pressbook untitled, 200x133
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
1/12
UNTITLED200X133
A DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT THE CREATION PROCESS
OF THE PAINTER JOSE LUIZ ZUMETA
Contact:
Moztu filmak | www.moztu.net | [email protected]
t. 696 080 037 (Iurre)
Sonora estudios| www.sonoraestudios.es | [email protected]
t. 656 786 077 (Paco) | +34 945 150 011
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
2/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 1
Introduction
Jos Luis Zumeta is an artist from Usurbil (Basque Country). If we ask around about
Zumeta in that area, no doubt people will talk about bright colours and abstraction. He
is probably the artist who has stayed the closest to his fellow countrymen, sparking an
interest in the different generations. Zumeta and his art belong to a collective culture
shared by thousands of people.
He started many years ago in Grficas Valverde inspired by the bohemian city of
Paris in the 1960s, and had countless experiences as a member of the Guipuzcoa
artists group Gaur. Zumeta is a reference for a whole generation, one of the first
artists to be influenced by modern art in the Basque Country and a pioneer in
experimenting with new trends. That is why this documentary aims to contribute to
the identity of a specific area: the Basque country.
Nowadays, while artists normally perform multidisciplinary works, Zumeta goes on
with the same old techniques: oil paintings, serigraphs and drawings. And he stays
close to the people precisely through these very works.
As a mature artist, Zumeta talks about his current work, his transformation and
evolution with serenity and from the same young soul. Always sensitive to his
surroundings, Zumeta has managed to create a space for himself in the world of
Basque artists. Now he just sticks to what he loves and does best: painting.
This documentary is directed by Monika Zumeta, daughter of the artist, and the
documentary film director Enara Goikoetxea. The collaboration between these two
and a small recording team created an intimate atmosphere in which the artist was
able to forget the presence of the cameras and talk about his work process in the most
natural way.
Untitled, 200x133 is an opportunity to get to know the artist Jos Luis Zumeta in a
transparent manner, dispensing with any unnecessary etiquette.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
3/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 2
Synopsis
Painter Jos Luis Zumeta works late at night at his studio in Arribe, Navarra, built in
an old bus garage. On this occasion, he is working on two paintings of 200 x 133 cm
which he will be exhibiting at the old fire station in San Sebastian. The creative
process for these paintings forms the backbone of this documentary.
For the first time on camera the painter shows the unique and intimate way he works.
The film coverage is complete, from the very first steps when the painter puts together
his canvas, followed by the creation of the painting and ending with the exhibition of
the work.
The film respects the artists working hours and habits, and the creative development
of the paintings is only interrupted at the artists choosing, either because of his
choice of materials or his own creative blockages. During those breaks, in order to
understand the artists reality, different questions are put to people close to him;
through their answers, we are able to better understand Zumetas peculiarities, the
milestones of his artistic career, his evolution and, in conclusion, all the pieces that
make him a great artist.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
4/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 3
200x133, THE EXHIBITION
During the filming of the documentary, Zumetas paintings were exhibited in the
former fire station in San Sebastian, which is the key site forSan Sebastian, European
Capital of Culture 2016.
The philosophy behind San Sebastian, European Capital of Culture 2016 is in
complete harmony with both the documentary and the nature of the exhibition. The
aim of exhibiting these paintings publicly was to get to know the painters creative
process because, in order to understand a work of art, the end result is just as
important as understanding the creative process that leads to that result.
Zumeta has developed his creative capacity in a variety of ways, and this was present
in the elements exhibited together in the exhibition: firstly, the two paintings
completed specially for the event and, secondly, the images recorded for the
documentary capturing the creative process that gave rise to these works of art.
During the exhibition, Zumeta painted a mural with the help of his two grandsons,
and the results of the new technique the artist is currently using were also shown: a
series of 500 illustrations created on an iPad. The exhibition itself and the publics
response are included in the documentary.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
5/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 4
A WORD FROM THE DIRECTORS
Monika Zumeta co-director
The smell of paint takes me back to my childhood. Our house smelled of paint and
there was always mayhem. I remember the constant stream of painters, sculptors and
actors coming in and out of the house. For me, as a child, that world was full of magic
and fun, and was also very enriching.
My father showed us his passion for drawing and painting through small gestures that
were part of our everyday world. Once, he invited home the music band Orquestra
Mondragn; he painted all our faces and then we went out to party in the village.
Another time, he painted my whole leg; I was all happy and put on a miniskirt to go to
school. I remember how people stopped me in surprise on the way there. My father
drew all the time. If we travelled to a foreign country and none of us could speak the
language, he would draw a chicken to order it!
It was completely normal for me to get home and find him painting. That was his job.
I used to tell him about my day, but it never occurred to me to stay and watch him
paint. Many years passed before I actually realized I had never seen my father doing a
painting.
The creative process, in any art form, seems to me the most important aspect, which is
why I decided to structure the documentary around that concept. On the one hand, I
have been able to personally enjoy my fathers work through this film and, on the
other hand, I think the legacy it leaves will last forever. I saw the proof of this when,
during the exhibition we organized as a part of the documentary, a woman came up to
me and said: Youre Zumetas daughter, arent you? I just want to thank you for
sharing this treasure with us.
