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Best Of (Various Snippets) (approx. 100 words each) Best Of |
Best of Art
January 2005 - InMadrid BEST ONE-STOP CULTURAL FIX Those torn between taking up painting or massage, yoga or photography, cultural Arab studies or oriental dance should look no further than Artepolis, where you can do all that and more. Apart from the classes, Artepolis is open to the public as a theatre, bar, cinema and concert hall. Maybe it sounds a bit poncey, but so do you. Get over yourself and check the website for activity updates. BEST ARTISTIC MAINSTAY After 125 years and running, the best thing about the Círculo de Bellas Artes has got to be that it never seems to run out of ideas. Declared a national monument and located right in the middle of some of the most emblematic architecture of the city, everything from new-age multi-level raves to fine arts and classical music are staged inside. Celebrating its anniversary throughout 2005, El Círculo has got more than a few tricks up its sleeve (including issuing its own postage stamp). The best of the best. BEST FOR OLD CLOTHES Since the last Best of issue we’ve seen the emergence of the Museo del Traje, which has got to be one of the most original ideas to come to the capital since the 24-hour automated DVD machines. Clothes, clothes and more clothes, from 1235 to the present day. From Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada’s latest lines, to medieval Spain’s earliest frocks, El Museo del Traje keeps things very “street”. Says museum director Andrés Carretero, “No military attire, no religious attire, but just everyday clothes, and from every era of history.” Now you know where to go for ideas when you want to go retro. BEST ALTERNATIVE EXHIBITION SPACE FUNDED BY A BANK You’d never guess the large, concrete building housing the most vanguard, alternative, multicultural and dynamic art and music of the city was run by a bank . . . except for the telltale colour scheme and artistically placed icons. Well, I certainly don’t mind lending Caja Madrid my money if that’s how they’re going to spend it. BEST WAY TO SPEND A FAMILY FORTUNE Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Fundación Juan March was set up by the Spanish financier Juan March Ordinas. It organises free art exhibitions, concerts, lecture series and seminars. It administers the Spanish Library of Contemporary Music and Theatre at its Madrid headquarters and directs the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in Cuenca and the Museu d’Art Espanyol Contemporani in Palma de Mallorca. Can you say all that in one breath? Now run by grandson Juan March Delgado, the centre looks to be about to enjoy its best year. Be sure to check out the temporary Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition running until January 16. BEST USE OF A CAVE The medieval caverns of old Madrid need a Best of category all on their own, but if we have to choose one that really makes the most out of its space, it has to be the Carmen de la Guerra gallery. While on the ground floor you can find a tasteful enough contemporary art gallery, it’s down in the cueva where things really come to life. Music, djs and live acts. Vanguardist photography. Performance art. Video exhibitions. All brought to life in that arched brick cavern thing they’ve got going on. One of a kind. BEST WINDOW DISPLAY Look through a certain window in a wall along c/San Pedro and you will discover a work of art. This is not a shop window, nor even a gallery window. It’s just a window. You may purchase the work (a different picture each month) from the website above. Or simply enjoy it from the street. BEST FOR HOUSE SNOOPING “Los Artistas del Barrio” tours, www.losartistasdelbarrio.net “Los Artistas del Barrio” is a project that organises tours around artists’ homes. Their website explains that the aim is to “introduce the public to the work of artists who are not blessed with exhibition spaces”, but obviously the best thing about these tours is being able to have a good old throughthe- keyhole snoop. The Lavapiés tour included an improvised flamenco tablao as well as exhibitions in a women’s ókupa and a visit to a guy’s house where a metal spider’s web led to his bedroom in the loft. Coming to a neighbourhood near you. Look out for posters on lampposts or check website above. BEST BAR ART The place is an exhibition in itself, whatever it may or may not have for sale on the walls. The furniture, the stained-glass windows, the bar in the kitchen, the handmade clothes and accessories, hell, even the flyers could be framed and sold. All that and Anticafé (apart from great food, live music, dj nights and film screenings) has some of the best painting and photography this city has ever seen. Did I just say best? I knew I was writing this for a reason. BEST PIECE OF ABSTRACT ART BY A HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Actor, artist, photographer, director and writer Jordi Mollà keeps many hidden treasures in his studio. Bags of varnished pebbles collected from beaches and building sites across the world line the walls. And in one corner stands a canvas onto which is pinned a polythene bag filled with non-decomposing dead bees. Johnny Depp gave the work to Mollà when they were filming Blow. |