Carlos Pazos is the anti-disciplinary artist par excellence. To prove it, with the invaluable complicity of the essayist Eloy Fernandez Portahas organized an exhibition that makes us rethink our concept to aesthetic taste. Just entering the Can Framis exhibition hall we find ourselves before a very clear declaration of intent; The expression Bad Painting?, written in red neon letters and the question mark flashing. This blinking question mark remained in my head for hours after visiting the exhibition. Who are the arbiters of taste? Who educates us in this taste? Does taste become punctuation? Is taste common sense? Most of the paintings on display have been taken from the MNAC warehouses, from the period between 1850 and 1950. Curiously, many of these works make us smile, something that does not happen when we walk through the museum’s permanent collection. Does that mean that we are also influenced by the context? When judging art, are we biased by the opinion of professionals?
When judging art, are we biased by the opinion of professionals?
Loyal copy or ironic parody
After being challenged by this great title, it may be that a small laugh escapes us when we see a painting compared to a conventional home rug. This point of satire made me think about how many Catalans have understood great episodes of politics thanks to Poland, the TV3 program. I think that in this exhibition the same thing happens a bit; you understand the permanent collection of museums from the self-referential parody. At the beginning of the exhibition, a sentence by Lawrence Alloway (art critic, 1926 – 1990) is read that is fully applicable to the exhibition and reads as follows: “It is difficult to know if we are dealing with a sabotaged imitation, a brutal parody or a subtle imagination that opens a personal framework between faithful copying and ironic parody”.
the education of taste
In order to understand “bad painting”, the exhibition is divided into five areas. For example, in one of these thematic blocks entitled SUBLIM!, we find a series of paintings that show that there is a very fine line between ecstasy and pathos. A case in this area are the two scenes from the life of Jesus painted by Maria Pidelaserra (1877 – 1946). On the one hand, we see a Cristo rising surrounded by a yellow that looks like the fire that surrounds Goku of dragon ball. On the other hand, we observe the burial of a Jesus painted in an alien green color that makes people laugh and suffer at the same time. In addition, among all these paintings, Pazos has introduced his own works that give an ironic and ingenious point to the rest. Although there are no cartouches, it is obvious which works are by the author. After all, taste is totally personal and subjective, and that can also make us think how important the subjectivity of the viewer is. Or, how relevant is the aesthetics of a painting. Is the problem in the education of taste or in the conception of art? Until June 4 we can judge for ourselves what is bad painting in the Can Framis spaces of the Vila Casas Foundation.
