Back to my photo archives here, and another renowned artist to tell you about, if you're in the mood for a little art talk that is. If you're busy keeping cool at a beach or in a basement, please feel free to skip this post. An iced coffee or a siesta may be more in line with your mood in this sweltering heat and smokey atmosphere than art appreciation.
But here's the story...
We were touring around Colombia in 2010 with Claudia and Luis, a Colombian couple living in Swift Current who were proud to show us their country and dispel the nasty drug reputation that hung over it.
In the Botero Plaza in the middle of Medellín, Colombia, it wasn't drug lords we found (the guys reading newspapers in my photo could be possibilities I suppose), but plenty of inflated-looking bronze figures with fat legs and small arms, the signature look of artwork by Fernando Botero.
Everywhere I turned in this city where he was born, I snapped pictures of giant puffed-up sculptures, enormous shiny hips and thighs on everyone. Eerie staring expressions with unfocused eyes.
People generally like Botero's work, it's recognizable, easy to "get" and enjoy. It makes you smile. I liked wandering around the sculptures a lot on that sunny Colombian morning.
Which doesn't mean art critics of the world are on board. His figures have been likened to the Pillsbury Dough Boy and his work derided as cartoonish and lacking in depth.
That hasn't hurt sales one bit. Botero is a very wealthy man and is among the highest-paid painters in the world. He's still working at age 89 but is expected to announce his retirement this summer of 2021.
He's a prolific painter. There are probably thousands of characters frozen in picture frames around the world, that look like these musicians and dancers with their tiny features, chins, and moustaches, big fleshy cheeks, hefty lower limbs, and voluminous musical instruments.
The balloon-faced Mona Lisa, Age Twelve, with the minuscule hands is instantly recognizable as a Botero once you know his characteristic look.
Aside from Botero (and the drug lord Pablo Escobar who once reigned here), there's something else noteworthy about Medellín, this city in the middle of Colombia.
It has a unique and socially-progressive cable car system that is amazing. Really impressive and memorable.
The Metrocable cars look like they belong at a ski resort or a tourist lookout point, but they exist to provide transportation to low-income neighbourhoods perched high up on the mountain sides. They link passengers to the urban Metro system and allow workers access to the city centre and jobs. Much faster and safer than the steep precarious winding roads of earlier times.
We rode the lift to the top of the city and saw a modern community library, and these two adorable girls in their great-looking school uniforms. My Spanish comes in handy at times like this.
This is just a little aside on the artist post because I rode the gondola car and chatted with the schoolgirls the same day as we enjoyed the fat sculptures.
So back to Fernando Botero, whose trademark, he says, is volume, not fatness. He assures critics he is highlighting the natural shape of the body and making the figure more monumental. He's the artist, he makes his rules.
Now that you know him I guarantee you'll recognize his work if it ever comes up as an art question on Jeopardy!
Medellín, Colombia, another city of unexpected discoveries. 2010
Keep cool! Try a wet towel on your neck and arms. Or put on a wet bathing suit like my mom used to do.
