Eduardo Westerdahl

Eduardo Westerdahl y Oramas (born May 2, 1902 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife  , † January 29, 1983 ibid) was a Spanish art critic and author.

Life

Eduardo Westerdahl was born the son of the Swedish importer Johan Bernard Westerdahl and the Canarian Ignacia María de la Encarnación Oramas Medina in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Although he was a Swedish citizen , he has never stayed in Sweden . He saw himself as a Spaniard or more precisely as Canario (inhabitant of the Canary Islands) and Tinerfeño (inhabitant of Tenerife).

His father died when Eduardo Westerdahl was four years old. Due to the difficult economic conditions that also prevailed in Spain due to the First World War , Eduardo Westerdahl was forced to abandon his training at a commercial school after four years at the age of 18 without a degree in 1918. After having worked for a shipping company and export and import company for three years, he got a position as a cashier at a private bank in 1921. He kept this job even after Banco Central took over the company in 1946 after the end of the Second World War . Westerdahl earned his living as a bank teller all his life. Westerdahl had never had any formal artistic or academic training.

1922–1931 Círculo de Bellas Artes and Hespérides

From 1922 various local newspapers published short stories and short stories by Westerdahl. In 1925 Westerdahl co-founded the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife . This association was originally an association of visual artists. After more and more young people from middle-class families joined this association, different departments for painting, theater, literature, music, sculpture, architecture and education were set up in 1926. A large number of the exhibitions organized by Westerdahl took place in the rooms of the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife , which are centrally located in downtown Santa Cruz de Tenerife .

In 1926 Westerdahl joined the editorial team of the weekly newspaper Hespérides . He worked there as editor-in-chief until the magazine was discontinued in 1928. Hesperides dealt with art, science, literature and sports. Poems, short stories, book reviews and socially critical essays appeared. As a special novelty there was a large number of landscape photographs of the most picturesque areas of Tenerife, La Palmas and La Gomera (i.e. the western Canary Islands). This focus of the magazine was in line with the interests of foreign entrepreneurs in the archipelago. The most important entrepreneurs in the tourism industry at that time were Jacob Ahlers , Eduardo Westerdahl's employer, and Fred. Olsen, the operator of the main shipping routes to the mainland and between the islands. These businessmen showed a great interest in the preservation of the cultural and artistic heritage of the Canary Islands, since the preservation of this heritage was conducive to tourism. Jacob Ahlers wrote a travel guide himself that was supposed to promote tourism. In 1928 the editors of the Hespérides published various collections of poetry. This included a collection of Westerdahl's poems. It was entitled Poemas de sol lleno .

1931 stay in Europe

The owner of the bank, where Westerdahl worked as a cashier, Jacob Ahlers, who was German and Austrian consul in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the interwar period , made it possible for Eduardo Westerdahl to spend three months in Europe. The purpose of this stay was actually to improve Westerdahl's language skills. On this trip, during which he visited the Netherlands, France, Germany and Czechoslovakia, he expanded his knowledge, particularly with regard to contemporary art. There he visited the most important museums and galleries. The work of Kandinsky, Klee and the Bauhaus training concept that was explained to him in Dessau left a lasting impression on him. He was also enthusiastic about the new developments in theater and cinema. He attended theater performances by Erwin Piscator and Max Reinhardt , film performances of the film Lights of the Big City by Charles Chaplin and El millon by René Clair . At the end of October 1931 Westerdahl returned to Santa Cruz with books, magazines, photos, postcards, catalogs, a lithograph by Franz Marc, a purchased drawing by Kandinsky and many long-term relationships with avant-garde artists from a wide variety of fields. As a result of this trip and the relationships established there, Eduardo Westerdahl founded the international cultural newspaper Gaceta de Arte together with some friends .

1932-1936 Gaceta de Arte

After Gaceta de Arte was founded, Westerdahl's cultural work concentrated on the magazine and the diverse activities of the editorial team. In addition to the monthly publication of a four-page cultural magazine, these consisted of the organization of exhibitions and congresses and the publication of books. The most important exhibition organized by the editorial staff of the Gaceta de Arte - but mainly its editor-in-chief Eduardo Westerdal - was the Arte surrealista exhibition in the Ateneo de Santa Cruz de Tenerife a.o. from 11 to 21 May 1935 . A. Works by Pablo Picasso , Joan Miró , Salvador Dalí , Hans Arp , Max Ernst , Man Ray and Giorgio de Chirico were shown. André Breton , Jacqueline Lamba and Benjamin Péret traveled to Tenerife for the opening . During their stay in Tenerife for several weeks, a long-lasting friendship developed between Westerdahl and the visitors.

