Carmona

I did a post on these sculptures earlier in my stay when I spent a day with my niece Ashlee trying to find all 28 of them. So for more information on the artist refer back to that posting called "Ashlee with the Sculptures of Carmona". 


There is also a youtube video you can visit to watch a video about them. I can't figure out how to do a link to this video so you will have to copy and paste it if you want to watch it.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFtc9K7bh-0


Together with Ashlee we found 25 of the 26 located along the Seine but one was inside a building so we were not able to get any pictures of it and a number of them were pushed over and vandalized so impossible to photograph as well. And two were off-site and we didn't even try to locate them so all together Ashlee and I got good pictures of about 20 of them the first day we tried.

I first discovered these on one of my earlier walks down by the Seine and they intrigued me so in the back of my mind I decided to find all of them and photograph them all sometime through this trip. It took six separate attempts but I ultimately was successful.


I had given up at one point since the third one in the series seemed to be missing entirely and I didn't think the one's that were vandalized would be restored but I decided to take one last long walk two nights before I was scheduled to depart and viola ... the missing one was right there in the middle of the quai under the Tour Eiffel. It must have been removed for some reason and was put back sometime during my last couple of weeks.


In addition, I was out walking a few weeks back and actually got lost so to find my co-ordinates I headed to the Seine since I knew it would lead me home. Along the way I did find a familiar landmark and in following along the river discovered that the sculptures that had been vandalized had been repaired and put back in place. So I went out one day and captured these with my camera but the two off-site and the one lost one were elusive until the last day.

After noticing the third one was back in place I set out on my last day and captured it as well as the two that are exhibited off-site. So in the end it took a bit of work and a lot of walking but I did manage to capture all 28 of the sculptures. Some better than others but all of them none the less. They are all sculpted out of heavy steel and have deliberately been left to weather and to take on a patina. The different colours you will see in some of my pictures relates to the fact that some pictures were taken at night and thus I needed a very high ISO rating on my camera which alters the colour and or I used a flash. The one's taken in daylight are a truer reflection of the colour/patina of each piece.


With this posting I'll list out the name of the sculpture in Spanish, try to explain a little about it although I'm not good at interpreting art. I'll then publish the pictures I have of each piece. I hope you enjoy them.

This is also a very interesting way to discover a new city. I know people who pick up a dozen or more post cards at the first tourist shop they see and they spend days with their children tracking each down to take pictures. This is very similar.

All the names are in spanish. The first sculpture is called ... "Duo Sinfonico". There are two musicians in this piece ... the fellow playing the flute and the bird singing and thus 'Duo". I also assume that Sinfonico is spanish for symphony?

The second one is called "Nagoicion a Baco" ... notice the fellow trying to give the other a drink and the second fellow trying to refuse. There are quite a number of these that are fun to see and a bit whimsical like this one. The expression on his face is priceless. During my entire stay the kids of tourists were all over this piece getting their pictures taken by their family. It is actually quite interactive and you will notice that the thighs of each person are shiny from being sat on continuously by tourists.

The third one is called "Trialgo" and I assume it has something to do with the dog nipping at the heals of the bicycle rider. 'Trialgo' translates into "trial" but I can't quite figure out what this has to do with this sculpture. This also was the one that was missing and turned up during the last week of my stay. Note that it is not rusting like the others so hasn't been in the weather very long. It also is quite dirty so it crosses my mind that maybe someone had pushed it into the Seine and it was just recently recovered. Vandalism of art in Paris is common so this is a plausible reason for why it was missing.

The fourth one is called "Al galope" and is obviously features a horse. This one is parked right under the Tour Eiffel (note the last two pictures where I photographed it from the other side) and is quite large and is right on the water so tourists taking a boat ride alone the Seine ( and there are thousands each day ) see it on their tour.

The fifth one is called "Utopia" and is about the joy of a fisherman catching a bucket full of fish. I have no idea why he has one shoe off?

The sixth one is called "Deshove" and I have no idea what it is about?

The Seventh one is called "Juego de ajedrez" and is about two adults playing a game of chess. I loved the pair of glasses on the table and the timer on the side. I also found it depicted the action of moving a chess piece very well.

The eighth one is about the legendary figure "Don Quijote". A great job on the moustache and beard and of course his hat. It is parked outside the Ports de Paris head office and was one of the harder ones to find.

The ninth one was indoors at the Ports de Paris and I had to make a special trip to get a photograph of it and plead with the attendant to let me in the door. It is called "Juego de domino" .... playing dominos. I like how he puts a very youthful look on the figures by placing baseball caps on their heads with curly hair stick out.

