A personal, curatorial & bilingual Blog about: Artistic Movements, my Art, Creativity, Innovation, Design, Leadership, Empowerment, Sustainability, Science, Jazz, Movies and other cool pursuits - Blog personal y curatorial bilingüe sobre: Movimentos Artísticos, mi Arte, Creatividad, Innovación, Diseño, Liderazgo, Empoderamiento, Sustentabilidad, Ciencia, Jazz, Películas y otros temas.
It is rather unusual for me to have a large number of small format original paintings in one place at the same time. But this is one of those unusual cases.
I have available right now in the DC area a number of small format pieces, painted on heavy paper, beautifully framed and ready to hang. These paintings were part of last year’s exhibition in Maryland and are right now under Curator Bobby Donovan’s care.
These are beautiful pieces, perfect for that special gift or as a great compliment to an office space or your own home. Being rather exceptionally sized paintings they are on sale at very interesting prices.
If you would like to receive a list of paintings available, prices and more photographs, kindly drop us a line at clombard@ignacioalperin.com or through the form on my website (www.ignacioalperin.com). We can deliver anywhere in the United States.
I will be in Washington for about a week at the end of April and I will be very happy to personally show you what they are all about. It will be very much worth your while to have a second look. It is not very often that paintings like these are available at these prices.
This is Jazz at the Lincoln Center, with Wynton Marsalis.
Presenting:
Untamed Elegance (Suite)
Composed and arranged by Victor Goines
3:51 – The Business of America is Business
11:14 – The Elephant in the Room
20:58 – Laboratories of Ideas
29:15 – The “It” Thing
36:06 – Drunk as a Skunk
44:43 – Bold, Naked, and Sensational
Personnel:
Sherman Irby – Alto saxophone
Ted Nash – Alto saxophone
Victor Goines – Tenor saxophone
Walter Blanding – Tenor saxophone
Paul Nedzela – Baritone saxophone
Vincent Gardner – Trombone
Chris Crenshaw – Trombone
Elliot Mason – Trombone
Shareef Clayton – Trumpet
Kenny Rampton – Trumpet
Marcus Printup – Trumpet
Wynton Marsalis – Trumpet
Adam Birnbaum – Piano
Carlos Henriquez – Bass
Ali Jackson – Drums
Featuring Jon Irabagon on saxophones
Ignacio Alperin is an international artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He grew up in Australia and has lived in several countries around the globe.
The selection of works in this exhibition were compellingly influenced by his synesthesia (”gift” he shares with Kandinsky).
His art is full of ideas, movement and visual interpretations of musical compositions -from Jazz, Soul, Motown and the American songbook, to Tango and the Classics-.
The end result is a visual idiom that borrows from the inventive and spontaneous methods of jazz musicians. This is so much so that his style has been often described as a visual kind of jazz, or “Visual Jazz”.
We find in his paintings a marked rhythmic musicality and improvisational counterpoints, which are always based on a well thought-out idea.
While his robust use of an extended palette extracts unthought-of shades and gradations that have become a signature and a characteristic of his bold and powerful style.
SOBRE EL ARTISTA
Ignacio Alperin es un artista internacional basado en Argentina, país que lo vio nacer.
Creció en Australia y ha vivido en varios países alrededor del mundo.
La selección de obras que se presentan en esta exposición estuvo fuertemente influenciada por su sinestesia (“regalo” que comparte con Kandinsky).
Su arte se nutre en gran parte de las ideas, movimientos e interpretaciones visuales que extrae de composiciones musicales -desde el Jazz, Soul, Motown y el cancionero americano, hasta el Tango y la música clásica-.
El resultado final es el de un lenguaje visual que extrae lecciones de los métodos inventivos y espontáneos de los músicos, y particularmente del jazz. Tal es así, que en numerosos artículos, su estilo ha sido descripto como un manera visual de hacer Jazz, o “Visual Jazz”.
Where: Embassy of Argentina 1600 New Hampshire Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 (M) Dupont Circle
A special thank you to Curator Bobby Donovan and his lovely wife Cyndi for their invaluable help and hospitality throughout my stay, and to all the people at the Embassy of Argentina for their support and great effort to make this a great experience for all.