At the end of 1935, Westerdahl contacted the ADLAN group (Asociación para la Defensa de las Artes Nuevas). The ADLAN group was a Catalan artists' association founded in Barcelona in 1932 to promote avant-garde art. Westerdahl intended with this group to found magazines in Barcelona and Madrid that pursued similar goals as the magazine Gaceta de Arte in Tenerife. With the founding of ADLAN Madrid and ADLAN Tenerife, both organizations should work together on exhibitions. In June 1936 an exhibition took place in Santa Cruz, which was organized jointly by ADLAN and Gaceta de Arte . A surrealist object created by Eduardo Westerdahl was also exhibited in this exhibition.

1936–1949 civil war and interruption of work as an art critic

The civil war began in Spain with the military coup in July 1936. Conditions during and after the war severed most international cultural ties. Avant-garde art was not tolerated in Spain at the time. Some of Westerdahl's friends had been murdered, others had fled. He himself expected his expulsion as an undesirable foreigner and found out about job opportunities in South America. Through the mediation of friends, he got a residence and work permit and was able to earn his living as a bank clerk. He kept in touch with friends in France, Germany and Italy by letter and was informed about artistic developments in these countries. Only in January 1946 was Westerdahl again accepted as a member of the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife . From this point on he also wrote art reviews for the local newspapers again, albeit under the pseudonym Luis Dadin , which he had occasionally used in the 1930s. He organized a number of exhibitions of the work of contemporary artists, but these were more of local importance. Over time he was able to resume his contacts with foreign artists.

1949–1983 resumption of activities after the liberalization of Spanish cultural policy

The Escuela de Altamira (School of Altamira) in Santillana del Mar in Cantabria was a project designed to revive the avant-garde art of Spain after the civil war. The founders, Mathias Goeritz , Ángel Ferrat, Ricardo Gullón and Pablo Beltrán de Heredia invited Westerdahl to the Primera Semana de Arte (First Week of Art), which took place from September 19 to 26, 1949, in Santillana del Mar. At this conference Westerdahl met again with foreign artists with whom he had been in correspondence. He took on the task of editing the project's monographs and wrote a biography about Mathias Goeritz himself.

The Secunda Semana de Arte (Second Art Week) took place in Santander in September 1950. This conference dealt not only with the fine arts, but also with poetry, literature, music and the relationship between art and society. After attending this congress, Westerdahl went to Paris. There he met the most important personalities in the changing art scene after the Second World War.

From 1949 onwards, various artists with whom Westerdahl met, such as B. at the Primera Semana de Arte and at the Secunda Semana de Arte or artists for whose exhibitions in the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife he campaigned, works for the museum he planned.

The first permanent exhibition of contemporary art on the island of Tenerife and throughout Spain, the Sala Eduardo Westerdahl , was opened on March 28, 1953 in a room of the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias in Puerto de la Cruz . The Sala Eduardo Westerdahl showed 26 works by 12 artists from six countries.

In April 1954, a solo exhibition of the work of Maud Domínguez , wife of Óscar Domínguez , was organized by Eduardo Westerdahl at the Casino Principal de Santa Cruz de Tenerife . The political situation did not allow Óscar Domínguez to visit his homeland. Maud Domínguez came to Tenerife for the opening of the exhibition without her husband. On November 22, 1955, after further meetings in Barcelona, ​​Eduardo Westerdahl married Maud Bonneaud , divorced Domínguez, in Paris . On October 28, 1957, their son Hugo Bernardo Westerdahl Bonneaud was born.

In the following years, on trips to France, Germany, Italy and Portugal, Westerdahl met the most important avant-garde artists of the time on private visits and at various congresses. In 1972 he became a member of the cultural committee of the Chamber of Architects of the Canary Islands. In this position he took part in the preparation and implementation of the first international exhibition Sculpture on the Street ( Exposición Internacional de Escultura en la calle ) in 1973 . As part of this exhibition, sculptures a. A. by Andreu Alfaro , Martín Chirino , Óscar Domínguez , Amadeo Gabino , Josep Guinovart , Gottfried Honegger , Henry Moore , Joan Miró , Eduardo Paolozzi , Josep Maria Subirachs or Francisco Sobrino permanently installed on streets, public squares and in parks. A large part of the exhibits is due to Westerdahl's good relationships with the artists.

