User:JordiVives67/Miraestels-Stargazers

Miraestels – “Stargazers” – is an outstanding embodiment of art in a public space through a continuously evolving project. One knows where it starts, not where it ends.

It is rich in symbolism and open to interpretation. Like a castaway’s message in a bottle, the Miraestels figures could be taken to ports, beaches, mountain peaks around the world or who knows what remote and unique places, blown away by the winds of need.

What need? More than one, unquestionably.


 * The need to stand upright despite the currents, as Brossa pointed out in his poem about the people.
 * The need to cry out in defence of the seas and the waters of the planet, so sullied, so vulnerable.
 * The need to look to the sky, through the eyes of the mind or the eyes of the soul, begging for answers.

Miraestels was born in Barcelona but it is universal. This is why we enjoy its uniqueness and we dream of a plural future for it: twinning ports, conquering heights where one can almost touch the stars, bringing ins- piration to public and private spaces through its representation of an all-encompassing idea, the idea of an eternal search driven by love.

The artist
Robert Llimós, creator of Miraestels, is a prolific, world- renowned painter and sculptor from the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona. His constant search and sensitivity to a spirit of the times have taken him on a journey through several subse- quent trends he rode with outstanding skill. His work exudes primitive charm and the kind of confidence that comes from certainty and produces strikingly bold and moving poetry.

Tribute
Miraestels originated as a homage to the poet Joan Brossa by a group of artist friends who got together shortly after his death. As a basis for the joint exhibition that emerged from it, they chose a poem from his extensive and indefinable work: Saltamartí, “roly-poly toy” in English. According to Brossa, it is a metaphor for people who always bounce back from changes of fortune. What Brossa never imagined, is that his inspiration would take Llimós, in turn, to stargaze in the same Mediterranean waters of Barcelona. Roly-poly toy (*)

Doll

that carries a

weight at the base and that,

deviating from its position

vertical, put back

right.

The village.

How it came about
Roly-poly overboard!

A human-size roly-poly needed somewhere safe to avoid any unwanted movements. What about a floating sculpture? The artist didn’t think twice: he would take it to the water! Llimós turned to the nautical industry, visiting a shipyard where he investigated the polyurethane used in ships, yachts and sports boats.

This resulted in this material being used for his Miraestels. With the help of technical engineers, he studied stability and ancho- rage and created a calculation model which could be used to replicate the sculpture in a bigger size if necessary.

At the Port Vell of Barcelona
The first prototype of Miraestels was put to the test in the port of Sitges and stayed in the town’s waters until the final exemplars were delivered to the Port of Barcelona. The two Miraestels that cradle near the footbridge leading to Maremagnum were installed in the spring of 2010.