El Peine del Viento

Whatever I know how to do, I've already done. Therefore I must always do what I do not know how to do. (Eduardo Chillida)

The Comb of the Wind. The Wind Comb. Three pieces of rusty metal placed on rocks at the end of a bay where hardly anyone ever comes to? Why the singular form when there are three? Isn't each one of them supposed to be a "comb"? (In spite of popularly being referred to in the plural form, both in English and in the original language, the correct form is singular.)

Questions like these creep into the casual visitor's mind as they approach this corner of San Sebastián. It is my regret that I didn't have the time to visit this site more than once, and the one time I did it, I did it at a time which was probably not the best (thinking of photography...), but one has to make the most of one's opportunities.

To understand this work of Chillida's, you must understand, or at least try to understand, the man himself. You must understand the type of person he was, the vision he had, his purpose. It is imperative, therefore that you should read this superb article, born out of an "interview" with Eduardo Chillida's son, Luis. Click here. You should also visit this page (in Spanish, but you can try using Google Translate) although I think the video sucks.

Something that took 11 years to complete cannot be understood in 11 minutes, perhaps not even in 11 visits. When I came, in terms of photography, it was probably the worst time - round about lunch time - but in terms of the crowd, it was good. Most people were either on the beach or eating. There were a handful of people arriving and leaving, some contemplating, resting, whispering, checking their smart phones, and there was a busker playing not inappropriate music on his Spanish guitar. No noisy stereo systems, no umbrella-waving tour guides. Possible for me to let my camera do its best. There will be another time when I'll be able to contemplate without it.

Busker playing ambiental music

To understand El Peine del Viento, you'll have to understand that the three pieces of iron sculpture are almost incidental. It's not about them. It's about the area around them. It's about the rocks, Santa Clara beyond, Mount Igueldo behind; it's about the sea, beating against the rocks incessantly; it's about the wind, its rhythm, its sound... It's about the space. And time.

Three pieces, representing the past, the present and the future. And everything in between.

I would like to share the photos I took, but they're too many, so I decided to make a video out of them. The photos can also be seen on my Flickr account. Here's the direct link to the album, "El Peine del Viento". I hope you'll find these three minutes or so worth your while - it took me much more than that to produce it. ;)

Best to watch it on full screen mode, and on HD. Click on the wheel icon, bottom right, click on quality and select 1080 HD.

Free jazz at the Guggenheim

I hope you've enjoyed the slide show of Guggenheim as you've never seen before!

I might have not caught the sunset glowing on the Goog, but I did catch some cool cool jazz from a wonderful trio playing on the terrace just outside. I couldn't find out the name of the band, unfortunately. By the looks of it, I wasn't the only one enjoying their music. Apart from paying customers sipping their G&T or whatever, numerous others were seated or standing around, soaking in the free entertainment.

When they stopped playing, I made my way back along the river bank, heading southwards again. This was when I caught the fire fountain, the sound it made when the flames shot up startling those walking by. The night was getting darker and I was getting colder...

Guggenheim as you've never seen before!

Continued from Ribera Market

Before long, I found myself back at Guggenheim's. The sky didn't look very promising. And so it was to be. Overcast and remained so until dark. Chilly even, and me with just a T-shirt. Any hopes of catching the warm glow of sunset were futile. Still, I ended up with scores of shots, too many to show, really. However, some of you may have interest in seeing them. Here's a slide show I've put up and, don't forget, you can also see all these and more at your own time, in my Flickr page (see left column).

Feedback and constructive criticisms are welcomed.

Created with flickr slideshow.

Note that the slideshow uses Shockwave Flash, so you'll find that you won't be able to watch it on most of your mobile devices. Some may say that the software is not supported. iPad just displays a blank screen, which isn't very friendly. If you can't watch it, then here's the direct link to the set on Flickr.

Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part Two

Continued from Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part One

I might not have gone for a close-up, but I did take a few more shots of Anish Kapoor's 'Reflectorama' from various angles. Here are a couple.

 Anish Kapoor's 'Reflectorama', full length

This following shot almost got dumped into the bin because I thought it was too cluttered and Guggenheim just overshadowed the silver orbs. However, I set out to work on it and I quite like the finished product. Rather than being overshadowed by Guggenheim, it now seems to forge with it, giving a shape of something not unlike the old statues of protective animals.

The Steel Puppy

We walked around the museum, looking up, down and around, looking beyond... now, how on earth did they dare construct such a hideous monster beside something like Guggenheim??? Doesn't it make you wonder? Even The Flower Puppy looks at it disapprovingly.

The Flower Puppy isn't happy

And here's the Puppy, in its full flowery glory, guarding the Guggenheim.

The Flower Puppy

I remember, too, that it was a hot day, and kids could be seen playing among the sporadic jets of water shooting out from the invisible fountain, on the west of the museum.

Sporadic jets from hidden fountain

When I said before that we didn't enter the museum, I meant entered to see the exhibits. I did enter the shop and had a quick walk around. With places such as museums and art galleries, I like to take my time and time was a bit short on this particular visit.