Talk to Joseph Maya It is translating words into any artistic expression. Music, painting, religion… are part of their vital existence and also of nameless colorThe work with which he closed the 2022 Suma Flamenca festival at the Teatros del Canal, and with which he will demonstrate in Jerez that the education one receives at home transcends the artist's own career and also the audience's experience. Mark Rothko's work evokes the dreams of José Maya, who, through dance and visual arts, invites us on a journey into the universality of human emotions and of himself. flamenco.
– How did the idea for this come about? nameless color?
– I'm a big fan of painting in general, Renaissance, Baroque, and also 20th-century art. There's one painter who moves me deeply, Mark Rothko: the creator of abstract expressionism, and the main exponent of Color Field PaintingThrough enormous canvases in which he tried to paint color fieldsShe sought to evoke emotions based on tragedy, ecstasy, or death, creating silent spaces where she could transmit that feeling to the viewer. Contemplating her work awakened in me a religious feeling and, above all, a great deal of inspiration. That's how I decided to create one. performance Featuring eight of his works. The Rothko Chapel, located in the southern United States, is an independent institution that functions as a chapel, museum, and forum, hosting ceremonies of all faiths, courses, and lectures. A space for meditation inspired by Rothko's paintings, it was established by two philanthropists and collectors. This artist was a great intellectual, with an intense life and a tragic death. When the performance begins, I appear there. I enter his work, and his paintings become imaginary landscapes of my mind. I shared this idea with some fantastic French friends, geniuses of digital creativity, who began working on a piece especially for me, inspired by eight of Rothko's paintings. They created landscapes, a journey where we travel through water, mountains… and end up in the sky with the clouds. It's a journey through all the elements.
– Why did Rothko resonate with you so much?
– Rothko's painting is based on the soul of flamencoTragedy, ecstasy, death… flamenco It is also full of spirituality. The spirit, God, death… In the flamenco All the archetypes exist: death, dreams, sacrifice. nameless color It's an intimate and personal journey accompanied by some truly great artists. I'm very excited to be able to do it in Jerez. Jerez is the cradle of art.
– Do you think Jerez will understand?
– The most important thing about the work is the emotion, because what it seeks to do is convey a feeling. And there are many times when feelings don't need to be embellished with so many words; it's something very emotional. I also take the opportunity to dance everything that has moved me in the world of flamenco, cantethe oldest ones, also the oldest soleá, those of La Serneta, and also reviewing the folklore of northern Spain.
"Everything has already been created. Only God can create; we recreate. All the music of the world is connected; it comes from the same place, from the depths of the soul, from the depths of the earth. The most important thing is to have knowledge and be able to do things with a solid foundation and with respect."
– Folklore from northern Spain?
– Yes, we began this work with Rafael Jiménez Falo from Asturias, who can't be here this time, but he was one of the key figures in the composition of the music. I work with him on all my productions. He's a scholar of this music, playing with inspirations that he then transforms. In this work, we have some references to northern Spain, as well as Arabic and Jewish melismas. In fact, the performance begins with Ravel's Kaddish: the music played at Jewish funerals. That's how I begin in Rothko's Chapel.
– Our siguiriya…
Yes, the same. Ancient cultures have the same roots; they come from the same place. canteJews, Arabs, flamencoIf we look more closely, we realize that there aren't many differences and that we are connected.
– Suffering is always suffering.
And especially those of us who work in this art form. It's a very honest way of conveying that world, those authentic experiences.
- To the flamenco Does it all fit?
– Yes, of course, but always with respect and knowledge. Everything has already been created. Only God can create; we recreate. All the music of the world is connected; it comes from the same place, from the depths of the soul, from the depths of the earth. The most important thing is to have knowledge and be able to do things with a solid foundation and with respect. You can't just do anything.
– I suppose you've already studied and thought about it, but this work demands settings like museums, at all levels!
– Of course. That was the idea. It was a work I wanted to present only in museums, and here we are. We have projects to be able to do it, but my initial idea was to be able to present it in museum spaces, because it combines dance, the flamenco and digital arts. We're inspired by Rothko; I don't just put the paintings next to each other and dance.
"I'm lucky to have been born into a family of Gypsy artists and intellectuals. My father is a writer. My uncle is a classical theater director. My uncles are abstract and figurative painters. I've always lived in a fantastical world, raised on art and, of course, on religiosity. For me, dancing is the closest thing to God."
– Is this the show you're going to work on, or are you doing other shows in parallel?
– This is one of my most important works. It has been successful and well-received because it is a modern, different, avant-garde work, but very much in the flamenco tradition. But I also have another show, Liturgywhich I only perform in churches. Years ago, I opened the Jerez Festival in the Church of Santiago with this piece. It was just voices and a cello. I also have another work: FarEach proposal has a different nuance.
- FlamencoBut José Maya's "framework" always has to do with art in every sense.
– Absolutely. I'm an art collector, and one of the things that interests me most is painting. Also poetry, the human soul, and universal music—classical, Arabic, Jewish… I blend all of these to tell a very simple story, because there's no need to complicate it: the simpler, the more interesting. But it's true, I'm always surrounded by a world of history, memory, and art.
– How has your personal and professional life led you to this dreamlike world?
– I am fortunate to have been born into a family of Gypsy artists and intellectuals. My father is a writer, my uncle is a classical theater director, my uncles are abstract and figurative painters… I have always lived in a fantastical world, raised on art and, of course, on religiosity. For me, dancing is the closest thing to God. ♦
