DAVID AZPURGUA

DAVID AZPURGUA

With a PhD in Fine Arts and Professor of Product Design at the Escuela Superior de Diseño of La Rioja (ESDIR), he creates a variety of urban interventions, performances and visual art, mainly involving the presence of the human body and the exploration of materials and processes, as well as other concepts such as the passing of time, eroticism, ruin, synchronicities… and the unexpected in everyday life.

Project.

Art, the human body, the skin and with it dance, movement, sport and experimentation with materials of all kinds have led Azpurgua to work for some time now along a vein that has led him to create a piece for “1 kilómetro de Arte

CUERPÓDROMO

He describes it as follows:
“Cuerpódromo is a sculptural piece that, as its name suggests, takes the body as its starting point and fuses it with the sport of climbing, particularly with the walls that are used to strengthen and train arms, hands and the rest of the body; but also courage, will, temperance… A balance between body and mind that many sports manage to develop.

The work requires the participation of others, and in this sense the other builds us, sustains us, I thank them, you. In fact, “feeling completely isolated and lonely leads to a mental breakdown, just as starvation leads to death”. Thus, each fragment that pilgrims, villagers and other participants provide constitutes a constellation of individualities that brings together multiple generations; but also a living work in time that is brought to life every time it is used, because it was born to be touched, caressed, inhabited.

Climbing or walking isn’t just about forward movement; it’s about knowing that after each fall, after each rest, we have to continue. Such is the adventure of living: learning to accept and love reality in all its fullness, with its failures, stumbles and imperfections; perhaps… the best legacy we can pass down”.

Process.

The work was designed to be created with the involvement of the public, residents of Ventosa, travellers and curious onlookers who came to participate at different times:

Conversation-Workshop

David was kind enough to tell us all what the piece was going to be all about and why.

The explanation was followed by the workshop where everyone who wanted to participate could by contributing their bodies to create the moulds that would become the climbing holds. The workshop was open to everyone and since the process is relatively quick, we made a bit more so that the knowledge could be reinforced in a playful and engaging way. While the moulds earmarked for the art piece were drying we created others and turned those moulded body parts into… Can you imagine eating your own finger made out of chocolate? It was loads of fun.

Wall painting and installation of parts

Once the moulds were ready they were turned into climbing holds and the work on the wall began. First David painted a mural on the wall before installing the holds, which was ultimately more difficult that it initially seemed, but the effort was more than worth it. The colours of the wall enhanced the shapes of the finished holds to create a stunning, stimulating installation.

Inauguration.

 “Cuerpódromo” is now part of “1km de Arte”

Following the completion of the piece, it was time to unveil it to the public and incorporate it into the route of artwork that is “1 Kilómetro de Arte”, a guided tour through the village with the artists and promoters of the numerous projects that have enriched the fabric of Ventosa since 2013 thanks to this initiative.

The route ended at the Cuerpódromo, where a contemporary dance piece by Minerva Berceo with music by Siete Dcbls inaugurated the work in style. The music flowed from the wall and Minerva’s body revealed the two ways of understanding the word ‘climbing’, as David describes when talking about the opposing concepts that led him to create Cuerpódromo:

“Progress has been at the cost of our souls”
and at the same time
“We need each other to walk through life”

We prefer the second idea, the one that makes our village and “1 Kilómetro de Arte” grow piece by piece. “Buen camino” (“Good way”, what fellow pilgrims say to wish each other well on their walk) or, in other words, “good life”!

Proyecto Cuerpódromo.

 

Video Transcript
“Progress has been at the cost of our souls”
and at the same time
“We need each other to walk through life”