in Mañaria, Abadiño and Bérriz, but there are also rec- ommendable references in Ermua, Zaldivar and Elorrio. All the artists come from the Basque cultural envi- ronment. Two take us back to nineteenth century ar- tificers: Martín Saracíbar (1804-1891), Bernabé Gara- DURANGALDEA mendi (1833-1898) and Serafín Basterra (1876-1957). From the first half of the twentieth century we have Higinio Basterra (1876-1957) and Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969). Néstor Basterretxea (1924), Vicente Larrea (1934), Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1936-1994), Fernando Olabarría (1939) and Mikel Lertxundi (1951) represent the inheritances of the post-war Basque School movement. Imanol Marrodán (1964), Juanjo Novella (1961) and Joxe Amantegi (1966) provide considerations that move between connotative reference and figuration for all types of people. 1 Martín DE SARACÍBAR (1804-1891) The arrival of the water supply into the centre of Otx- andio in 1850 was commemorated with a sculpture ar- ranged above the fountain trough. An initiative which is linked with the new values of ornate public items and similar to what was approved in Bermeo. In this case, an original carving was used instead of a French casting. The motif chosen was the mythological theme of Vulcan, whose trade as a forger is related with the economic life of the territory. It was designed by the architect from Vitoria Martín de Saracíbar (1804-1891), who was also responsible for the Executive Building of the Regional Government of Álava, the city’s new square and the Town Hall in Tafalla. The figure is a full- length body statue and is standing. It is shown bare- chested and wearing only a cloth around its body. The icon seems inspired by the prototype created by Velázquez. The anatomical ideality and the coldness of the surfaces indicate the neoclassical links of the carving. It displays a certain movement in the limbs and in the restless diagonal descent of the cloth. The figure is wearing a laurel wreath and is accompanied by the forge and tongs. The res- toration by José Luis Butrón has been on the original matter and there is a relief on the rear. DURANGALDEA Otxandiano “Vulcan” (1850) 2 Vicente LARREA (1934) Evaristo Bustinza (1866-1929) was a reputed Basque writer. He popularised the pseudonym Kirikiño and pub- lished story books such as “Abarrak (1918) and “Bigar- rengo abarrak” (1930). Vicente Larrea (1934) dedicated a monument to his memory. It is made of welded and wrought iron and is supported on a stone that comes from a local quarry. It was in front of the cemetery and currently stands in the main square at Mañaria. It measures 3.2 x 1.8 x 2.2 metres and was inaugurated in 1966. It is made up of a series of curved sheets that create the mobility of an arc. The base shows the signs of its extraction from the mountain. It is a rough surface that has rhythmical horizontal and vertical lines. The model was reproduced in small for- mat in 1989. The series consists of 50 copies in bronze meas- uring 23 x 6 x 17 cm. DURANGALDEA Mañaria Tribute to Kirikiño (1966) 3 Nestor BASTERRETXEA (1924) Néstor Basterretxea (1924) is the author of the stele “Hirugarren Hilarria” which has stood close to the church of San Pedro in Tavira since 1993. It is made of stone, 3.5 metres tall and weighs 20 tonnes. The original is smaller and dates from 1974. The artist adopts the discoidal model, transforms its anthropomorphic origin and converts it into an abstract expression whose content is linguistic, emotional and sensitive. It provides continuity between past and present, support and figure, the vertical el- ement and the enormous circular top. The surface is variable and discon- tinuous. Its graphics is hazardous and instinc- tive, and moves inside the geometrical purity that frames it. DURANGALDEA Durango “Estela Hirugarren Hilarria” (Third Tombstone Stele) (1993) 4 Mikel LERTXUNDI (1951) This work was produced by Mikel Lertxundi (1951). The cube is made up of the confluence of different ele- ments. The volume is a categorical, hermetic presence whose block commands respect. The components are drawn on each face by means of diagrammatical fig- ures. In an exercise of ennobling the material itself, it is left uncovered and the qualities of each are en- hanced. The artist works with textures without forcing nature itself, with which each process foments their inherent qualities. The iron allows an uneven, rough texture to be seen. The stone has an even stipple that endows the planes with volume. Small circular inci- sions have been cut into the wood, creating a mobile rhythm that highlights the immobility of the rest. The compact mass opens up to the premonitions of in- ner interstices, while the surfaces allow the unit to be undone by creating the representation of figura- tive openings. DURANGALDEA Durango Untitled (1985-2006) 5 Juan Daniel FULLAONDO (1936-1994) / Fernando OLABARRIA (1939) The work was made by the architects for the Plaza de Ezkurdi in Durango, where it is situated. A singular set- ting, which won the Pedro de Asúa award of the Basque Navarrese Architects’ Association in 1971. Its authors, Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1936-1994) and Fernando Ola- barría (1939), created a pair of discoidal steles whose ti- tle, “Game of Pelota” (1970), is a reference to the pelota court on one side of the square. The works are made of stone and based on the mobile pair by Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003). Like in the work by the artist from Orio, they lay out an orthogonal junction between two semi- circular plates. In this case, the material is emphasised by making it thicker. A mass that includes cylindrical holes and curved parallel lines that provide the idea of movement. The area is being modernised in 2007 and is to be converted into a bigger park. DURANGALDEA Durango “Game of Pelota” (1970) 6 Vicente LARREA (1934) Vicente Larrea Gayarre (1934) is the author of “Ab- straction” (1994). It is iron, painted red, that measures 2.6 x 2.5 x 1.7 metres and weighs 9 tonnes. It is situated in Galtzareta street, inside the gardens of the Art and History Museum. It was placed on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the institution and financed by the Town Council of Durango and the Regional Government of Bizkaia. It consists of a set of protuber- ances that sprinkle the space. The volume gets thinner and becomes the continuity of a sheet that interacts on one side and the other, inside and out. It is as if the matter is suffering stomach cramps and has the capability to conjure up the dynamics of cloths and folds. The sculptor keeps only the external limits and empties the interior of the mass. He manages to make a hard material create soft sensations and convey the idea that it wrinkles as if it were a fine paper. DURANGALDEA Durango “Abstraction” (1994) 7 Bernabé de GARAMENDI (1833-1898) / Serafín de BASTERRA (1850-1927) The artistic partnership formed by Bernabé de Gara- mendi (1833-1898) and Serafín de Basterra (1850-1927) produced the monument to Pedro Pablo Astarloa (1752- 1806), a reputed Basque scholar born in Durango. The work was inaugurated on 24 July 1886 and is the first in Bizkaia to honour a person. The piece consists of a pedestal whose prismatic volume holds the details of the subject of the tribute and the popular dedication. The work illustrates the clergyman with his full-length cassock. The statue is standing and is life-size. It is holding a book in one hand, showing it forward and indicating its activity. The sculpting is compact and vertical. The arms are close to the body and there is no space between the legs. The figure is shown with a certain neoclassical coldness, as implied by the compound order, the polish on the surfaces and the balance of the legs situated in the same plane. But it also has a certain romantic consciousness on attend- ing to the characteristic and to the movement of the folds in cloths that show some curvilinear waves. It was inaugurated on the occasion of the Basque Festivities. It cost 2,875 pesetas, an amount that was paid by popular sub- scription and by the Town Council in Durango. DURANGALDEA Durango Monument to Pedro Pablo Astarloa (1886) 8 Imanol MARRODÁN (1964) Since 2005, “Seetor (Ainzinaren Etxea)” has been sited in front of the new building for the Basque Book and Record Show in Durango, a town that was attacked by the pro-Franco air force.

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