Resistencia, la Ciudad de las Esculturas
I'm going to be unexpectedly efficient in writing my post from Resistencia thanks to the weather. When I arrived it looked like I would get one good day and one bad here and that has turned out to be the case. My reason for coming here is because Resistencia is also known as the City of Sculpture, has UNESCO status as such and I am a big fan of this form of art, being particularly fond of abstract pieces, although embracing all! They run a competition here every 2 years (this year is the 30th anniversary) where sculptors from around the world are invited to the city, the third week in July and they produce pieces that are then displayed around the city. Apparently there are currently 636 pieces on display and I have seen, I would guess, around 90% of them! My guidebook had said you could get a map showing where they are located from the tourist information office which was in Plaza de 25 Mayo, the main square here but sadly that was closed. So I decided to head up to MusEUM (Museo de las Esculturas Urbanas del Mundo),
where some of the bigger pieces are displayed and coincidentally chose to get to it via one of the main streets where they are displayed. So along the way, the following pieces caught my eye:
Bardoneando, Tango
Rachel, tell Megan they're delusional about Unicorns here too (they're not real...)
Unsurprisingly entitled 'Unicornio'
Communicado de emociones III (from the front)
(And back)
The pieces in MusEUM were amazing!
Angel Mio
Of course, I do love all things round, so this appealed
La sphere opposée
I thought this one was beautiful: Cincel (means chisel)
And then I saw my favourite piece of all: Sin Titulo
This, to me, was just beautiful and I stood and looked at it for ages. It reminded me of 'Fish' in Tate modern, by Constantin Brancusi, one of my other favourite sculptures (http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/brancusi-fish-t07107)
This one (El mundo de los pollos) was amusing and horrific in equal measure...
They also had an indoor exhibition space that should have been open whilst I was there but it was closed and so I carried on round to see the rest of the sculptures, with this one really appealing to me: Identity
It's a little difficult to see in the picture but it's a finger print, as if a finger has been pressed into the concrete.
Before I left I couldn't resist seeing Melodia en Fuga and Sin Titulo again and luckily, because I did, I was by the exhibition space when Alejandro came and opened it up again and he then gave me a guided tour and explained about the history of the competition which was so interesting, but more importantly he gave me a copy of the map that I'd been hoping to get from the tourist information centre!! And another two maps: one of the Rambla de las esculturas and the other of the MusEUM outdoor pieces. Perfecto! In that space, this one was my favourite: La Esencia
So I then went on a mission to scope out the rest of the sculptures! These are the ones that appealed to me at the start of my exploration: equanimidad de animo
Adelante
This is the only one by a British Sculptor, Michael Lyons. Song of the wind: Crescendo
I then found a lovely place for lunch, where I had the prettiest salmon fish cake!
Before heading off for my post lunch meandering where these caught my eye: Undulation
Vital Impulse (😳)
I absolutely adored this one - what an amazing face! It's called 'Head of the poet Gaspar Benavento' and I now feel I want to read some of his poetry being mesmerised by his face!
Hurt Giant
Punishment
This one was so emotive, 'Remorse,' and I think captured that emotion perfectly.
That evening, I'd thought about going for a beer, but I ended up detailing the names of the sculptures in the pictures I'd taken whist they were sill fresh in my mind. And then finished off watching the second series of The Crown!
Today, knowing it was due to rain and having woken to grey skies, I decided to go to El Fogon de Los Arrieros, a museum about the history of the area. On my way walking there I could hear drums beating so I decided to go and see what that was all about. It was some kind of demonstration...
I don't know if these guys were expecting trouble or just trying to prevent it...
Unfortunately when I got to the museum it was closed and as I'd not got a backup plan I decided to go for a coffee instead, which changed to a milkshake when I saw the menu!
It was the most fake strawberry taste ever and was sweet enough to put me in a hyperglycaemic coma!
Whilst I was in the coffee shop the rain started, then the thunder and lightening began and I waited there for 30 minutes but it showed no sign of abating. So I donned my waterproof jacket and retrieved by umbrella from my bag and set out back for the hotel. Well, if I thought the road rivers were bad in Concordia, they were like trickles compared to here. Unbelievable.
See how this woman's foot is submerged,
well, this was shallow compared to one of the roads I had to cross...
And so now I'm back in my hotel, baking to death as I have the heating on high, trying to dry my shoes out, again... Which I feel could be a little challenging and will finally be the death of the second pair on this trip 🙄
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