France/In Beaucouzé, artist Botero Pop honors 25 years of twinning with a monumental fresco

The town of Beaucouzé (Maine-et-Loire) and the Comité d'Echanges et de Jumelage (CEJ) have announced a rich and varied Ascension weekend in honor of their friends from Selb (Bavaria). A monumental fresco by artist Botero Pop at the Aubineau complex was inaugurated.

Selb, a town of 15,000 inhabitants famous for its porcelain, is located just a few kilometers from the Czech border. Since the twinning agreement was signed in 2001, Beaucouzé (Maine-et-Loire) and the Bavarian town have been working hand in hand. A quarter of a century of encounters, discoveries and links forged far beyond borders, as Nadège Blon, deputy town councillor for associations and sports, reminded us when unveiling the monumental fresco created by artist Botero Pop at the Aubineau complex on Friday. This fresco, which establishes a visual dialogue between Beaucouzé and Selb, carries a strong, legible and shared meaning: it inscribes the twinning into the daily lives of local residents, as a living, contemporary reality, not a frozen memory," she adds: "Beyond that, it is a lasting sign of our commitment to a Europe united in diversity, to exchanges that transcend borders, and to a culture that brings together all generations.

A strong symbol that marks the longevity of this twinning: by calling on Angevin street-artist Botero Pop, the former municipal team highlighted his easily identifiable graphic universe, based on clear, simple, uncluttered lines and a visual language accessible to all. Mindful of the overall coherence of the project, the artist was fully committed to it. He didn't just respond to an artistic commission," says the deputy. He carried out specific research into the history of the twinning, the town of Selb and the cultural ambitions of the town of Beaucouzé.

A long hat, two arms, two spindly legs

Botero Pop's graphic universe embodies universality in his art. My little character is neither man nor woman, young nor old.

He drew this odd fellow in the margins of his notebooks when he was a child. He named him Botero, in homage to the painter Fernando Botero. One day, I realized that, depending on the accessories I drew for him, his identity was different, that by a simple detail, this little man could revive our collective unconscious. Since his creation, Botero Pop has explored new universes, and his character has been declined in over 500 different versions. The idea is to make art accessible to as many people as possible, without the need to enter a museum or gallery. It's essential. You can even find it on postcards. For this particular fresco, Botero Pop took as his starting point a German work, The Traveler Contemplating a Sea of Clouds by Caspar David Friedrich.

I reworked it in my own way, adding three rainbows in a nod to the ones that adorn the porcelain museum building in Selb, and as a symbol of the strong link between the two cities. We can't see the character's face, but we can see him as cheerful or melancholy, depending on our mood. Through minimalism, we can go very far in the symbols and ultimately find many levels of interpretation.

Source: www.ouest-france.fr/