25.07.2007 I hardly kept myself on the edge of insanity

After reading Don Quijote de la Mancha, I have associated the spirit of noble chivalry with Pyrenean Peninsula. Spain, which gave Servantes to the world, has allured me as a magnet. In six years I returned where I had never been. Migel de Servantes died in poverty in Madrid. The life of the writer and citizen, full of suffering but majestic and noble, ended. The genius Spaniard addressed his readers with the following message: УFarewell, joy! Farewell, amusement! Farewell, merry friends! I am dying hoping for close and merry meeting in another worldФ. Culture takes over death. It is antientropy. Did the great Spaniard predicted future all-humankind immortality? Maybe those are his books that contain the key of the Tertiary Order brotherhood. Nobody knows where he was buried.
I open the immortal novel at random. Here is a dialog between Quixote and Sancho. Sancho says that theyТd better join the service for the emperor or some other powerful ruler who fights with somebody. TheyТd better demonstrate bravery, power and wits, and the duke would reward them and enter their heroic deeds into the records. Quixote answers that before gaining such an honor a knight must get fame and respect so that by the time he shows up in court he would be famous for his deeds, and then the king would meet him as his equal.
A knight must overcome different challenges. It is more important what a knight does than what he says.
Madrid is one of the world centers! This name carries as many connotations as Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, Rome and Jerusalem. I happened to be in the city of the worldТs importance thanks to the international conference УTogether against IntoleranceФ, which was conducted from April 10 to 15. Its organizers: УUnitedФ (Holland) and УMovement against toleranceФ (Spain). About 100 delegates from 35 countries of the world participated in the conference which was supported by the European Youth Fund, European Council and Madrid authorities. The conference was dedicated to fighting different types of discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, islamophobia and homophobia.
Architecture of Madrid is full of philosophy. Beautiful houses are all unlike and have some zest, color, specificity and sometimes weirdness and even extraneity. At the same time, they form a harmonious ensemble and unity of diversity. Winding streets are opposites to strict geometric forms and they raise thoughts about flexible of mind capable of bypassing sharp edges, combine different points of view and avoid Уinsulting clarityФ. There is no main street here. Such architecture develops aesthetic taste and imagination.
In the 20s of the previous century, young Salvador Dali submerged into Mardid intellectual environment which changed a lot in his life. He became a student of a liberal facility of УReziФ where Wells, Einstain, Valeri, Jacob and Aragon were lecturers. Dali diligently attended classes in the Academy, and he spent all Sundays in Prado. His ideal artist was Velaskes.
Prado Museum has one of the biggest art and sculpture collections. It offers Spanish art of 1100-1850s, French art of 1600-1800s, Flamand and Dutch art of 1430 and 1700s, German art of 1530-1800, Italian art of 1300-1800s. It has the biggest collection of drawings by Goya Ц 500 pieces. During my short visit I visited Prado twice. An auto portrait of Albrecht Durer is here, who himself was a representation of the dignity of a person engaged in arts. Unique Rafael, all-containing Boskh, Tiepolo, El Greko, Ticia, Karavagio, Rubens, Velaskes, Ribera, Muriljo, Goya and Antonello da Messina. The latter genially depicted Saint Sebastian who has been exhibited in PushkinТs Gallery in Moscow recently.
According to unspoken art tradition deriving from Renaissance, St. Sebastian is considered to be a secret patron of homosexuals. For Dali St. Sebastian was symbol of his relations with Federico Garcia Lorka. In Prado, there is a bronze sculpture of Hermaphrodite, a creature combining both man and woman. Philosophy of hermaphrodite is paradox: whoever Hermaphrodite loved, the love would be both heterosexual and homosexual. In art, unisexual love is equal to its bisexual sister, what is specially clearly seen in ancient times.
Madird has the whole block called Chueca where people with non-traditional sexual orientation live. On weekends, the whole street where gays meet is fully crowded. Hundreds of young people cluster in bars and around them. Many of them have stylish hairdos, knick-knackery and makeup. They have the same life as everybody. Their choice of love is absolutely normal for European mentality. Any society will have 5-10% of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals). This is a scientific fact. And we have only one thing to do Ц overcome our complexes, learn to live with this, understand and accept normality of such state of the affairs.
