Post by Ella.
The Museo Nacional Bellas de Artes in Recoleta (10 minute walk from our AirBnB) claims to have the most extensive collection of fine art in South America so how could we not? A nice collection of Goya’s and Rodin’s, scattered French painters, an Italian or two. My favorites, though, were the Argentine artists of the 60’s. One in particular grabbed me. Alfredo Hlito. I could have stood and bathed in the mellow glow for quite some time. The photos below don’t have quite the same effect as seeing them in person, but believe me, both Grubb and I came to a standstill.
And the there was Antonio Berni.
Not to mention Miguel Harte.
And Benito, whom we discovered in La Boca a few days ago.
A 20 minute Uber ride got us to the small barrio of Villa Urquiza to meet Cecilia, a young, self-proclaimed artist who only wanted to help people gain health, freedom and serenity through art. Cecilia walked us through the narrow, tree-lined and unfortunately mosquito-ridden streets of Villa Urquiza, Coghlan, and Saavedra. There was one other person on this walk with us. Laura, from Maine, enjoying the balmy weather (high 60s) before heading back to the freezing temperatures of Maine.
The walk became a sort of swat, slap, hop dance in an effort to avoid getting bit by those irritating mozzies. When standing in front of a mural, some leg waving was added to the swatting and slapping. Who will invent the first bug repellent personal force field for us poor, vulnerable humans?
This Buenos Aires Street Art organization coordinates artists with building owners to produce the art. Here, it is legal to paint anywhere as long as you have the permission of the building owner, whether it be a government owned building, a store, a church or private residence.