Meninas Madrid Gallery
By topffer
@topffer (42156)
France
May 21, 2018 1:43pm CST
Last time I went to Madrid, about ten years ago, the streets of the center were full of sculptures of cows, this time they were full of «meninas» (In Spanish from Spain, a menino/a was a pre-adolescent boy/girl with noble origins entering in the Royal Palace to serve the queen or her children). 80 to be precise, and they are big girls, 1.80m tall. Called «Meninas Madrid Gallery» this exhibition will be in the streets until the beginning of July. The original was made by a Venezuelan sculptor and designer, Antonio Azzato, with the goal of bringing out of their frame the Meninas, the famous painting of Velazquez jealously locked in the Prado museum where photos are forbidden, to put them in the streets. All these statues have been painted/decorated by real Spanish or South-American artists working in Madrid (sculptors, painters, street artists, designers...) but also by famous people living in Madrid, from movie stars to toreros, passing by chef cooks. This diversity was wanted by Azzato, together with the ideas of social inclusion of migrants in Madrid which is the entry door of South-Americans in Europe and of solidarity : all the artists worked for free, a large part of these statues will be sold and the money given to several charities. So, if you look for a female partner for your garden gnome, this is a good opportunity.
There are really some «good» meninas, or some that I enjoyed more than others. For example the «Menina en rojo» at the feet of the statue of Velazquez near the main entrance (closed actually) of the Prado museum, by Eloy Morales, an hyper-realist painter who put his face smeared with red on the skirt of his Menina, a wink to Velazquez painting himself in his Meninas. Or the «Menina enmarcada» (the framed menina) from the sculptor Diego Canogar. He put four frames in metal around it, it is funny and clever.
And it is a big success : people are taking family photos and selfies, are touching the statues, kids are playing around... People in Madrid are really nice, smiling, welcoming... I will speak of that in another discussion.
6 people like this
4 responses
@topffer (42156)
• France
23 May 18
The main organization is the city of Madrid, they would certainly find the space needed if they wanted. I was joking with the garden gnomes, putting one of these statues outdoors is probably not a good idea on the long term.
I enjoyed my little holiday : there are a lot of places to see and visit, and people are taking their time. I mean they do not run like in French cities, it adds to the holiday atmosphere. Some neighborhoods are very pleasant, it is a city where it feels good to live, and it is lively during the night. At least in this season : it is quite high, very cold in winter and very hot during summer. Spring and autumn are the right seasons to go to Madrid.
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
23 May 18
@YrNemo I got a few showers, but less than here. There were already a lot of tourists, but the inhabitants are cool with tourists. I always spoke Spanish and they were pleased to hear a foreigner speaking Spanish, I do not know if it would be the same if I had spoken French or English, but I think so. They have a weird rhythm of work, the shops are opening at 10 or 11 AM, closing between 1 and 4 PM for the lunch and a nap, and opened again up to 8 or 9 PM ; the administrations are opened only between 8 or 9 AM to 2 or 3 PM. Children are still playing in the streets at midnight, and old people are chatting on the benches of public gardens up to 1 or 2 AM. The night-clubs are opening at 2 AM
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You should have encouraged your scammer, to receive more stamps.
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You should have encouraged your scammer, to receive more stamps.2 people like this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
23 May 18
@topffer no drizzle nor rain there right now? (Were there lots of young families with little children or just young people/couples and professionals there at this time of the year? Don't think I will ever visit that place - no reason to do so hence my questions 
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I did receive some mail (letters with stamps) from Spain a decade ago, one every month for about half a year, about some relatives of mine 
had decided to leave me a few million euros, please contact etc some lawyers over there. I almost went for a trip to Spain at that time to see those mythical lawyers. (I think I still have those Spanish stamps somewhere here.)
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I did receive some mail (letters with stamps) from Spain a decade ago, one every month for about half a year, about some relatives of mine had decided to leave me a few million euros, please contact etc some lawyers over there. I almost went for a trip to Spain at that time to see those mythical lawyers. (I think I still have those Spanish stamps somewhere here.)2 people like this
). We also had cows in Milan a few years ago, painted in bright colors, I never understood the meaning.@topffer (42156)
• France
22 May 18
Maybe the same cows than in Madrid, they were also not standard cows for the colors.