The tenth one is called "Melomano I" and is about a fellow listening to an old gramophone. He even has the candle lit in this sculpture. There is a second version of this in miniature which is listed as number 27 and is one of the sculptures that is off-site. I found the expressions on the faces on each quite remarkable. He is able to evoke the essence of the scene in each face and this is a very good example .... exactly what someone would look like who is listening to a record.

The eleventh one is another in this series that I have no idea what the artist is trying to get at. It is called "Nostalgia de cuerdas". I'm not very good at the ones sculpted to evoke a mood or impression. I also suspect that this one is partly vandalized in that the rods sticking out are all bent out of shape.

The twelfth one is about a man selling snow cone drinks out of a cart and is called "Vendedor de Raspaos".... selling raspberries?  I think it depicts him grinding ice to add to the drinks since there are two snow cones on the front of his cart. And the jugs obviously contain the sweet liquid poured over the ice! The moustache on the vendors face is the highlight for me.

The thirteenth one is called "Vendedora de fruitas" and depicts a lady vendor selling fruit from a basket. Note the detail on the fruit and how real it looks and how she has a sample piece of fruit in her hand to give potential buyers a taste. There is also a picture in this group with the Tour Eiffel in the background to provide perspective as to where these were located along the Seine.

The fourteenth is called "Extincion" and is another of the ones that I'm not quite sure what the artist is getting at.

The fifteenth one in the group is called "Al Filo". this is one of the one's that was originally pushed over but eventually righted so the first pictures is not very good. I'm not sure what Al Filo means but it depicts a man sharpening a pair of scissors. He also has a musical instrument around this neck for some reason.

The sixteenth one is called "Orca" so I presume it is about a whale but again I can't figure it out. Is the piece sticking out the back the tail of the whale?

The seventeenth one is called "Brisas" and was one of my favourites. I couldn't figure it out initially and then it dawned on me .... Breezes ... thus the lady struggling to hold onto her umbrella. I also liked how they positioned this one out at the end of the pier where naturally the breeze would be strongest. Not only is the umbrella caught in a strong breeze but her hair and skirt is flapping in the wind as well.

The eighteen and nineteenth ones are called "Caracol" and "Apareo" and are two others that escape my understanding. I also did not get very good pictures of either of them ... sorry.

The twentieth sculpture is called "Sintonia" and is of a man listening to an old radio. My favourite aspect of this one was actually the chair that he is sitting it ... marvellous! Again look at the detail in his face ... glasses the introspective look etc.

The twenty first one is called "Territorias" and is by far my favourite. It depicts a very drunk man and a dog fighting over who has the right to take a leak on a lamp post ... essentially fighting over the 'territory'. And it is done in great detail not missing any part of either's anatomy.

The twenty second one is called "Faena en la plaza" and features a young fellow on a unicycle juggling. It amazed me how the artist found different ways to age his subjects. This was another of the ones that were originally toppled as you can see from the first two pictures. Examine the look on his face and how focused he is on the pieces he is juggling so that he doesn't drop them.

The twenty third sculpture is of a man drumming creating a cadence ... thus it is called "Cadencias"

What a great way to illustrate the number ten. The twenty fourth one is simply called " 10.0 " and depicts an olympian gymnast going through her routine ... a perfect 10.0 score.

Yet another wierd one ... the twenty fifth one is called "Anguila" and I have no idea what it depicts.

The twenty sixth sculpture is also the last along the Seine river and is called "Mambeo" I don't know what Mambeo stands for in spanish but it depicts I think a man but it could be a lady who is putting  something in their mouth with what appears to be a chop stick but I can't quite figure out what she is doing? It also could be a musical instrument of some sort since he appears to be holding a different musical instrument in his hand.

The last two sculptures are in a building called Mairie du XV Arrondisemont.

They are miniatures compared to the one's on the Seine. The twenty seventh is a second version of the man with the old gramophone and is called "Melomano II". Look at the expression on his face and how the artist has his eye lashes closed.

The twenty eight and last one is fittingly called "Ideas" and depicts a man, head in his hand, at a drawing board just thinking about what he is going to conjure up next. Wonderful.

There you have them ... the 28 sculptures by Columbian artist D'Edgardo Carmona commissioned by the Ports de Paris and on display along the Seine until September of 2011. 


I'll finish with a few pictures from my walk along the Seine trying to find each of these.

Life is good ... enjoy

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