As his daughter, the question I asked myself was, Who is Zumeta, the painter? This
project has given me the chance to discover aspects of my father of which I had been
unaware. The result has been most enlightening; I have felt very comfortable working
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
6/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 5
with him. The whole team has respected his time, his moments and his methodology,
and he has, in the same manner, respected ours.
Enara Goikoetxea co-director
I knew that being able to record Jos Luis Zumeta while he painted would be very
interesting and would also teach us a lot about the process of painting. Nevertheless, I
was very surprised when I found myself behaving like a child, wanting to put my
hands and fingers in the paint and start drawing shapes. I was not the only one who
unexpectedly felt taken back to their childhood; several members of the recording
team felt like that too. As time went by, we all found ourselves a little hypnotized,
trapped by the artists process.
We witnessed the same phenomenon at the 200x133 exhibition. The visitors who
came to watch Zumeta paint live, both children and adults, felt a mixture of
astonishment and admiration. They were surprised by the painters speed, the layers
he used and the shapes that slowly appeared on the empty canvas.
Surprisingly, people sat down time and again to watch the creative process in the two
videos that we edited using the footage we recorded for the documentary. The time
passed and they stayed seated. It is unusual to see how the painting process captures
the audience over and over again. Without doubt, this project is one I will remember
most fondly.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
7/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 6
BIOGRAPHY OF JOSE LUIS ZUMETA
Jos Luis Zumeta started working as a graphic artist in Grficas Valverde de San
Sebastin at the age of 14. During that period he discovered the impressionists
Cezanne, Modigliani and Paul Klee, whom he cites as his favourites.
His love of painting led him to the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de San Sebastin and
the art classes given in theAsociacin de Artistas de Guipzcoa. At the age of 19 he
won the National Gold Medal in the renowned Concurso de Pintura Joven in Madrid.
In a desire to discover the avant-garde art movement he left for Paris in 1959. That
experience was instrumental in his later career as an artist, as he had the chance to be
involved in the latest trends in the international avant-garde scene. He discovered
abstract painters such as Budd, Appel and Jorn.
A year later he returned to the Basque Country and settled in Fuenterrabia, near San
Sebastian, where he started working with the sculptor Remigio Mendiburu and took
part in his first joint exhibition in San Sebastian. Another year later he had his first
individual exhibition in the Sala Municipal de Arte de San Sebastin and later in the
Castillo Carlos V de Hondarribia.
Between 1962 and 1963 he lived in Stockholm and London. Zumetas early artistic
phases, in the 1960s, are linked to informalism and American abstract expressionism
in a vibrantly coloured Cubist space. He experimented with types of pictorial relief,
using polyester, aluminium, rubber, etc.
In 1965 he helped to found the Gaur alongside Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida,
Remigio Mendiburu, Nestor Basterretxea, Rafael Ruiz Balerdi, Amable Arias and
Sistiaga. During Francos dictatorship, this group was born out of a desire to resume a
dialogue and relationship with the international avant-garde and, in many artistic
aspects, it eventually became a pioneer and international point of reference for the
Basque art movement at the time.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
8/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 7
In 1967 he won first prize in the Gran Premio de Pintura Vasca competition with his
painting Homenaje al Gernika de Picasso [Homage to Picassos Gernika].
In 1970, he took part in a joint exhibition in thePalacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico, as
well as the joint collectionPintores Jvenes Espaoles in New York that same year.
Between 1973 and 1974 he painted two large-scale ceramic murals in Usurbil and
Pasajes, near San Sebastian.
One year later he took part in two individual exhibitions at the Galera Eder-Arte in
Vitoria, and the Galera Mikeldi in Bilbao. In 1981 he exhibited work in the Bilbao
Museo de Bellas Artes and was featured in theArteder 81 contemporary art show. His
later years were very productive both in terms of paintings and exhibitions, and this
can be seen from his individual exhibitions at the Galera Alga de San Sebastin and
the Centro de Arte Osuna de La Laguna in Tenerife. One year later, he had two
further exhibitions at the Volksbank Gallerie in Biberank, Germany, and the
exhibition space of the Caja Provincial de Guipzcoa bank.
In 1986 he was featured in two exhibitions organised by the Basque Government, and
one year later, continuing his teaching work, he gave a painting course at theArteleku
centre in San Sebastian.
During the 1990s he had exhibitions in a number of different museums and galleries,
including the Galera Windsor in Bilbao, the Museo San Telmo, Galera Altxerri,
Garca Castan andLa Brocha.
Jos Luis Zumeta is considered to be one of the artists that best represent the Basque
Country of the post-war period. His works can be found in major museums both in the
Basque Country (Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao,Museo San Telmo in San Sebastian
andArtium in Vitoria), and abroad (Museo de la Concordia in Santiago de Chile).
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
9/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 8
EXHIBITIONS
(2013) 200x133 Fire station, main space to be used for San Sebastian, European
Capital of Culture 2016.