Argentine Ambassador to the US, Mr. Fernando Oris de Roa, Chargé dÁffaires, Mr. Sergio Perez Gunella and Ignacio Alperin during the Exhibition opening.
CURATORIAL STATEMENT*
“Did You See What I Heard?” Ignacio Alperin
Our beloved Ella Fitzgerald once said: “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
When I first met Ignacio Alperin, I was intrigued by the fact that the composition and color treatment in his work, facets that are so visual, are influenced by other senses – that is, the sound and emotional intensity he derives from a variety of musical genres, including Jazz, Soul, Motown, the American songbook, Tango, and the Classics, which fascinated me even more.
Therefore, in my task to adequately capture the artist’s work in words, it is insufficient to use only visual terms. A discussion of contour lines, color, positive and negative space, and abstraction only tells part of the story. To begin to characterize Alperin’s work more fully, it is perhaps more necessary to augment the visual portrayal with musical and emotional metaphors to express his aims and ideals with such passion and free spirit, such as tempo, syncopation, and pitch. The capacity to create multisensory experiences is a gift in the spirit of the true artist who believes in the eternal search for the perfect alchemy of shape, color, and line along with volume, speed, and emotion, and is evidenced by these images that combine the landscapes of sound and sight into captivating works of richness and depth.
The meaning of “symbolist tradition” in art has been used to express a view in which the artist creates works that evoke as well as describe. To quote one of the great masters of this school, Wassily Kandinsky: “The relationships in art are not necessarily ones of outward form but are founded on inner sympathy of meaning.” The works of Ignacio Alperin are an exemplary exponent of that view, eliciting the power, joy, and freedom an eternal traveler attains when he seeks to materialize his dreams and to express his views without doubts or fear.
Alfredo Ratinoff – Curator*
EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Artist
Ignacio Alperin
Curator
Mr. Alfredo Ratinoff*
When:
March 15th – April 30th
On view: Monday – Friday from 3 to 5 pm
Where: Embassy of Argentina 1600 New Hampshire Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 (M) Dupont Circle
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chief Curator Mr. Alfredo Ratinoff, Mr. Gerardo Díaz Bartolomé, Head of Political Affairs at the Embassy, and Ignacio Alperin
Ignacio Alperin is an international artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He grew up in Australia and has lived in several countries around the globe.
The selection of works in this exhibition were compellingly influenced by his synesthesia (”gift” he shares with Kandinsky).
His art is full of ideas, movement and visual interpretations of musical compositions -from Jazz, Soul, Motown and the American songbook, to Tango and the Classics-.
The end result is a visual idiom that borrows from the inventive and spontaneous methods of jazz musicians. This is so much so that his style has been often described as a visual kind of jazz, or “Visual Jazz”.
We find in his paintings a marked rhythmic musicality and improvisational counterpoints, which are always based on a well thought-out idea.
While his robust use of an extended palette extracts unthought-of shades and gradations that have become a signature and a characteristic of his bold and powerful style.
SOBRE EL ARTISTA
Ignacio Alperin es un artista internacional basado en Argentina, país que lo vio nacer.
Creció en Australia y ha vivido en varios países alrededor del mundo.
La selección de obras que se presentan en esta exposición estuvo fuertemente influenciada por su sinestesia (“regalo” que comparte con Kandinsky).
Su arte se nutre en gran parte de las ideas, movimientos e interpretaciones visuales que extrae de composiciones musicales -desde el Jazz, Soul, Motown y el cancionero americano, hasta el Tango y la música clásica-.
El resultado final es el de un lenguaje visual que extrae lecciones de los métodos inventivos y espontáneos de los músicos, y particularmente del jazz. Tal es así, que en numerosos artículos, su estilo ha sido descripto como un manera visual de hacer Jazz, o “Visual Jazz”.
*ALFREDO RATINOFF – BIOGRAPHY
Alfredo Ratinoff was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he trained in ceramics with his master Teodolina Garcia Cabo starting at the age of eleven. He then studied at the National School of Ceramics and also studied drawing and painting at the National Art Academy.
