A Spanish artist's exhibition on the history of fascist totalitarianism
The UK Guardian gave a report on an exhibition in Spain of the comics of Paco Roca, an artist who's detailed the history of fascism in the time of Franco:
Now to be fair, it's possible the Guardian's writer took Roca's statements out of context and warped them to the paper's favor, but if what he said is accurately conveyed, then he's really disappointed, and one can only wonder if he really cares about issues like Islamic terrorism. If he doesn't actually have what it takes to speak out against such problems, he'll only render his cartoons about Franco's reign a joke.
Roca, whose comics have explored such varied themes as Francoist reprisals, the exiled Spanish republicans who helped liberate Paris from the Nazis, family histories and the depredations of Alzheimer’s, is the subject of a new show at the Instituto Cervantes called Memory: An Emotional Journey Through the Comics of Paco Roca.No doubt, there's plenty to learn from the history of the time somebody as awful as Franco was in power. But unfortunately, totalitarianism isn't a thing of the past, and the way Spain's governments enabled Islam to take hold there again should make clear something's still wrong. Though surprisingly enough, this exhibition does include the art of Marjane Satrapi:
Staged as part of a year-long programme of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Franco and Spain’s subsequent return to democracy, the exhibition looks at how the 56-year-old artist has recovered, preserved and shared memories and testimonies.
“The idea was to make it all look like an encyclopaedia or a set of Victorian maps because, as the end of the day, it’s an atlas – a collection of maps that chronicle the journey of creating a comic,” said Roca.
“There are three panels about memory: historical memory; memory and identity; and family memory. The maps try to show what’s involved in the creation of any artistic work, whether it’s a comic or a film or a novel.”
Given the subject matter and Roca’s own approach to trekking after the past, the peripatetic, cartographical and non-linear nature of the exhibition seemed only fitting. Its four murals, 19 annotated strips and dozens of sketches, photos and reference points – from lighthouses and hot-air balloons to Jules Verne, Gustave Doré and Hergé – form part of a meandering trail.
Questions about how memory shapes us recur in the section that examines recollection and identity. As well as looking at how age and disease “can wipe both our memories and our identities”, it features Marjane Satrapi, whose Woman, Life, Freedom – a collective work by 17 Iranian and international comic book artists, including Roca – showed how women have defended their identities amid the repression of the Iranian regime.Well that's great she's brought up here. But regrettably, Mr. Roca himself is quite a leftist, as the following makes clear:
Roca is well aware that sections of the Spanish right are unhappy with the notion of a year of celebrations to mark the end of the dictator. He also knows that some have accused Spain’s socialist-led government – whose democratic memory ministry has organised the exhibition in partnership with the Instituto Cervantes – of playing politics with the past.For heaven's sake, this guy sure does love pandering to what a left-wing paper like the Guardian wants to hear. To the point where he effectively obscures that Milei's made Argentina a much safer country in the time he's been president, and he's even been respectable to Israel. I guess that means nothing to Roca? Funny how somebody who seemingly is aware of the dangers of Islamofascism as represented by Iran ends up pandering to what leftists want to hear. Then again, this was the same paper to whom Frank Miller made defeatist statements several years ago, right down to a negative comment about Donald Trump. If Miller considers himself pro-Israel, then it's bizarre he wants to associate with the Guardian's writers at all, based on their leanings.
But then political polarisation, he added, was hardly a problem unique to Spain.
“In Germany, you have parties that are questioning things that everyone had thought had been settled and you have these nationalist movements erupting in Europe and the US and you have [Javier] Milei attacking historical memory in Argentina,” said Roca. “It’s a bad time for society, but it allows authors to reflect on this and to find stories that had been consigned to oblivion.”
Now to be fair, it's possible the Guardian's writer took Roca's statements out of context and warped them to the paper's favor, but if what he said is accurately conveyed, then he's really disappointed, and one can only wonder if he really cares about issues like Islamic terrorism. If he doesn't actually have what it takes to speak out against such problems, he'll only render his cartoons about Franco's reign a joke.
Labels: Europe and Asia, exhibitions, history, islam and jihad, misogyny and racism, moonbat artists, msm propaganda, politics, terrorism