At the conference, attention was paid to homophobia as well. Experience was discussed of counteracting these phenomena in Poland. I remembered my talks with two Azerbaijanians. Azerbaijan is a Muslim country. Today, probably, Muslims have the most radical attitude to homosexuals. So, one of them was so pious, that five times a day he prayed. He liked discussing Allah. All this didnТt prevent him from participating in this conference. At least verbally he supported campaigns and actions against homophobia, talk to gays and encourage their fight for their rights. Represented by this Muslim, Islam was as tolerant as never before.
Intolerance derives from envy, complexes and diffidence. A personТs goal is to create his/her own unique world. Existence of a personal space makes existence of alien spaces. Thanks to the understanding of self-value of a personТs own inner world value of someone elseТs ego can be recognized. Autonomy and self-sufficiency are the way to solidarity and conscientious co-existence. Hearts of all people beat in unison.
The museum of Queen Sophie is known first of all for its УGernicaФ by Picasso. On April 26, 1937 fascist planes bombed a Spanish town Gernica. УGernicaФ (a huge canvas of 3,5x7,8 m) was made in one month (May Ц June) of 1937 for the Spanish pavilion at the world Paris exhibition. When a German officer saw УGernicaФ he asked Picasso УHave you made this?Ф The artist answered, УNo, youФ. УGernicaФ became the symbol of the terror of war and union of those who are against it. Pablo Picasso is one of the most intellectual artists of XX century. Being in a pavilion with PicassoТs works, I started feeling intellectual weariness and alert. It is impossible to behold those masterpieces marked with deep and tense intellectualism. One can torture with them.
In contrast with Picasso, another great Spaniard swirls you into his own genius. His УWoman by the WindowФ is a symbol of expectation of romantic love. She is sitting back to the audience and beholds Kadakes Bay: blue sea and a fast sailboat. It is a moving picture which can make a sentimental person cry. The work was make when the artist was about 21. Also there are surrealistic canvases of the artist that feature his sexual fantasies and their irrational images. One of the pictures contains a portrait УMona lisaФ and Napoleon, what is a sign of megalomania, which the artist got at the age of 25 and never got rid of it. Without is, probably, his paranoid and critical method and bright fate would have been impossible. As you have already guessed, the name of the artist is Salvador Dali.
The founder of surrealism Andre Breton in his УSecond manifest of surrealismФ wrote, УLetТs remember, that the key idea of surrealism is simple and total discovery of the power of the sub-consciousness with the help of dizzy diving inside oneТs self, systematic exposure of hidden things and gradual evening others. An endless trip in a prohibited areaФ. The manifest made a very strong impression on Dali, who Ц some time later Ц agreed with Bonduel about making a script for the second (the first one is УAndalusia dogФ) movie with the name УGolden AgeФ. The press called the movie Уa BolshevikФ one, which ruins the basis of religion, family and fatherland. Surrealism was fundamentally anti-clerical. The film raised a grandiose scandal due to open erotic, rude obscenity, blasphemy and opened resentment for authorities. This movie Ц which turned the history of the cinema upside down Ц is shown at the same museum.
Once Dali was outraged by the refusal of his clients to exhibit his УVenusФ with fish head. He published УDeclaration of independence of imagination and human rights for their own insanityФ and disseminated it from an airplane over New York. Surrealism expresses freedom, utmost sincerity and frankness. He is childishly charming, because he contradicts common sense, routine conscientiousness a priory to the limited one. Salvador Dali is great for his childishness. He is an adult capricious kid with boundless free imagination and stubbornness.
DonТt be surprised, if a cute muchacha (girl) winks her eye or even gently takes you by your hand when you are walking down Monter Street; she might talk to you and tell compliments to such a caballero as you and offer you to disappear in a deceitful land for 30 euros. Any person will find a loyal girlfriend here in the person of a young gal still retaining her attractiveness or a worker with more than substantial work record, so to say, veteran of sex labor. This work draws people down. Prostitution is illegal in Spain; however, authorities donТt care much about this occupation which exists from the times of water boiler. Brothels maintain their reputation because they are afraid their clients will go to police.
Famous Madrid УmovidaФ is a special thing which appeared in the end of 1970s Ц beginning of 1980s. Those were endless daily concerts, fashion shows, film presentations, festivals and performances. Famous people from all over the world came to the capital of Spain, and young people were actually leaving in the streets as if they were afraid to miss the most interesting things. Something was going on all the time. The city was boiling. Today generation for some reason believes that the longest night is La Noche in Madrid, which lasts from Friday night to Sunday morning.