Alfredo specialized for many years in large scale installations of tile and mosaic murals and his works are in many private collections all over the United States and have been exhibited at the Museum of the Americas at the Organization of American States, The N.A.S.A Headquarters in Washington D.C, The AT&T Headquarters in Oakton ,VA, Barnes & Noble Corporation in Rockville, MD and New York, N.Y, Strathmore Hall Art Center, Bethesda, MD, The Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA and the South Florida Art Center in Miami Beach, FL. He also has the distinction to be in the permanent collection at the Embassy of Argentina in the office of the ambassador.
In 2004 Alfredo created a stained glass piece for the mausoleum of the renowned Cuban singer Celia Cruz in Bronx, N.Y commissioned by Hispanic TV host Cristina Saralegui. Most recently, Alfredo was selected to be the artist in residence for the AARP Foundation during the 2007 Women’s Vision Summit in Tucson, Arizona where he created one-of-a-kind pieces that were presented to corporate donors at the event.
Alfredo Ratinoff was for more than 20 years a faculty member for the ceramics department at the Resident Associates Program at The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He was selected by the Education office from the Embassy of Italy to work in the 2004 summer program at Georgetown University teaching mosaic workshops sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment of Humanities in Washington D.C.
In 2007 Alfredo was invited by the Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies at the University of Maryland as a faculty member to teach ceramics at the Multi-Disciplinary Summer Institute for Maryland School Teachers. In 2008, as the current artist-in-residence for Lee Arts Center in Arlington, Virginia, he designed mosaic columns for the center’s Butterfly Garden for Arlington County residents. During fall 2008, he completed his installation of “Zodiac Art”, an interactive piece involving mosaics, the twelve signs of the zodiac, and kaleidoscopes, at the mansion at Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda, Maryland. He serves also as a curator for the art committee at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington D.C. Alfredo currently resides in Philadelphia where he also has his private studio.
Ignacio Alperin is an international artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He grew up in Australia and has lived in several countries around the globe.
The selection of works in this exhibition were compellingly influenced by his synesthesia (”gift” he shares with Kandinsky).
His art is full of ideas, movement and visual interpretations of musical compositions -from Jazz, Soul, Motown and the American songbook, to Tango and the Classics-.
The end result is a visual idiom that borrows from the inventive and spontaneous methods of jazz musicians. This is so much so that his style has been often described as a visual kind of jazz, or “Visual Jazz”.
We find in his paintings a marked rhythmic musicality and improvisational counterpoints, which are always based on a well thought-out idea.
While his robust use of an extended palette extracts unthought-of shades and gradations that have become a signature and a characteristic of his bold and powerful style.
SOBRE EL ARTISTA
Ignacio Alperin es un artista internacional basado en Argentina, país que lo vio nacer.
Creció en Australia y ha vivido en varios países alrededor del mundo.
La selección de obras que se presentan en esta exposición estuvo fuertemente influenciada por su sinestesia (“regalo” que comparte con Kandinsky).
Su arte se nutre en gran parte de las ideas, movimientos e interpretaciones visuales que extrae de composiciones musicales -desde el Jazz, Soul, Motown y el cancionero americano, hasta el Tango y la música clásica-.
El resultado final es el de un lenguaje visual que extrae lecciones de los métodos inventivos y espontáneos de los músicos, y particularmente del jazz. Tal es así, que en numerosos artículos, su estilo ha sido descripto como un manera visual de hacer Jazz, o “Visual Jazz”.
Regalar y regalarse arte implica dar algo que permanece en el tiempo. En el caso de un regalo a otros, es un acto que constantemente le recuerda a quien lo recibe el cariño de quien lo regaló. Es obsequiar algo tan maravilloso como los trazos del alma de un artista, es dispensar emoción, es promover cultura, es fomentar el crecimiento y la maduración de un país a través de una de sus expresiones más nobles y enriquecedoras.
Mi serie de obras de arte digital nacen en la experimentación que se produce al plasmar ideas y conceptos directamente sobre la pantalla táctil de una computadora. Con lápiz electrónico en mano y diversos programas de diseño, mis obras cobran las texturas y tridimensionalidad de obras pintadas a mano, pero con la profundidad que les brinda el entorno digital.