Eduardo Westerdahl died on January 29, 1983 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

During his active time, Eduardo Westerdahl repeatedly took photos. These were basically "souvenir photos". In this way, a considerable collection of very meaningful portraits had come together. They were very personal photos of almost all important personalities of avant-garde literature and fine arts and also of important personalities of the time such as B. Bertrand Russell present. This collection was published in 1992 in two volumes under the title "Eduardo Westerdahl - Escrito con Luz" (Eduardo Westerdahl, written with light) by the Canary Islands government. In 2005 there was an exhibition in memory of Maud and Eduardo Westerdahl.

Works

All publications are in Spanish unless otherwise stated

• Eduardo Westerdahl: Poemas de sol lleno . Hespérides, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1928, pp. 157 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Willi Baumeister . Gaceta de Arte, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1934, p. 39 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl, Domingo Lopez-Torres Translation from d. Chip. by Juan O. Glahn: The monograph Hans Tombrock: with an autobiographical introduction and 46 reproductions based on pictures by the artist . Reso, Zurich 1936, p. 60 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Mathias Goeritz . Ediciones Cobalto, Barcelona 1949, p. 58 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Luc Peire . Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos, Puerto de la Cruz 1953, p. 29 .
• Westerdahl, Eduardo: Will Faber . La Editora Nacional, Madrid 1957.
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Oscar Domínguez . Gustavo Gili, Barcelona 1968, p. 64 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: José Abad . Galerías Skira, Madrid 1969, p. 46 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Artigas o el amor a un tiempo denostado . Madrid; Palma de Mallorca 1972.
• Eduardo Westerdal: Dibujos de Jorge Lindell . Caja General de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1973, p. 47 (exhibition catalog).
• Eduardo Westerdahl: La escultura of Pablo Serrano . Poligrafía, Barcelona 1977, ISBN 84-343-0261-6 , p. 301 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Nazco . Servicio de Publicaciones del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Madrid 1977, ISBN 84-369-0175-4 , p. 81 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl, William Dyckes: Chirino: the AfroCán: [exposición, March 24th April 1979, Borgenicht Gallery, New York] . Taller ediciones JB, Madrid 1979, ISBN 84-7330-084-X , p. 80 (Spanish).
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Giraldo: el escultor Giraldo . Rayuela, Madrid 1979, ISBN 84-85253-42-6 , pp. 48 (Juan Antonio Giraldo).
• Eduardo Westerdahl: Manolo Millares . Mancomunidad de Cabildos, Plan cultural y Museo canario, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1980, ISBN 84-500-3515-5 , p. 46 .
• Domingo Pérez Minik, José-Miguel Ullán, Eduardo Westerdahl, Antonio Zaya: 2ª Exposición Surrealista en Canarias . Ministerio de Cultura, Delegación Provincial, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1981, p. 148 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl, Carlos E. Pinto: Gonzalo González . Servicio de Publicaciones de la Caja General de Ahorros, Santa Cruz de Tenenerife 1982, p. 85 (exhibition catalog).
• Eduardo Westerdahl, Antonio Bonet Correa and others: El surrealismo . Catedra: Universidad Menéndez Pelayo, Madrid 1983, ISBN 84-376-0408-7 , p. 230 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl, Domingo Pérez Minik, Juan Cruz Ruiz, Carlos A. Schwartz, Efraín Pintos: Esculturas en la calle: Santa Cruz de Tenerife . Consejería de Cultura y Deportes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1985, p. 82 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl, Domingo Pérez Minik: Gaceta de arte: 1932–1935 reedición . Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1989, ISBN 84-600-5304-0 (reprint of the magazine).
• Eduardo Westerdahl / Pilar Carreño Corbella: Viaje a Europa . Viceconsejería de Cultura y Deportes, Gobierno, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1996, ISBN 84-7947-139-5 , pp. 120 .
• Eduardo Westerdahl: La Aventura de Mirar . Publicaciones Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid 2005, ISBN 84-96286-06-1 , p. 264 .
• Manolo Millares, Eduardo Westerdahl: El artista y el crítico: Manolo Millares y Eduardo Westerdahl, correspondencia 1950–1969 . La Fábrica, Madrid 2011, ISBN 84-92841-79-6 .

