Celebrations in early-modern times, symbolic communication, urban history, political consensus, Spain, France
The Origins of the Olympic Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies: Artistic Creativity and Communication
The Journal of Intercultural Communication Studies, Volume 19, Issue 1, pp.103-120 (2010).
Nowadays, the Olympic Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies contribute greatly to, and draw from, the different... more Nowadays, the Olympic Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies contribute greatly to, and draw from, the different cultures in the various host cities. This paper will explore the origins of the Olympic Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies (OGO & CCs). The extent to which theories concerning artistic creativity and communication are utilized will specifically be examined. Historically speaking, the modern Olympic Games were adapted from the ideology of the ancient Olympic Games, which originally treated sporting competitions as a form of religious ritual. Greek people used the games as a means to communicate with their Gods; games included music, dance, and art. Interestingly, only the victory ceremonies are present in historical records; no evidence of the OGO and CCs can be found. The hypothesis that this paper will test is the notion that the OGO and CCs began with the modern Olympic Games. This study aims to answer this by conveying the initial ideas and purposes of the OGO and CC through discourse analysis. The primary data used includes the minutes of the 1906 International Olympic Committee Congress in Paris and Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s biography. The results significantly illustrate that the OGO and CC were initially associated and influenced by personal interests and cultural patterns.
Olympic Ceremony Design vs Lateral Thinking: Spectacular Creativity
Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal, Volume 4, Issue 4, pp.11-20. (2010)
The Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony has always been a challenge among practitioners in media and installation... more The Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony has always been a challenge among practitioners in media and installation industries. In every four year cycle, it draws a lot of international attention. The creativity and preparation of the opening ceremony must be complex, elaborate and innovative; it results in a uniqueness in each ceremony. Therefore, the ceremonies are usually unpredictable. Significantly, the ceremony is broadcast live through international media networks; however, there is only one chance to exhibit it. Mistakes can occur in the presentation, but they will not be anticipated. In order to generate this spectacular ceremony, creative thinking must be involved. I propose to apply the Lateral Thinking (Creative thinking technique), invented by Edward de Bono, as a research metaphor to analyse the Athens 2004 Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony as a case study. It is anticipated, the results of this study will illustrate whether or not de Bono’s lateral thinking technique is applicable to approach this mega-tainment ceremony.
La Jura de Fernando VII en 1808, en la Villa de San Bartolomé de Honda. La recordatio efímera en el Antiguo Régimen neogranadino
El presente texto aparece publicado en Cirillo José, Teresa Espantoso Rodríguez y Carolina Vanegas (eds.) Arte Público y espacios políticos: Interacciones y fracturas en las ciudades latinoamericanas. Belo Horizonte, C/Arte, 2011. Memorias de II Seminario internacional sobre arte público en Latinoamérica. GEAP (Grupo de Estudios sobre Arte Público en Latinoamérica), Universidad Federal do Espíritu Santo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Vitória (Brasil), 9 al 12 de noviembre de 2011, pp. 220-230.
Entre las manifestaciones de arte público, los monumentos conmemorativos tuvieron un lugar de privilegio desde el... more
Entre las manifestaciones de arte público, los monumentos conmemorativos tuvieron un lugar de privilegio desde el Antiguo Régimen, cuando surgieron como demostración del poder regio. En la era republicana se refrendó su importancia con la secularización de los nacientes estados, cuando se “monumentalizaron” las glorias de las elites locales y las fechas patrias. No obstante, en la transición entre el Antiguo Régimen y la República no hubo monumentos permanentes. Esto se evidencia en el caso neogranadino, analizado en esta ponencia, donde ni el poder regio ni el republicano fueron consagrados con tal tipo de monumentos.
Primero estuvo la recordatio, referida hacia el pacto de poder entre el rey y sus vasallos que venía del pasado, antes que el monumentum patrio, como memoria legada a la posteridad. Por ello la ceremonia efímera en el espacio urbano tuvo gran importancia entre fines del siglo XVIII y mediados del XIX. La presente ponencia analizará la producción plástica efímera para la Jura de Fernando VII en la ciudad de San Bartolomé de Honda, en 1808, ceremonia que antecede la creación simbólica nacional iniciada dos años después. De esta forma se verá una forma de memoria activada con el monumento efímero, la recordatio, que mira al pasado, como un antecedente de las celebraciones patrióticas de la Independencia.
