Every work of art, (concept, film, play, novel, painting, sculpture, etc…), has a door behind which the secrets of that world and its yearnings seek to be realized. When Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the block of stone and carved until I set him free”, he was talking about that same mystery that each creative is trying to discover.
In every discipline of art there is a unique approach to unveiling the light that resides in everything and everyone.
As I walked through the streets of La Cuarta Sección I began to see the key turn in that rusty old lock that had not been budged in years. La Cuarta Sección is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Mendoza; near the center of the original town settled by the Spanish. There is a sense that this “barrio”, left in ruin, is about to undergo mayor reconstruction; but as of right now it still holds many of the memories of a time when freedom of thought and speech were only dreams. Many of the houses are locked up and deserted. Many doors sealed, never to be reopened, as if there are some memories that are too painful to ever let see the light of day again.
As I explored I began to imagine the characters from the novel running through these same streets; chased by soldiers, hiding in the shadows… Many of the locations in the novel still stand and some have been demolished; taking with them the life that it’s author gave them and leaving behind an echo of their once mysterious existence. As I ventured further into the heart of this displaced world, women and little dogs peeked there heads out from doors and windows almost daring me to continue my expedition. To some of these oddities Daniel Fermani would remark, “There is one of the characters from La Última Noche…” I was instantly transported… It is as if much of the fear and distrust created by a unfeeling dictatorship still resounds in these people decades later.
There is a second world that exists is Mendoza; the world of the writer…
The house hedged by a secret garden allows few to enter and once inside the atmosphere is enlivening. Upon entering the house I looked around and felt as if this was a house that I already inhabited. Trinkets, statues, art work from his travels around the world decorate his sanctum of creative. (Anyone who knows me, knows that I collect and garnish my dwellings with the same type of ornaments. He didn’t have any skulls though…) Staying here has created a dreamscape that I have never experienced, further animating the novel and its universe.
There are many attempted explanations for the creative spark: I feel I can only offer a brief and dim representation of what my true creator, God, has given to this world. Unlocking the full potential of what is inside would mean fully living in what has been given to me… Press into the divine. Swim in His pools of inspiration and be enriched.