(2012) Pabelln de Mixtos de la Ciudadela de Pamplona.
(2011) Exhibition in Artium, Vitoria.
(2010) Bodega Portia, Gumiel de Izn (Burgos).
(2009) With his daughter published a book containing texts written by psychiatric
patients in Arrasate-Mondragn, illustrated with 35 serigraphs. This book was
presented in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao and was exhibited during the
summer of 2009.
(2008) Galera Kur, San Sebastian.
(2007) Galera Ekain, San Sebastian.
Galera Arteko, San Sebastian.
(2006) The Unknown Masterpiece. Artium, Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte
Contemporneo, Vitoria.
(2005) Fundacin BBK, Bilbao.
(2004-05) Erandio market, Erandio (Biscay).
(2004) Expo 3+4, Biarritz.
(2003) Sala Kubo, San Sebastian.
(2002) Sainte Eugnie church crypt, Biarritz. Exposition Atlantique. Epelde &
Mardaras Gallery, Biarritz.
Haim Chanin Fine Arts, New York.
(2000) Depsito Franco Uribitarte, Bilbao.
San Martn market, San Sebastian.
(1999) The Hangar, Evanton, Scotland.
(1998) Galera Altxerri, San Sebastian.
(1997) Arco, Arte Contemporneo en Espaa, Madrid.
(1995) Galera Altxerri, San Sebastian.
(1994) Museo de Arte e Historia, Centro San Agustn, Durango.
(1992) Museo San Telmo, San Sebastian.
(1990) Retrospectiva. Museo de Bellas Artes, Vitoria.(1989) Tribute to the victims of Franquism. Madrid, Seville and Valencia.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
10/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 9
Retrospective. Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao.
(1986) Moderne Baskische Kunst, Frankfurt.
Moderne Baskische Kunst, Cologne.
(1985) Palacio de Vstago, Saragossa.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias, Oviedo.
Bonnat Museum, Bayonne.
Museo San Telmo, San Sebastian.
(1984) La Ciudadela, Pamplona.
Galera Palau, Valencia.
Galera Perspectives 56, Bayonne.
(1983) Volsbank Gallery, Biberach, Germany.
(1982) Inter-Art Galerie, Union Freischaffender Knstler und Kunsfreunde, Stuttgart.
Arteder 82, Bilbao.
Artistas Vascos: entre el realismo y la figuracin, 1970-1982. Museo
Provincial de Pars.
Centro de Arte Osuna, La Laguna, Tenerife.
Museo de San Telmo, San Sebastian.
(1981) Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao.
Arteder 81, Bilbao.
(1980) Fundacin Joan Mir, Barcelona.
(1979) Erakusketa 79, Palacio Velzquez, Madrid.
(1978) Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao.
La Ciudadela, Pamplona.
Galera Juana Mord, Madrid.
Euskadi en la pintura, Art Centrum, Prague.
(1976) Euskal Erakusketa 76-Art Bask 76, Barcelona.
(1975) Fundacin Joan Mir, Barcelona.
(1974-73) Mural plaza de Usurbil (Guipuzcoa).
(1971) Ateneo de Madrid, Madrid.
Galera Durn, Madrid.
(1970) Pitura y Escultura Contempornea Vasca. Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico.
Jvenes Pintores Espaoles, New York.
(1968) Primer Saln de Escultura Contempornea, Barcelona.(1966-65) Galera Barandiaran, San Sebastian.
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
11/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 10
Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao.
Sala Amrica, Vitoria.
(1961) Salas municipales de arte, San Sebastian.
Castillo de Carlos V, Fuenterrabia (Guipuzcoa).
He is a painter who really appeals to other artists because
he is so natural, he has no tricks or ruses. His painting is
totally direct.
Gonzalo Jaregui
Freedom is key, because Zumeta has reached the point
where he has nothing to prove to anyone.
Maria Jos Aranzasti
Of all the painters I know, he feels the greatest love for
what he does.
Jos Luis Merino
-
7/29/2019 Pressbook Untitled, 200x133
12/12
Untitled, 200x133 |www.facebook.com/IzenikgabeZumeta|http://izenikgabe.com 11
Technical Data
UNTITLED 200x133
Genre: Feature Documentary
Production date: 2013
Duration: 82
FEATURING IN THIS DOCUMENTARY
Jose Luis Zumeta
Carmelo Ortiz de Elguea
Mari Sol Bastida
Gonzalo Juregui
Maria Jos Aranzasti
Jos Luis Merino
TECHNICAL AND ARTISTIC TEAM
Directors: Enara Goikoetxea, Monika Zumeta
Producers: Iurre Tellera, Pako Ruiz
Director of photography: Esteban Ramos
Camera: lvaro Herrero
Screenwriters: Miren Juaristi, Monika Zumeta
Editor: Enara Goikoetxea
Original music: Pascal Gaigne
Sound: Martn Guridi, Iaki Alonso
Fx: lvaro Herrero
Production: Sonora Estudios, Moztu Filmak