I recently had the pleasure of attending a dear friend’s beautiful wedding in sunny Spain. Before heading home I wanted to do what I always do when I’m in a new place: go to an old pub, visit a big castle or big church and seek out a museum. After ticking off the others, we headed to The Malaga Museum and spent an hour in the much needed air-conditioning and enjoyed the Spanish art and archaeological items on display. I initially thought I’d enjoy the art floor more but to my surprise it was the ancient pottery pieces on the second floor that really captured my interest.
There was the usual little pieces of flint, tiny fragments of tools and jewellery and then something caught my eye. Now brace yourself, this is riveting stuff: broken pots. Broken pots were the highlight of this visit and I’ll tell you the reasons why.
- They’re old. Like really old so that’s a good start.
- They were lovely shaped pots. Who doesn’t love a nice pot?
- They were broken at one stage, then (I’m sure, painstakingly) put back together but there was a few little gaps where some pieces were missing
The combination of the three above facts leaves us with this lovely composition of abstract shapes. Both the shapes of the fragments themselves, the size differences between them and the little gaps just made for a gorgeous overall appearance. It’s no surprise that I’d think this however, I draw these types of shapes all the time. But these are so much better. These shapes (although random in the way the pieces were broken) - have a past and a reason for being the way they are. These pots maybe once sat in a shop when togas were all the rage. Maybe a war happened and someone knocked it over in a struggle? Maybe the home it was in was abandoned and buried under dirt for a few hundred years and simply cracked under the pressure. Perhaps if I’d actually read the little card that historians cleverly place beside these things I’d have a better clue but I was too busy taking photographs to bother. So we’re stuck with my imagination for now.
Anyway, aren’t these lovely? These are definitely going into the inspiration bank for a future artwork!