I found it more interesting than average. All meninas are not good, but several good artists participated and it is more "art in the street" than "street art", it is rare to see some real pieces of art in the streets. Each menina weights 200 kg to not be stolen, but they can be damaged ; I believe that the only way to avoid problems was to ask to the artists to work for free. On another hand, I am not sure that the public makes a difference between real art and colored junk, the second category had more success for selfies.
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I found it more interesting than average. All meninas are not good, but several good artists participated and it is more "art in the street" than "street art", it is rare to see some real pieces of art in the streets. Each menina weights 200 kg to not be stolen, but they can be damaged ; I believe that the only way to avoid problems was to ask to the artists to work for free. On another hand, I am not sure that the public makes a difference between real art and colored junk, the second category had more success for selfies.2 people like this
@much2say (53928)
• Los Angeles, California
21 May 18
I love these kinds of city projects - very interesting to see what various artists come up with. So many possibilities! Apparently they are trying to do that in our Valley with horse sculptures - but I've only seen one (I only know of 2 .. . they are very slow to get these out considering I think they started in 2012!)
I looked up the artists you mentioned - and - I "get" their Meninas - especially the Canogar one! I wonder if these artists were invited or if they made submissions to be apart of it.
It'd be great fun to be a part of such an exhibition! What would @topffer 's look like 
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- I "get" their Meninas - especially the Canogar one! I wonder if these artists were invited or if they made submissions to be apart of it.
It'd be great fun to be a part of such an exhibition! What would @topffer 's look like ?2 people like this
@much2say (53928)
• Los Angeles, California
22 May 18
@topffer True, there probably were artists who could not (or did not want to) contribute at the time. For free, I say it is free marketing! Even if a more famous artist does not need it, it shows they have an interest in bringing a community together. I'm still trying to look to see if the Eloy Morales one is somewhere online . . . yah, I've seen his smeary painted face portraits.
Oh that is brilliant - yes, take advantage of brand/logo placement! Certain athletes do it, so why not. You gotta have "myLot" on there somewhere too - only "our" community would understand it .
Equestrian statues can be quite beautiful! The "artsy" horse sculptures they are trying to install around here are a lot flatter/graphic, but perhaps so it can have a larger canvas area. Artist (anyone) can enter submissions for it I guess. Too bad there are not more of them though - I don't think a lot of people know of or understand the project.
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Equestrian statues can be quite beautiful! The "artsy" horse sculptures they are trying to install around here are a lot flatter/graphic, but perhaps so it can have a larger canvas area. Artist (anyone) can enter submissions for it I guess. Too bad there are not more of them though - I don't think a lot of people know of or understand the project.
We are happy to announce that the second horse in the "Horses Across the Valley" series now has an awesome plaque! If you haven't made ...
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
22 May 18
@much2say I understand why you thought at these horse sculptures. It is the same concept. If they have no more success among artists it is perhaps because they do not put them in the center of big cities ? Anyways it is also free marketing, I had a look at her website to see what she was doing. Her dolls are interesting
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In Madrid the artists were asked "What is Madrid for you ?" The bloody face of Morales is perhaps a reference to the 2 de mayo. It is a public holiday in Madrid, a famous painting of Goya in the Prado, and the monument is not far from his menina, but this maybe a coincidence.
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In Madrid the artists were asked "What is Madrid for you ?" The bloody face of Morales is perhaps a reference to the 2 de mayo. It is a public holiday in Madrid, a famous painting of Goya in the Prado, and the monument is not far from his menina, but this maybe a coincidence.2 people like this
@much2say (53928)
• Los Angeles, California
23 May 18
@topffer This particular horse sculpture is in strange place and it can hardly be seen by anyone. It is in a corner of an intersection of a very busy street and a small side street . . . and it's tucked away right next to a nothing car stereo place which nearly hides the sculpture entirely. I know about it only because it is part of my shortcut in getting to the kids school from my direction - and I take that small side street - there is not much traffic there. I do think there could have been better eye catching spots for it - it's ashame. Or maybe they put it there strategically because so many vandelizers are around.
Yah, the fabric dolls are pretty cool!
Ah, well perhaps that was the intent - art placement can make an impact on an artpiece!
2 people like this
