Do It Go

Last November, a giant sand painting was created in Barcelona, Spain.  Luxury hotels,  cafes, and city walls of Barcelona have long been known to provide the street artists with the ‘canvases’ in which to express themselves, artistically, politically, and philosophically.  This sand painting is no different.  The piece is titled ‘Expectation’ and is the work of Barcelona artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada.   The artist had a consultant in architect Alex Gimenez Imirizaldu.  The painting is a portrait of United States President Barack Obama.  Rodriguez-Gerada used a graphics system, and a topographical map to plan the piece of art work, before the 2008 elections took place in 2008.  The artist stated at the time that the work was on such a grand scale because of the sense of hope that Obama’s supporters had felt, and that the entire world felt, about the campaign and about the man that Obama is.  Obama had evoked such a yearning for change that extended the boundaries of his own country and affected most all other countries in the world.

Rodriguez used six hundred and fifty tons of colored sand to create the piece that signifies the impact that the election had for the world, the power that was felt in the idea of a man such as Obama, is in modern times and history, without precedent.  The artist’s choice to create this massive mural with sand has symbolic connotations as well.  Many indigenous tribes of the world such as the Monks in Tibet, the Native Americans in the United States and the Aborigines of outback Australia, all practice the art of sand painting during rituals of healing ceremonies.  This is a metaphor very easy to distinguish as the idea of Obama’s leadership created the idea that with him leading the U.S., not only would the U.S. be able to heal, but again, the entire world would also.  There are many examples of street art in Barcelona,  and this is one piece that is most brilliant and astounding.

Related posts:

1. “Culture Jamming” in Barcelona, Spain
2. The Botanical Garden of Barcelona
3. Bonnie Ntshalintshali, Daughter of South Africa
4. Chia Chu Yia: Contemporary Artist
5. Job opportunities abroad

Tags: Barcelona, Expectation, hotels, Naitive Americans, Obama, Rodriguez-Gerada, Spain

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Arts, Business, Entertainment, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.