An Advancement in Avant-[g]arde Art Analysis

Modern Art. New. Bold. Maybe a bit Confusing. But HEY; it's ArT.

I recently strolled my way through a contemporary art museum and saw some interesting pieces. One piece that interested me the most was Hotel Monturiol (2011-12) by Jorge Méndez Blake. Now this piece features a photo, various illustrations, and building plans (even a small sculpture). All of these elements and noted belonged to a man known as Narciso Monturiol, who died in 1885, and found by his great-grandson Raul Monturiol. Narcisco, if you didn't know, was the engineer who created the Ictineo I and II, the II being the first air independent and combustion powered submarine. He did his work in Spain. It is said that the inspiration for the Hotel was formulated when he saw the beauty and mysticism of the below-sea-level world and wanted to share it with more people than a crew of four to five. If one looks closely at the photo and illustrations, one can see that there are no windows in the building but there are patios and skylights drawn to let daylight stream in. This makes it seem as if he were trying to with much intent to create an underwater experience above ground with stone and marble. There are other aspects to the notes like a library, a patio, underground sections, and a list of different materials he would have used if he had decided to build the place. One cannot fully know the extent to which the project would have been taken on or the vision he was headed towards between the few and some seemingly unrelated drawings. It is however definite that he wanted to create an underwater experience to whomever would be residing in the hotel which is seen by the restriction of light, the reflection and exquisiteness of the marble, and the image and statue of coral.

The way the elements of the piece are arranged by Blake are not publicly known. At first I took it to be a strange form of key for some odd reason. Then I thought "What if the way it was arranged was supposed to appear as an aerial view of the hotel?" And then I began to think that the arrangement of the piece had no real significance. I feel from his inclusion of marble and coral to reflect the hard and cold reflectivity of the underwater land and fish. The darkness with rays of light represents how it looks when the sun pierces the sea.

I think this piece reflects how the past can speak to the present and can be translated into future actions. The exhibit that the piece is displayed in is called “Limited Visibility” This could express how we, the viewers, couldn't see the work that went in to this vision, can’t see the value in it, and can’t see the person who created it, but the memory of Monturiol and his work have survived the test of time to be viewed by all now and heading in the future.