Under the blue dome of Spain there is a zoo and water park. There are over 6000 species of living creatures from tiny insects to big mammals. Gorillas, koalas, sharks, white tigers and even poisonous snakes. Aquarium has many things from the depth of the sea. Even on Borneo it is hard to observe the life of sharks in natural conditions. You can see them close here. Colorful fishes give some system of values where diversity is the main thing. Nature cultivates diversity of live forms. Society also has to generate diversity. Dolphinarium raises childrenТs and adultsТ delight. What dolphins and sea lions do people call with one word, УfantasyФ. There is impression that those animals are cleverer and more cheerful than many people.
Recently I have often been to large museums and at unique exhibitions. For example a magnificent exhibition of Filonov in Moscow. Together with definitely positive and merry pictures where live prevails and Eros, we can see tanatophilia of the artist. Morgue and maternity home are combined in FilonovТs cosmos. FilonovТs art is analytic, he dissects everything and makes art x-ray. Series УHeadsФ are real masks. There is the feeling that the whole life is just disguise, and Universe is someoneТs mask. Pictures were made in awful Soviet years marked with repressions. ThatТs where ugliness come from. People are not people but dead bodies, simulations, fakes, masks without faces. Not kind world which has to go away. The artist saw that world off and buried it alive. By the way, Filonov hated capitalism and counteracted it with unselfish art! Power of money was not his cup of tea. Capitalism, of course, liberated personality. Today, in contrast to Marx, we know about the trend of capitalism towards socialization. But pure capitalism is cruel world of thieves and crooks. Art is to change the reality! Thanks to visiting such wonderful places I got the understanding of value and role of culture. Some УsightФ opened. I am carrying some knowledge of real art in myself. I am on informal terms with it! Possibly, I have become a property of art and culture.
One more pearl of Madrid is Tissen-Bornemits museum. There are so many masterpieces here that it is easy to go crazy watching them. I hardly kept myself on the edge of insanity. A real masterpiece is always a thing which divides different levels of life. It is a window to another reality. One of my favorite artists is Vasiliy Kandinskii. His works, just like here, thrilled my imagination at the Center of George Pompidu in a private collection of one Moscow collector. Painting of Kandinskii is principally meaningless, with no senses, but this absurd is abstruse, probably another and the most difficult language. Here is a portrait or presumably young Alexander Medichi by Rafael. What a clever and unusual face this young man has! Edward Mane painted an independent emancipated young woman attractive with her sexuality. Taiti period in life of Paul Gogen gave the world many colorful paintings hiding a special spirit of primeval exotics with its main instinct. Tense drama of life is hidden behind polychromy. Mondrian is drinking. Participating in 1999 in a world conference in the Netherlands УHague appeal to the worldФ I visited a museum where they displayed a big collection of this Dutch artist. By the way, a dissident Sergey Ivanovich Grigorjants, at that time a chairman of the Fund УGlastnostФ, invited me to the museum. I was amaze by what I saw: the artist modeled socialization with representatives of other civilizations and made a space dialog. His art is projection of a mirror world accessible for people. Exhibition of MondrianТs works is one of the strongest impressions in my life. Dega was famous for two things: he drew ballet dancers and hated women. His paintings are a subtle mockery over women who are concerned only with outer cosmetic attractiveness and different tinsels. The paintings reflect the atmosphere of theatre behind the curtains and of a music hall which I like. Klee works give a wonderful feeling of theatricality and drama. He is a wise child. Andy Worhol is a king of pop art. He made monotony attractive, and diversity Ц which hides permanence Ц he made repulsive. Vincent van Gog is the greatest artist of the 19th century. He even cut his ear off. His only friend was his brother Teo. Our sanity is relative. At any moment we can disintegrate into pieces as it happened to Van Gog. He collected all his fears, insanity, suffering and turned them into great art. Van Gog shot himself in a field, but he was not a success. Bleeding he came to a house where he died on the hands of his faithful brother. He was 37. Renuar paints a world with no sorrow, no dark or dread. The gift of the art of XIX-XX centuries is a wonderful feeling of freedom!
When a person reaches a certain level of spiritual and cultural development, he gets a need in touching something real, authentic and unique. If he is poor, his capabilities become small. We live in a world of few rich people who are ruling this world. They accumulate all the best what has been created by humankind and what is hidden from others. What is accessible is so far away that often there are no chances of getting there. If I were a rich person, I would spend money for traveling round the world for visiting museums and exhibitions. And one more thing. I would create my own museum accessible for all.

Maxim Efimov,
Chair of the Karelian department of the УYouth Human Rights GroupФ