El resultado es arte digital que a primera vista no parece serlo, o al menos no parece ser lo que comúnmente entendemos como arte digital.
Hay transparencias, “chorreados”, líneas, profundidades, fragilidades, luces y sombras que generan una visión de obra tradicional.
Por sugerencia del Curador Jack O´Brien, mis obras digitales (al menos por el momento) se imprimen en series limitadas directamente sobre metal en una imprenta de alta tecnología, especializada en impresiones de arte, en los EE.UU.
Cada obra cuenta, al igual que una tradicional serigrafía pero con tecnología del siglo XXI, de numeración y firma de puño y letra. Una vez terminada cada serie, la misma no se vuelve a reproducir y eso garantiza la revalorización de cada ejemplar. Cada obra llega a tus manos con su certificado de autenticidad, y como bonificación, en el caso de la primera serie de 8 pulgadas por 8 pulgadas e impresas en metal que se comercializan en la Argentina, las mismas se entregan enarcadas y listas para colgar.
El valor de cada una de las obras de la primera edición, en medida de 20cm x 20cm (8 pulgadas por 8 pulgadas), enmarcadas, con paspartú, bajo vidrio y listas para colgar (medida final es de 33cm x 33cm), es de US$150. Las rectangulares (en marco cuadrado de la misma medida) es de US$180.
Los interesados, pueden contactarse conmigo a través de la web (www.ignacioalperin.com), de mi correo electrónico (ignacio@ignacioalperin.com) o con Claire Lombard (clombard@ignacioalperin.com).
I have been back in Argentina since 1997, after many years abroad since my childhood.
I believe I have gained through the years, a fairly deep understanding of the regional environment as an artist, lawyer, and through leadership roles in different companies and organizations over the last 20 years, as well as because of my personal and professional interest in geopolitical and cultural trends.
While sustainability and conservation have become part of the lingo in our part of the world, there is still certain superficiality and misunderstanding as to the real nature of the massive cultural and business shift that is advancing worldwide.
I am Professor of Creativity and Innovation for the MBA’s at the National Catholic University here in Buenos Aires, and I must say that I am always surprised at the little understanding of the changes that many young (and not so young) high level managers still profess at the start (and how much they change by the end).
I am proud to say that I take them through a dizzying ride of empowering course contents that are the result of my own professional and personal experience. And I am grateful at the University for its openness and excitement at trying out a novel approach to teaching. Ours is a construction, carefully intertwined, between concepts of sustainability, respect for the environment, art, creativity and innovation, sprinkled with quantum mechanics, space exploration, game theory, logarithms, relativity, laws, social responsibility, and obviously, faith.
As I always tell my students at the start of the course, the 20th Century produced amazing advancement through, amongst others, the concept of the “me society”. The positive advances achieved were, on the other hand, burdened by the misconception that the planet in general, and its biosphere in particular, could sustain any damage without long term repercussions.
I always say that the 21st Century has to become a lot less about “me” and a lot more about “us” (I call it the “WE” Century).
Creativity and innovation are no longer detached from sustainability, ecological parameters, a deeper understanding of universal laws, ethics and integrity, and from our responsibility to the community in general. Our role must be seen within a holistic approach to solutions where we must endeavor to be systemic, and therefore no one in particular, but the conjunction between the different actors in society, produce the desired results.
To do that, you need a fairly leveled playing field (or at least one with clear rules), enforcement that is real and present, and within that set of parameters, creativity and innovation that can have long term effects, may finally occur and flourish in the best possible sense.
What we see in Argentina, and in many of our neighbors, is that the rules (the lines in the playing field) are mostly there and in some cases, are very cutting edge.
Yet, in some cases, and because the concepts and rules have been taken from laws and regulations that are being applied in countries that are, either much more advanced in these areas, or at least, are more advanced in their respect for the rule of law, we find that the end result is an almost impossible practical application of many of their principles.
To that general context, we must add that the enforcement agencies have been given few “teeth” and their capabilities are quite limited, while the Judicial system is fairly slow to react. And as we know, laws without prompt and practical legal enforcement, become dead letter very soon.
To that, it is also true that there are very few regulatory incentives for businesses to take the plunge. And it is also there where change can be promoted.
