Day 194: Medellin, Colombia
Well I haven’t either, apparently he has several homes around the world and lives in Europe. But you cannot travel Colombia without hearing his name or seeing his work as he is undoubtedly the most successful artist from Colombia.
Born in Medellin, there are copies of his work everywhere, but he’s also donated hundreds of pieces to the city. His work is very recognizeable as he’s most famous for portraying very large people and animals.
Many people have their photo taken with his sculptures, and there’s no shortage of hawkers who will gladly take your photo for a price.
But the most amusing aspect is that the human forms have genitalia and the men have oddly anatomically small bullet shaped ‘junk’ which seems to further encourage people to get a little pervy with the sculptures.
But like most famous artists, Botero came under fire for his use of ‘fat’ art but responded simply with the following:
An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it.
I thought it was interesting that you could apply this quote to much of life, who knows why we do things, it’s only afterward that we try to make sense of it.
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I'm Ayngelina and in my mid-thirties. I left an amazing job, boyfriend, apartment and friends to find inspiration in Latin America. I'm creating a new life choosing what I want instead of what other people think I should do.
I like it, although the huge head is kinda freaky.
I actually likes his Art Botero. I never heard of him before till now. You shot these pictures in a very special angle which made the sculptures more standout. I like*
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I LOVE this post, particularly Botero’s rebuttal to his critics. Who knows why so many of us do what we do. Why are some of us drawn instinctively to seek out unfamiliar experiences through travel? Why are we attracted to certain people and not to others? Just one of the great mysteries of life. P.S. Love the shot of the big head and the big head itself. Makes me want to travel to Colombia just to see them.
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Hi darling, I love Botero and I love your website. Have linked ya sweetie! Sorry it took so long. The one of the Men playing violins hangs in our home! Gorgeous:)
I’ve always liked Botero and his refusal to conform to someone else’s standards (and tastes) of beauty. The more people like him, the better. My seatmate on the flight to Medellin mentioned Botero too – “he makes fat beautiful, how crazy and wonderful is that?” Exactly. Fun post!
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Next time you take a bus trip, look for Botero trees!
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The pureness of just loving something naturally without reason, what a wonderful message for public art. Thanks for sharing and your photos really capture the statues.
Never heard of Botero, but glad to learn about him and his art — very interesting. His response to critics is very thought-provoking – so true. Nice photos, too!
Medellin is nice city… i love my city
Love the quote… and I agree that it can be applied to much of life! People always try to put artists (and others who put themselves “out there”) in boxes and project all kinds of motivations on them. The quote that up, in a positive way, beautifully.
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A genuinely informative post – you will undoubtedly have introduced this artist to many for the first time.
The pieces looking weird, but I like them! I love the quote too.
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Great photos, and while I don’t recall the name I want to believe I’ve seen some of his work before.
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botero is into fattys!!! great photos, i never heard of him before but now i know thanks
That’s funny about the bullet shaped “junk”! I’m not sure why the sculpture of the lady is standing on top of a head though. Interesting…
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Love it! I’m gonna go eat some cake now, knowing someone will love me after!
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I like his art. There’s beauty in it once you look beyond the ‘fat’ people and subjects he portrays.
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