literature

• Pilar Carreño Corbella: Eduardo Westerdahl: suma de la existencia . Instituto Óscar Domíngez de Arte y Cultura Contemporánea, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2002, ISBN 84-87340-63-6 , p. 205 .
• Emmanuel Guigon: Gaceta de Arte y su época. 1932-1936 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de Canarias, Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1977 (the book is an extensive reproduction of materials from an exhibition).
• Manuel Hernández González: Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias 1953-2002 . Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias, Puerto de la Cruz 2003, ISBN 84-607-6483-4 , p. 155 .
• Celestino Hernández Sánchez (Ed.): Colección de Arte del Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias . Editorial Gobierno de Canarias, ISBN 84-606-3139-7 .
• Emilio Sánchez-Ortiz: Eduardo Westerdahl - La Era de gaceta de arte . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de Canarias, 1992, ISBN 978-84-7947-025-8 , pp. 231 .
• Carmelo Vega, Maud Westerdahl (Ed.): Westerdahl: Escrito con Luz . tape 1 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1992, ISBN 84-7947-020-8 .
• Carmelo Vega, Maud Westerdahl (Ed.): Westerdahl: Escrito con Luz . tape 2 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1992, ISBN 84-7947-021-6 .

Web links

• Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Eduardo Westerdahl (MACEW). MACEW (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Eduardo Westerdahl), accessed December 22, 2014 (Spanish). 
• Juan Enrique Jiménez Fuentes: Gaceta de arte: revista internacional de cultura. (PDF) Retrieved March 30, 2012 (Spanish). 
• Murió Eduardo Westerdahl, crítico e impulsor del surrealismo en España. el pais, January 31, 1983, accessed March 16, 2012 (Spanish). 
• All issues of the Gaceta de Arte magazine can be viewed on the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria website .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Carmelo Vega, Maud Westerdahl Ed .: Westerdahl: Escrito con Luz . tape 2 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1992, ISBN 84-7947-021-6 , p. 342 (Spanish).
2. ^ Pilar Carreño Corbella: Eduardo Westerdahl . Ediciones del Umbral, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2002, ISBN 84-87340-63-6 , p. 124 (Spanish).
3. ↑ Carmelo Vega, Maud Westerdahl Ed .: Westerdahl: Escrito con Luz . tape 2 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1992, ISBN 84-7947-021-6 , p. 337 (Spanish, autobiography within a lecture).
4. ^ Pilar Carreño Corbella: Eduardo Westerdahl . Ediciones del Umbral, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2002, ISBN 84-87340-63-6 , p. 56 (Spanish).
5. ^ Jacob Ahlers: Tenerife and the other Canary Islands: Fuerteventura, Gomera, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote, El Hierro; Travel guide . Jacob Ahlers, 1925, p. 91 .
6. ↑ Eduardo Westerdahl: Poemas de sol lleno . Hespérides, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1928, pp. 157 .
7. ^ Pilar Carreño Corbella: Eduardo Westerdahl . Ediciones del Umbral, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2002, ISBN 84-87340-63-6 , p. 86 f . (Spanish).
8. ↑ Gaceta de arte no. 38 (PDF) May 1936, accessed April 16, 2012 . 
9. ^ Pilar Carreño Corbella: Eduardo Westerdahl . Ediciones del Umbral, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2002, ISBN 84-87340-63-6 , p. 117 (Spanish).
10. ^ Eduardo Westerdahl: Mathias Goeritz . Ediciones Cobalto, Barcelona 1949.
11. ^ Federico Castro Morales: El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Eduardo Westerdal . 1st edition. MACEW - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Gobierno de Canarias et al., Puerto de la Cruz MACEW - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo 2010, ISBN 978-84-613-7912-5 , p. 19 .
12. ^ Federico Castro Morales: El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Eduardo Westerdal . 1st edition. MACEW - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Gobierno de Canarias et al., Puerto de la Cruz MACEW - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo 2010, ISBN 978-84-613-7912-5 , p. 20 .
13. ↑ Esculturas en la calle. primera edición. (No longer available online.) Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Canarias, archived from the original on March 2, 2012 ; Retrieved April 22, 2012 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ Maud Westerdahl, Carmelo Vega: Eduardo Westerdahl Escrito con Luz 1 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes. Gobierno de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1992, ISBN 84-7947-020-8 .
15. ↑ Fernando Castro Borrego, Ángel Mollá Román: Eduardo y maud westerdahl: 2 miradas del siglo 20. 30 de juno de 2005 al 21 de agosto de 2005. (No longer available online.) Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno CAAM, 2005, archived from Original on June 21, 2012 ; Retrieved April 6, 2012 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Maud Westerdahl, Carmelo Vega: Eduardo Westerdahl Escrito con Luz 2 . Viceconsejeria de Cultura y Deportes. Gobierno de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1992, ISBN 84-7947-021-6 , pp.   357 .