Sara Rubayo graduated in Art History at the Complutense University of Madrid and, at the end of a “dead-end career” and eager to chart her own path, she embarked on the unexplored adventure of dissemination in the digital world. She is an art history teacher, but she also leads museum tours, advises contemporary artists and lectures, as well as collaborates with various media. podcast host the lady of the artproposes Rubayo in his work You like art even if you don’t know it (Paydós) an unknown vision of art.
Do we all like art?
-I think so and, even if you don’t know it, deep down you do too. Who doesn’t like a good painting decorating a room or who hasn’t wandered around to see art from time to time? Then there are those who are passionate about us, of course.
Is there one art better than another?
-Never. All periods of art are equally fascinating, interesting, important and necessary. There is no art better than another.
-Is art the reflection of society?
-Yes, constantly. Because the world is the world, it has always reflected who we are. It is true that, in a certain sense, in the past it rather reflected political and religious impressions or those of the highest strata of power, which were the ones who financed this art. But if we go to the decorative arts of, say, the lower classes of cities, we can find a different kind of art as well. And since the beginning of the 20th century, when art was freed from all those academic norms and restrictions, artists are freer than ever but, precisely because of this, they also reflect very well our wishes as a society, that we like to more or less, or we understand them more or less.
-Is contemporary art the great misunderstood?
-One of the most, really. Together with the Romanesque, I dare say, because it goes without saying that contemporary art must be understood as we look at it and, however, we also take it for granted that when we enter a museum of classical art, such as the Museo del Prado, or any another great museum, the logical thing to do is to take an audio guide or a guide. But to see contemporary art, even more knowledge is needed than in previous periods, as it also has the handicap that much of it is abstraction or part of the avant-garde, and that it deserves a more thoughtful and intense explanation.
“Women have taken a much more active role in art than has been preached”
-Is art useful? Should it be seen as something useful?
-This is one of the eternal debates, the usefulness or not of art may or may not be one of its qualities. There’s also art for art’s sake, the art of just having fun doing it. And then also the mere fact of observing, why not. It doesn’t always have to be this way, but it is true that there is a lot of art that is very useful since it works as a historical document or explains what other times were like or what that society was like.
-Beauty or message?
-From my point of view, the message, always. We have a certain obsession with beautiful things and many times it takes us away from the message itself. I always keep the message, with the idea.
He’s been pretty active. Not only as creators, painters, sculptors or architects, but also as embroiderers, illustrators, directors and photographers, and above all at the level of patrons, supporters, and not just the role of muses, which is what we have always been recognized for. Women have always been around art as a carrier, as creators, as now, when there are many more art historians, those of us who work on it as researchers. He played a key role. Another thing is the necessary vindication, because as creators and patrons they are hardly in the books, only the muses appear, but we have a much more active role than what has been preached.
-Is it possible to disconnect the artist from the person? It should be done?
-From my point of view, no, since understanding a work of art is understanding its context. In the end, the artist’s life itself is the context of him. What we shouldn’t be doing is judging, and there’s been a lot of judging lately.
– Are there still prejudices about art fans?
-Yes, because work intrusion is the order of the day even in any profession; especially letters, is the order of the day. It seems that everyone knows history from reading a book or is an artist from picking up a brush or having a good camera. But the artist is made up of talent, work and technique; It’s great that there are people who love art and want to process it amateurishly, but there are artists and artists, there are layers, like everything in this life.
-Guided visits to museums are also carried out. How to bring them closer to the general public?
-Lately, museums are working a lot on this approach with a general public of all ages and cultural levels. There are more and more efforts to make museums for everyone, do activities with schools on a training and educational level, organize temporary exhibitions, review their permanent exhibitions, update their social networks… They are making a huge effort to catch up with a society advancing very fast.
-Attacking actions against works of art are repeated to draw attention to climate change. What opinion do you deserve? Does the message justify the means?
-Obviously I’m totally against it, the message doesn’t justify the means. I don’t want to voice this topic because that’s what they’re looking for. Never in history has there been an attack made against a work of art claiming that any purpose whatsoever served absolutely no purpose. The messages, the media and, above all, the place get confused. It harms the museum and culture from all sides because it increases security, which is bad for the public and, therefore, for general culture.
