sabato 8 febbraio 2014

Dreams in murals at the gymnasium of Tirana


LANGUAGE OF MEMORY

Story by Andi Bica

For nearly 15 years , generations passes  in front of the murals and somehow in the mind of each passenger is photographed some parts  of the Albanian legends made in a pleasing aesthetics to the eye of the public. Their DNA moves inside everyone in a invisible form by connecting teenagers spiritually to the ancestral calling.

My inspiration just aroused at the turn off the page between two generations after the parlamentary elections in Albania June, 2013.  At this period the artist Fate Velaj which is author of the boulevard of Europe in Pogradec city , turned back to his native country with the expression " Responsibility starts from the Dream ." Even  at starting of New Years Eve 2014, in  Berati city warmed by the fire of emotions, the well known singer  Elina Duni suggested that  the Albanian Epic might be ranked in the list of UNESCO as another international treasure.

European civilized countries are raised on legends and myths like the famous philosopher  Nietzsche explained poetically at his book "Thus spoke Zarathustra" about the 1001 goals of the nations. I think that in their foundations  the ancient legends are manifested in the physiognomy of the human portraits and to various psycho-social behaviors.

At this point I will remember shortly the emotions of many afternoons when  I painted leaded by some professional visual artists and with a group of high school students, amateur artists, academics the selected  Albanian famous tales & legends on the interior walls of the gymnasium " Qemal Stafa” in Tirana .


These murals were completed with the precious support, wisdom and trust from the director of CCF Foundation  in that time Mrs.  Linda Spahiu. The responsibility was not only to implement a UNICEF project for some schools in the capital of Albania , which was running out of its time. But we were trying to educate with art  the high school students, making them creating  dreams in painting, orienting to the subject of folklore in literature of their program.
  
Then the introduction of murals inside the gymnasium “Qemal Stafa” was approved by the director George Zaharia , vice director Nora Malaj and the parent community represented by the kindness of art Nikolin Kurti. Realization of winning drafts of drawings lasted nearly two weeks with the help of the artistic group of school library organized by the passionated teacher of Albanian letters.
I think the mural with national motifs as the Legend of Muji and his Muses  represents to the public of several generations the memory of beautiful dreams that emanate from the Albanian epic and Melos.

                                                                                                         
At the center of this mural the Face of a Traditional Muse from Albanian Alps  was created by many debates among the artists at that time, with many sleepless nights of work.  The concept of three muses is to grow vertically like  higher pines inside the composition like ancient columns but with green vitality brought by the power of nature.


This mural  was deleted and recreated in different ways for a few weeks until it was finally improved. Now the Face of Muse is full of light with the realized circular physiognomy of  highlander beauty of a mother .

Another  selected legend from nine murals was the story of  two  mountain brothers known as Shpiragu and Tomorri, as a symbol of a battle because of jealousy. First  the two figures were drawn in a letter like metallic giants  facing us in the air of expressive power of Albanian folkloric costumes. 



In the figure of Shpiragu it's evident the disproportion between a smaller head compared to the bigger foot. The line system of two figures of mythic brothers is constructed with straight lines, bent and curved. Differently from the History , the Myth in It's  beautiful lie becomes a common truth by time.The occurrence is clearly seen when Cinema talks to the society by projecting dreams which becomes the realities of tomorrow.

published in Albanian at the newspaper Shqiptarja.com:

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