DIAZ PUJOL Narcís - Spain
1986, Barcelona
Lives and works in Barcelona
Studies:
Facultat de Belle Arts, Barcelone
The Royal Institute of Arts, Stockholm
http://narcisdiazpujol.blogspot.com.es/
Artist presentation
The Ovid version of the Narcissus myth tells that maidens and boys fell in love with his proverbial beauty. But he rejected their insinuations and was insensitive to the amorous requests of nymphs. To punish Narcissus for his cruel treatment of the nymph Echo, who died of love, with only her voice remaining, the goddess of revenge condemned him to love his own image until, lost in the contemplation of himself reflected on the water, he drowned. The myth interpreted by the pre-Raphaelite Waterhouse interprets and used by Diaz as a starting point, concerns Hylas, an Argonaut who, on an expedition, was asked to bring water from a spring where a group of nymphs fell in love with him and carried him off, dragging him to the depths of the lake. Two myths with totally opposite tragic ends in water: one the result of refusing the nymphs, the other of accepting them.
In the Louvre in Paris and in the Altes Museum in Berlin there are two sculptures placed side by side, both representing Narcissus, standing and downcast. They reassemble one another so much that we just need to put one, upside down, underneath the other. One of the first pictures made by Brancusi of his work reminds us of this Narcissus from the Louvre and the AltesMuseum: two standing, downcast boys, one with a classical appearance; one is Antinous, the other, named Skinned, shows us the musculature with precision. Brancusi made it at the same age as Díaz, around 25 years old. The Brancusi sculpture has not been preserved.
As Brancusi did “in his first great work of youth, in which he shows us all his skills”, Diaz dissects and updates an old work. I say dissects and updates because he amplifies it, because he paints and repaints the inverse, splitting it into two, and because he lengthens it. In this Diaz diptych, the gaze can never rest with the presence of the double, as if one were drowning the other.
Adrià Ciurana Geli
La versió d'Ovidi al mite de Narcís explica que tant donzelles com nois s'enamoraven de la seva proverbial bellesa, però aquest rebutjava les seves insinuacions i era insensible als requeriments amorosos de les nimfes. Per castigar Narcís, per la crueltat amb que va tractar la nimfa Eco, que morí d'amor, restant d'ella sols la veu, la deessa de la venjança el condemnà a estimar la seva pròpia imatge fins a quedar absort en la seva contemplació reflectida en l'aigua, morint ofegat. El mite que interpreta el prerafaelita John William Waterhouse i del que parteix Díaz, el protagonitza Hilas, argonauta que en una expedició fou encarregat d'anar a buscar aigua a la font, on les nimfes se'n enamoraren i el rapten, arrossegant-lo cap al fons de l'estany. Dos mites amb finals dins l'aigua, l'un per negar l'amor a les nimfes i l'altre per lliurar-s'hi.
Tant al Louvre i com a l’Altes Museum de Berlín hi ha dues escultures costat per costat que representen Narcís, dempeus i capcot. S’assemblen tant, que nomes caldria posar-ne una sota de l’altre, cap per avall. Una de les primeres fotografies que féu Brancusi a la seva obra recorda aquests Narcisos del Louvre i l’Altes Museum: dos nois drets i capcots, l’un amb aparença clàssica, un Antínous, i l’altre, titulat Escorxat, que mostra amb precisió la musculatura. Brancusi la féu a la mateixa edat que Narcís Díaz, uns 25 anys. L’escultura de Brancusi no s’ha conservat.
Com Brancusi “en la primera gran obra de joventut en què fa valer totes les seves capacitats”, Díaz dissecciona i actualitza una obra pretèrita. Dic que la dissecciona i l’actualitza perquè l’amplifica, perquè la pinta i repinta tot desdoblant-la inversa i perquè l’allargassa. En aquest díptic de Narcís, la mirada no es queda mai quieta del tot, amb la presència de la seva doble, com si una ofegués l’altra.
Adrià Ciurana Geli