June 5, 2007

Conference

Enjoying the artistic heritage

D. Alfonso Nieto Tamargo.
University of Navarra

Pilgrimage to the Trinity of Lumbier, 1980's.

The lecture given by Prof. Alfonso Nieto Tamargo (University of Navarra) with the degree scroll "Enjoying the artistic heritage", organized by the Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro, offered a particular vision on the approach of the amateur to the work of art. The speaker insisted on adopting the point of view of a "non-expert" in the subject who, nevertheless, moved by cultural concerns, approaches the work of art and enjoys it, taking an interest in its contemplation and the enigmas it poses. 

From a maxim -The pleasure of admiring as an ignorant with good humor that from the appearance imagines a reality-, Prof. Nieto articulated a suggestive lecture centered on a series of ideas based on his own experience as a fan of Navarrese art for many years. He constantly insisted on the attitude of enjoyment before the astonishment caused by art; the enjoyment with the beautiful, but also with that which can cause displeasure as, for example, the scenes of the Door of Judgment of the Cathedral of Tudela, where the most horrible torments related to sins and vices are materialized.

Detail of the door of San Martín de Artaiz

He also insisted on the importance of enjoying the heritage in situ, contextualized with the environment in which it was born and evolved. Heritage not only artistic but also natural and human that, for example, is materialized around Ujué, where the pilgrims congregate annually moved by the Marian devotion. 

He also emphasized that the adventure of enjoying art is the adventure of enjoying mysteries, enigmas and unknowns that have not yet been solved, but that nevertheless captivate the spectator and move his imagination and restlessness. Sometimes, it is necessary to bring a dose of humor to the act of contemplation; humor without which, many times, art is mute. Likewise, it is necessary to enjoy art with serenity and placidity, allowing oneself to be transported to the time in which it was created. He ended his speech by pointing out that maintaining the heritage is the way to increase it, to enjoy it and to admire it.