Jondo song series#

The necessity of knowing the circumstances, not available from the art itself, points out the implicit difficulties of seeing some of CortesРІР‚в„ўs art. Installation view courtesy of Smack Mellon and the artist. Esperanza CortР“В©s, CantР“В© Jondo/Deep Song at Smack Mellon curated by Gabriel de Guzman. Eerie, ghostlike, and somehow representative of the suffering these women continue to endure, the heads represent the depredations of history-if, indeed, we know what they represent (the situation is clarified with a wall card). These heads represent the Afro-Colombian gold miners, mostly women, whose lands are now being taken by the Colombian government-this despite the fact that the miners have lived there for generations.

Jondo song series#

In the several examples taken from the 2016 series called РІР‚СљLa Minera,РІР‚Сњ long gold or silver chains cascade downward from the clay heads of women the artist has sculpted. This means that the backstory of each work is important to know-a requirement that may be difficult to internalize as CortesРІР‚в„ўs audience moves from piece to piece, but at the same time forces us into a position of political recognition, which is needed to fully appreciate the art. It would make sense, then, for Cortes to embellish the chairs with a gold chain and other seemingly valuable baubles-it is a way of referring to the difficulties there without making them too overt in her art.

The problems suggested in this show have to do with the generations-old gems conflict still alive in Colombia. To jump from a beautifully decorated chair to the severe problems still experienced by native peoples in Colombia is a way of evading the literalism that plagues much political art today-if the references are obscure, we are forced to complete the metaphor, surely a particularly effective means to understanding the suffering Cortes obliquely refers us to.

Decoration is key to her sensibility, in the form of artworks that address the problem of colonialism indirectly-likely because literalism in regard to the travails she describes would limit the emotional power of what she does. She brings attention to the colonial practices that so badly damaged the indigenous peoples of her region. Installation view courtesy of Smack Mellon and the artist.Р”В¬olombian-born artist Esperanza Cortes is the originator of the strong show РІР‚СљCante JondoРІР‚Сњ (РІР‚СљDeep SongРІР‚Сњ), composed of a series of works, mostly sculptures in the form of decorated chairs chandeliers, and embellished skulls. The illustrious Falla, who studied the question attentively, affirms that the gypsy siguiriya is the song type of the group cante jondo and declares that it is the only song on our continent that has been conserved in its pure form, because of its composition and its style and the qualities it has in itself, the primitive songs of the oriental people.Esperanza CortР“В©s, CantР“В© Jondo/Deep Song at Smack Mellon curated by Gabriel de Guzman. It is also a rare example of primitive song, the oldest of all Europe, where the ruins of history, the lyrical fragment eaten by the sand, appear live like the first morning of its life. The cante jondo approaches the rhythm of the birds and the natural music of the black poplar and the waves it is simple in oldness and style. The following is translated from the conference notes by Lorca: In 1931, GarcР“Вa Lorca presented a conference devoted to keeping the rich tradition of the cante jondo alive. Lorca had evidently used the title Poema del cante jondo for a 1921 collection of poems, although he did not publish it for ten years. The result was the memorable series of flamenco performances held at the Alhambra during June. Many classical musicians, cultural and literary figures, including the young poet Federico GarcР“Вa Lorca, participated in the program. In 1922 the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla led in the organization of the Concurso de Cante Jondo for Granada. It is generally considered that the common traditional classification of flamenco music is divided into three groups of which the deepest, most serious forms are known as cante jondo.Р”В¬ultural references to cante jondo The name means 'deep song' in Spanish, with hondo ('deep') spelled with J ( Spanish pronunciation: ) as a form of eye dialect, because traditional Andalusian pronunciation has retained an aspirated H lost in other forms of Spanish.

Cante jondo ( Andalusian Spanish: ) is a vocal style in flamenco, an unspoiled form of Andalusian folk music.