Nestor Basterretxea: "Basque Cosmogony Series"

"BASQUE COSMOGONY SERIES"

Nestor Basterretxea

Basque sculptor Néstor Basterretxea (Bermeo, Biscay, 1924) recently donated one of the most celebrated series of Basque sculptures dating from the second half of the XX century to the Museum: the Basque Cosmogony Series. The Series was first exhibited by the Museum in 1973.

The current exhibition comprises 18 sculptures, 17 of which are made of oak and 1 of bronze, which the artist created between 1972 and 1975. The finely crafted works executed in contemporary language are based on mythological characters, forces of nature and traditional objects from Basque culture taken from José Miguel de Barandiarán’s Diccionario de Mitología Vasca (Dictionary of Basque Mythology, 1972). Visitors will also have the opportunity of admiring 5 works from the Máscaras de la Madrina Luna Series created in 1977 as well as several preparatory drawings.

It is also on exhibition two movies directed by Néstor Basterretxea and Fernando Larruquert, entitled Pelotari (1964) and Ama Lur (1968), and a documental about the artist.

1. AKELARRE (Black billy goat)

Meadow where wizards met on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights to worship Aker Beltz, a spirit which took the shape of a billy goat and protected the livestock. Pagan tradition.

2. AKER BELTZ (Macho cabrío negro)

Genio protector de los animales de la casa, relacionado con el lugar en donde se le rendía culto, el Akelarre. De desarrollo bidimensional, es una de las piezas más figurativas de toda la serie.

3. EIZTARIA (The hunter)

Legend has it that a hunter, punished for his excessive love of hunting, wanders ceaselessly over the mountains with his dogs. Según la leyenda, un cazador, castigado por su afición excesiva, vaga sin descanso por los montes acompañado de sus perros. Es ésta una pieza de gran impronta geométrica.

4. GAUEKO (He who stalks the night)

Spirit of the night in the shape of a cow or a monster; his presence is marked by gusts of wind.

5. IDITTU (Night spirit)

Night spirit with the form of an animal; his presence is marked by a flame.

6. ILLARGI AMANDRE (Godmother Moon)

A divinity associated with fertility.

7. INTXIXU (Wild demon)

Legendary spirit haunting caves and deserted areas.

8. AMALAU ZANKO (The ghost of the fourteen stilts)

A strange malignant being.

9. ARGIZAIOLA (Light of the dead)

Tablets in remembrance of the departed; the wax scroll symbolizes the fire in the hearth that lives on in the temple.

10. ARGIZAIOLA ZUTA (The five winds)

Natural phenomenon. The lauburu (four heads) is a pre-Christian symbol, used from the 16th and 17th centuries in funeral steles, on houses fronts or as an amulet or charm.

11. BOST HAIZEAK (The five winds)

Natural phenomenon. The lauburu (four heads) is a pre-Christian symbol, used from the 16th and 17th centuries in funeral steles, on houses fronts or as an amulet or charm.