Sculpture in honour of women
10 June, 2000
A concrete sculpture of mine called “In honour of women” is erected in the Plaza Magí Bartralot, in Sant Cugat del Vallès, where I have my gallery. Mr. Lluís Recoder, the mayor, presides at the inauguration ceremony, together with the deputy mayor and councillor for culture Àngels Solé.
Transcription of Lluís Ribas’ presentation:
“Ladies and gentlemen; firstly I would like to thank the city council, and especially the mayor Mr. Lluís Recoder and the councillor Àngels Ponsa. They are both very sensitive towards art and are proving that they are very human people, as we say these days, because only human beings are capable of creating and developing art, and of appreciating it. Thanks also for bringing art to the street. In doing so they are helping to achieve one of the artist’s missions, which is to establish contact with his or her audience. By bringing art to the street, they are also bringing art home to us, since what we need to do is feel that these streets, these places, are like corridors, like the sitting room in our house; of this house we share which is our city.
Thank you for allowing me to make this small tribute to the great being that is woman, although I try to do it every day in my work. Some time ago I wrote a phrase about my mother, which I think I could extend to encompass all the mothers in the world, “Camí d'un altre temps, nord per una vida” (“A path from another time, north for a whole life”). It is true; my mother was my north star who always, for my whole life, showed me where north was, and even today, 26 years after losing her, when I’m in a difficult situation, I always think about how she would solve it. And to Magda, my companion, after these 31 years we have been together, on that path, that path which is the path of life. And with the path of life that other path which is the path of art, which I can assure you all is complex, and at times very difficult, and one has to be a strong woman to put up with all the manias, and all the worries and all the stories an artist has. There are so many things I could say to her but I think the best I can do is thank her. Thank you so much Magda.
And to all those women who I have met over the years; some with their friendship, others with their words, others with their thoughts, and why not say it, others with their beauty; they have all inspired me and have been the source of my creative work.
Right, now I think it’s time for me to explain a bit about all the aspects I wanted to capture in my sculpture. Artists, when they create something, don’t do things for doing’s sake; everything has a reason. As you can see, this work is a pillar with which I want to express my belief that woman is the pillar of society. This pillar is made out of concrete, a material borne of stone. It is still unknown when its hardening process ends. With it I want to symbolise the strength that woman has in our society. As you can see; and to be witty it could be said that this sculpture has no head or feet. But that also has an explanation, which is that the feet are very solid, symbolising how much woman is in touch with the earth. The upper part of the body doesn’t have a face, since I think that every one of you deserves to have your face on the sculpture. Higher up, where the head should be, there are some rods pointing towards infinity. With these I wanted to symbolise the energy woman gives off towards infinity, while at the same time she receives energy. You can see that some of these energy rods are tied together; please let me keep that explanation to myself, because it is the artist’s right to keep a secret, and because you collaborate with me by imagining the meaning it has for you.
Right, and to finish, I’m one of those people who thinks that if there is a God, that God is a woman”.
Lluís Ribas
