Lio Messi: Els fragments de Barcelona
A series of tribute artworks for Lionel Messi, the city, and FC Barcelona. Created following the concept of the Trencadís mosaic technique introduced by Antoni Gaudí and other Catalan artists.
Title: Lio Messi: The fragments of Barcelona (in Catalan)
A personal project. Studies on Trencadís, pique assiette, and mosaics.
A tribute to Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini, the city, and FC Barcelona.
Barcelona. What a city! Full of art, full of passion, full of beauty.
I have many personal reasons to love the Catalan capital. But personal motives aside, as an artist with a long-standing and serious passion for mosaics, I couldn't ignore Barcelona's immense contribution to our art form. So I have decided to dedicate some serious time to studying the heritage of Antoni Gaudí, Josep Maria Jujol, and many others. I have mainly focused on the Trencadís technique. Trencadís means "brittle" in Catalan, and it's a type of mosaic used in Catalan modernism, made from broken tile shards. Gaudí used ceramic tiles as well as broken pieces of dinnerware to decorate his incredible works.
The technique is also called pique assiette. In French, this means "one who eats from others' plates". I really love this phrase and this concept. Art is nothing but the reuse of elements from nature or others' creativity to create beauty, communicate messages, or express ideas. And I find that artists like Gaudí have found the perfect balance between the natural and the artificial, the traditional and the modern, the old and the new, the local and the international. This is why their art has so much to teach us.
I have chosen Messi as the main figure for my studies with Trencadis. I believe that sports, especially at the level of Messi, are probably another art form. Athletes like Messi are also performers, actors, and dancers. And their actions are not limited to football only. They go beyond sports to politics, social issues, arts...
Why Messi, an Argentinian, as a symbol for Barcelona? Because this guy is a proud Argentinian, but at the same time, he is also a son of Barcelona. His life is so much attached to the city and its team. I also believe that frontiers and barriers seem totally clueless when it comes to geniuses like him. They belong to the places they love and have chosen to live and create. So Messi is Argentinian, Spanish, and Italian (his family immigrated to Argentina from Ancona), among others. He makes people happy and passionate all around the world, just as Gaudí's art and ours do.
So here are the first 8 mosaics I created as a tribute to Lio Messi, the city, and FC Barcelona. The funny thing is that I am a Real Madrid and a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. But I also believe that if you love sports and art, you can't help but admire what Leo Messi and his teammates have achieved over the last 10 years.
Lionel Messi: Per a vostè (Lionel Messi: For you)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (8334 x 11000 pixels)
Lionel Messi: El poder i el cervell (Lionel Messi: The power and the brain)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (14431 x 10000 pixels)
Lionel Messi: És un bell dia (Lionel Messi: It's a beautiful day)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (20000 x 24545 pixels)
Lionel Messi: Sota el sol Català (Lionel Messi: Under the Catalan sun)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (11000 x 16025 pixels)
Lionel Messi: Trenca les regles (Lionel Messi: Break the rules)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (8609 x 11000 pixels)
Lionel Messi: El somriure (Lionel Messi: The smile)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (7784 x 10500 pixels)
Lionel Messi: La passió, el pecat i el miracle (Lionel Messi: The passion, the sin and the miracle)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (10498 x 14000 pixels)
Lionel Messi: La brúixola (Lionel Messi: The compass)
Click to enlarge | High resolution file here (18000 x 24632 pixels)
The details:
These artworks are created to be viewed in very large sizes. You can click the photos to see them larger, or find the very high-resolution versions in the captions above. You can download and print them for your personal use, but please don't use them in any commercial project. I believe this isn't right without my permission, and without the permission of Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, and other copyright holders.
Here you can see some details:
Credits:
Made with custom-developed scripts, hacks, and lots of love, using my Mac, Studio Artist, the Adobe Creative Suite, and good Spanish music.
Lionel Messi's portraits are partially based on photos by AGIF, Christian Bertrand, Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley, Maxisport, and Photo Works (Shutterstock).
Ceramic tiles, fragments from dinnerware, and azulejo paintings from hundreds of artists have been used. I have used parts from pieces from all over Spain and the Iberian Peninsula. Many parts of Gaudí's Park Güell mosaics have also been used. Unfortunately, it's impossible to credit all the photographers and artists, but I am really grateful for their work.
Copyright:
These artworks are created by Charis Tsevis and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) scheme. Please read the CC license. You can download, print, and enjoy them for personal use, but you have to give me credit, and you can't use them for any commercial project.
This is just a personal project and is not affiliated with Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, Nike, Adidas, or any other respected brand.
