On Friday, the CajaCanarias Foundation presented the exhibition catalogue Retrojo. Visions of the ancient tree In the cultural space of San Santa Cruz de la Palma. The edition includes among its pages images of nearly 200 works from Miguel de Tauro's ArteDrago collection and other loan pieces displayed in the exhibition, which since its opening last September has been visited by 12,000 people. The catalog is supplemented with texts by Lázaro Sánchez Pinto, Ernesto Valcarcel, Eliseo Izquierdo, Virgilio Gutiérrez, Isidoro Hernández, Miguel de Tauro, and an unpublished poem by Elsa López, written especially for the occasion and which she recited during the show. This event will be the last activity related to the exhibition, which concludes tomorrow, Saturday, February 24, according to the Authority.
The event included interventions from antiquities collector Miguel de Tauro; Elsa Lopez, writer; Efrain Pintos, Academic Consultant and Catalog Consultant at RACBA; Isidro Hernandez, musicology advisor; Paz Palomec, expert in bibliographic heritage and former President of the ULL Library's Ancient Canary Islands Fund, and Margarita Ramos, President of the CajaCanarias Foundation, who emphasized that this publication is a wonderful study, a tribute to the character of this giant plant that welcomes the gaze of artists of diverse origins with figurative works, drawings and posters. And other things, on the legendary image of the Canary Islands dragon tree from past to present. I want to thank Miguel de Tauro for his willingness, and all the authors who have generously collaborated with their texts so that this catalog will be a wonderful memory of this wonderful exhibition, which closes tomorrow.
For his part, Miguel de Tauro thanked the CajaCanarias Foundation and all the people involved in this exhibition for their commitment to making it a reality. I'm so excited. When money is invested in culture, it is always talked about in terms of spending. I would say that this exhibition, with its 12,000 visits, means reinvesting in the community. Many thanks to those who invest in culture, and I hope they continue to do so.
Efrain Pinto, Catalog Consultant, explained the role of communicators in spreading creativity. We are the messengers so that thousands can see the art, helping them to contemplate and understand. It can be said that it is a rare collection, with works very different from each other – he continued – the pieces have reached the collector and he devotes himself to what he does best: being their custodian. When a group is formed, a character is formed, and I was captivated by Miguel de Tauro's collection. Now, whenever I see a dragon tree, I remember it.
Catalog
Catalog Artdrago. Visions of an ancient tree She has advice from Efrain Pintos and photographs by Lucas Pintos and Manuel Díaz Trujillo, which include works on display at the Caja Canarias Cultural Space in Santa Cruz de la Palma. A paper tour of nearly 200 objects has filled the gallery space in recent months, creations that contain the vision of artists from diverse backgrounds, with figurative works, drawings, photographs, posters and curiosities that contemplate, from past to present, the mythical image of the Canary Islands dragon tree.
The publication is complemented by texts from experts and scholars in different branches, ranging from botany to art. Those who receive a copy will be able to enjoy the writings of Miguel de Tauro, the owner of the collection I never looked for dragon trees, they came to me; Lazaro Sanchez Pinto The first illustrations of the Canary Island dragon; Ernesto Valcarcel, with Indigenous, endemic and vernacular. About Miguel de Tauro and ARTEDRAGO; Eliseo Izquierdo, with Almost a forest; Virgilio Gutierrez, with Ellipseand Isidro Hernandez, with ArteDrago Collection, Visions of an Ancient Tree.
Among the texts, there is also an unpublished poem by Elsa Lopez, written specifically for this catalogue. It is not unknown the writer's relationship with the nature of the Canary Islands, which inspired her poetry. An inexhaustible source of inspiration reflected in the poem that adorns this publication. At the foot of the dragon trees stretching across the palm mountains, some works matured from her extensive bibliography, for which she received the José Hierro National Poetry Prize (2002) or the Canary Islands Prize for Literature (2022).
Exhibition
Artidrago. Visions of the ancient treeThe exhibition, which ends tomorrow, Saturday, includes, in addition to pieces and objects from the Miguel de Tauro collection, three works on loan: the mural Guardian of the islands, by Amelia Bissaca, a 6.5-meter-long, 2-meter-high canvas presented by TEA-Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, which attracted the attention of visitors; A painting by Soso de la Rosa entitled The ultimate meeting in the Marquis' gardenprovided by the LM Collection, a private museum located in La Laguna, and the canvas Ash Guaniac (homeland) by painter, singer and songwriter Luis Moreira, Which appeared in one of his albums presented by the author.
The Dragon Tree: History, Mythology, and Art
Canary Islands dragon tree, its scientific name Dragon Tree Dragon Popularly known by the islanders as Old tree, is closely linked to the history of the archipelago from time immemorial. The Latin naturalist Pliny the Elder mentioned in the first century AD the existence of this large tree in… fortunae Insulae, From the campaigns of Mauritanian King Juba II a few decades ago. If we stop our attention at the reports of the conquest of the Canary Islands at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the French history of the Norman knight Gadifer de La Salle in Le CanarineThis term was first coined dragonier To refer to a native plant species that resembles a hundred-headed dragon. Hence, the descriptions of many scholars and travelers who visited the Canary Islands over the centuries provided a rich literary source about this giant plant, and, far from its botanical interests, they flooded its true image with idealized contributions, embellishing its size and even ascribing to it medicinal virtues. In this way, so intrinsic to the writing area, the image of the ancient tree reaches the present day: between the tree's lanceolate leaves, the historical and the imaginary, the scientific and the supernatural, the real and the imaginary, are woven and woven. In one wonderful story. Of all these botanical records, descriptions and illustrations, perhaps the most fantastic and legendary view of the Canary Islands dragon tree comes from its identification with the dragon who, according to legend, guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, located near the classic authors of the Canary Islands. Legend has it that both a dragon and a dragon tree, if one of their heads or branches were cut off, would multiply. This is how Bouquet de la Gre tells it Climb to Pic de Teneriffebased on Al-Bustani's interpretations.
