Very few Eibar residents know the fruitful work of Eibar native Andrés San Millán, producer in New York of a large number of works, shows, cultural, artistic and educational events that can be seen with a visit to the Hudson Valley, “an hour and a half from New York.” York.
He is 65 years old and his entire childhood was spent in Eibar. He studied at Urkizu, La Salle, Institute and at the Labor University. He went to Barcelona at a very young age to the Dance and Theater Institute. It was at the age of 24 when she made the leap to the United States where she has lived since then. There she studied modern dance before launching herself into the world of art. In the city of skyscrapers she got married and has four children.
On American soil he co-founded the Cocoon Theater where he works as artistic director until the beginning of the current year, 2023. «I have had the great privilege of having the support of the Scripps Foundation, which has largely subsidized my work, as well as community support. Alvin Nikloais of the Nikolais/Louis Theater who calls me a ‘creator’, apparently is right,” says San Millán.
On the other hand, he has explored and produced a large number of artistic pieces in many areas: dance, choreography, theater, painting, sculpture, floats, accessories, costumes, puppets, scenography, portraits, reliefs, replicas, etc.
He founded and is now president of the Wheaton Park Bridge organization. He was recently named an official member of the Set Artists Guild of the United States. “I like to do everything. “That’s how I’m in my element,” he says. Creative plans come flooding back. Right now he is waiting to be called for his next job with the set design artists union which will be soon.
Work non-stop
Meanwhile, he continues with the projects he has started, such as his studio and workshop, where he is currently painting a portrait for a client, preparing sketches of new ideas, and where he normally makes minor sculptures out of paper, plaster, cement or river wood.
In this same space he invites his friends or acquaintances to see his work and where on certain dates he carries out sales to the general public.
His multifaceted character leads him to teach dance and painting classes at ARC of Greater Hudson Valley for adults, art classes at Poughkeepsie’s Boys and Girls Club, to children and youth from 5 to 18 years of age; private art classes, and even revitalizing the Ducktown restaurant in New Windsor through art and creativity. Furthermore, she works on the revitalization of an organic agricultural farm in Massachusetts also through art and creativity.
All of this leads him to say that “I have no solid plans for the future. I am interested in the concept of personal and collective identity, how to express it, how to contribute to its strengthening. What exactly is it? How does it manifest itself day to day? I have been lucky to belong to a wonderful culture. Being born and raised in Euskal Herria has been like having a passport to any country in the world, it has given me and gives me great spiritual and practical strength. Every time I meet a new person, they want to know about our language, customs, folklore, our history, etc.,” says the Eibar producer.
In this way, he considers that “all of this gives me an advantage in the world. There are many displaced people who do not know their own identity. This weakens them. Art, on the other hand, essentially grows, revitalizes and increases that sense of ‘being’, which is a spiritual strength against the harshness of life. Art through psychogenetics leads us to relive immemorial past times and recognize the essence of who we are.
Many memories
The passages of his Eibar origin cloud him. «The Sanjuanes, the San Andres Church, the festivals in Unzaga, in Urkizu, in Amaña, and of course in Arrate, the climbing to the mountain, to Urko, to Karakate, the creativity of the floats and the txarangas in San Juan, the ‘poteo’, the black pudding or chorizo banderillas or Russian salad, the train to Deba, the supreme potato omelette! “It will always remain in my memory.”
He has a predilection for the saying ‘Eibar, where work is art’, “although I think many people will disagree because there has been a lot of suffering regarding work in Eibar. I remember all the strikes of the workers in all the workshops and of myself or my parents working in metallurgy. That was hard and the work was mechanized without great satisfaction.
The evocation of the art of Eibar inspires him. «The church of San Andrés and Arrate or Azitain have a lot in common. That austerity that makes one feel something deep. The almost monochromatic art of its altarpieces evoke very interior and personal thoughts and emotions in the visitor. “They are a great treasure,” says Millán.
He also wants to specify that “although in its idealistic sense, for example about damascene work, it is clear what that motto refers to,” and adds that “when work is art, it is no longer work. Personally, I don’t like ‘working’, but when I’m inspired I don’t stop, I don’t want to stop doing whatever it takes to finish whatever task it is. Work no longer feels like work. I tell my children, work without ‘trying’. Work as if you were doing a dance, dancing, without effort, but that type of work requires satisfaction beyond the economic,” he concludes.
2023-11-14 22:19:45
#Eibar #art #triumphs #York