On the business side, sustainability is slowly being understood by the major corporations. We have come from the mere use of “sustainable referencing language”, to slowly attempting to introduce sustainability into the DNA of each business. Many are finally working today while preparing for tomorrow, as they realize the real economic and financial benefits of sustainable growth, and the potential of adding to all that, the benefits of innovation and creativity (in regards to products, services, methods and so on).
I believe there are a great deal of opportunities in Argentina, and the region, yet to be explored. And I also believe that this may be a great time to explore them.
Conservation history teaches us that at the genesis of any movement to save a place around the world, there has always been one emotionally and ethically inspired citizen. One person who has mobilized communities, who has created engagement, and who has generated the long term constituency that will preserve change.
We know that we are facing, despite the enormous progress obtained until now, a bit of an uphill battle.
We know for a fact that, at least in the North, Millennials and the X generation are not showing the same kind of connection to traditional Parks and protected areas as Baby Boomers did. And Argentina, and South America, seem to be moving in the same direction. They cannot relate to it and they need us to make that connection.
That, instead of being a problem, may become a great opportunity.
The traditional view of separate, almost isolated, protected areas may not be the correct way as we go forward in most cases. We understand now that every preserved area is part of a larger system and must be connected to it, must be emotionally attached to the community, and must generate a constituency that will sustain it in the long run.
While many have already embraced this shift, there are in our countries many business leaders, and particularly large landowners who own areas which can be protected and made environmentally sustainable, that do not trust, or simply do not understand, neither the purported benefits of this shift in general paradigm nor the potential for the win-win situation that can be generated from it.
In the case of Argentina, at least, the problem seems to be the disbelief by many, that government (whom they do not trust because of decades of mismanagement, contradictory legislation, inflation, lack of incentives, lack of medium and long term planning, and in some cases little respect for private property) can do the job.
And that is why we need honest brokers (individuals and organizations that can present innovative solutions that are systemic and full of counterbalances (Government, Venture Capital, Multilaterals and NGOs, Technology, and obviously Business), and which can produce results that engage and with wide ranging benefits in mind.
Sustainable strategies can produce real environmental, community based positive long term results that in the case of business, can also be very profitable, and in the case of nations, become the next level of long term sustainable growth. And we know that sustainable, long term growth, is the key to strong communities, large middle classes, and the path to eliminate poverty and incorporate those who were left out until now into a wider, more inclusive society.
It is time to convince political leaders, business influencers and landowners, to aspire to become that “one person” in their impact area, that will go down in history as a promoter and the center of that change.
To make it so, and to be able to also engage and convince the new generations (from Millennials onwards), one must be where political decisions are made, where opinion makers speak and cultural trends are born and expanded. Paraphrasing the WCU, it is the “urban imperative”.
The truth is that very soon almost 60% of the world population will live in cities. And it is there, in the great capitals and in the cities where people live, the place where we can make a difference. People must make the difficult connection from their urban habitat, and to do that we must not only engage and inform, we must enamor and create our constituency. And their voice will help us convince decision makers (government and business) to come to the table.
At the center of all of it, it is about moving hearts and minds. In my class I always say that the emotional factor must never be discarded. The force of sheer scientific numbers will always impress, but it is necessary to engage people at their emotional intelligence level. Particularly in South America, where our very Latin roots make us more emotionally open.
Let´s start to make a difference, each one of us in our own area of influence. This is no longer a matter of a few enlightened or of fringe groups. It is already here and it is the new society, and the new economy, that is coming towards us (and in many cases, it is already here).
The paradigmatic change is already moving the ground from underneath our own feet. Let go of what is old, and embrace all that is good in this shift of major boundaries. And remember, that at the center of it all, it is not a matter of you making it to the other side, it is a recognition that either we make it together, or we will not make it at all.
The traditional view of separate, almost isolated, protected areas may not be the correct way as we go forward in most cases. We understand now that every preserved area is part of a larger system and must be connected to it, must be emotionally attached to the community, and must generate a constituency that will sustain it in the long run.
IGNACIO ALPERIN: THE ART OF THINKING OUT LOUD / EL ARTE DE PENSAR EN VOZ ALTA 