Jorge Artajo

Jorge Artajo Muruzabal (October 14, 1952 - ) was born in Sádaba, (Zaragoza), Spain. Painter, poet, draftsman, writer, performer and social activist. He currently lives in Madrid working as editor in chief at Canal + Spain TV channel.

Biography

His works and life have been deeply marked by the place where he was born. Sádaba (Zaragoza) is a little medieval Spanish village of narrow and dark streets with old stone houses deteriorated by dampness and hard winds, located in the middle of a dramatic plain dry land with no trees, but full of huge cereal fields broken here and there for some little characteristic hills of the nearby desert of Los Monegros. The harsh landscape and weather with heavy cold winters and extremely hot summers with its usual plague of flies, mosquitoes and horseflies, and also the ever present Catholic culture that ruled all social activities have made him a not beating around the bush person, but clear and direct, which sometimes make him to be not so much political correct in his work.

Graduate in Media Studies and Communications by the Complutense University (Universidad Complutense) in Madrid. He was arrested several times in 1970 and 1972 during Franco's dictatorship (dictadura franquista) when demonstrating in several campaigns against political repression and for Amnesty and Freedom, and was confined from several months at the Carabanchel prison (cárcel de Carabanchel) in Madrid. There he met the Proceso 1001 ten: Ten labour unionist leaders who dared to confront the fascist regime asking for working class people rights: Pedro Santiesteban, Marcelino Camacho, Juan Muñiz Zapico “Juanín”, Fernando Soto, Nicolas Sartorius, Eduardo Saborido, Francisco G. Salve, Miguel Ángel Zamora, Francisco Acosta, Luis Fernández. All of them become his role models for life. As a painter and draftsman he has a great diversity of themes and stiles: From naïve and colourful paintings full of joyful comic like characters that he used to display at galleries, bars, cafés, restaurants or clubs of social and humanitarian organizations or in children’s books, to very dark drawings here he shows his nightmares, fears, hopes and frustrations, usually published in journals, magazines or in adult books or artist books.

Sex and sexuality is a constant in his work that has been influenced by a wide range of artistic trends and artists or intellectuals so mixed as Georges Bataille or Yoko Ono; Louisa May Alcott or Antonin Artaud; Jean Michel Basquiat or Elisabeth Louise Vigée Lebrun; Marosa di Giorgio or Walt Whitman; Allan Hollinghurst or Jane Austen.; Nazario or Little Lulu comics.

Illustrated books

*" Máscaras, Imágenes, proverbios y palabras". Carlos Roriguez. 1974.
*" De qué va la alimentación natural". Rosa Sola Franch . 1977 Ediciones La Piqueta, dirigida por Juan Pablo Silvestre* [http://www.rtve.es/rne/r3/pr/mundobabel/mundobabel.htm]
*" Somnis". Comediants . 1987 Editorial Aliorna
*" La Nit ". Comediants . 1987 Edicions de L’Eixample
*" Prendas íntimas ". Ana Rossetti . 1989 Ediciones Temas de Hoy
*" Virgo Potens ". Ana Rossetti. 1989. Ediciones El Gato Gris* [http://www.elgatogris.com/]
*" La aventura de Sir Karel de Nortumbria ". Manuel Alfonseca. 1990 Espasa Calpe
*" La noche no es hermosa ". Terenci Moix . 1994 Espasa Calpe
*" Las bodas reales ". Ana Rossetti. 2006. Edicions Bellaterra* [http://www.ed-bellaterra.com/]
*" Buenos días Sr. Hoy ". Ana Rossetti. 2007. Editorial Kókinos* [http://www.editorialkokinos.com/]

Book covers

*" Punto umbrío ". Ana Rossetti. 1995 Hiperión.
*" P/Herversions: Critical Studies of Ana Rossetti ". Jill Robbins. 2004. Bucknell
*" Teoría práctica del proceso creativo ". Silvia Sauter. 2007. Iberoamericana lbros y ed. Sl.
*" Soc Llegenda ". Richard Matheson. 1988. Laertes, S.A. de ediciones
*" Historias fantásticas ". Stephen King. 1990. Cículo de lectores
*" La danza de la muerte ". Stephen King. 1990. Círculo de lectores
*" El hijo de la noche infinita ". John Farris. 1990 Círculo de lectores
*" La veu melodiosa ". Montserrat Roig. 1990. Círculo de lectores
*" Editorial Empúries. Barcelona.

Poems

*" Van Gogh’s Ear " (France/USA) 2005 * [http://www.frenchcx.com/press/vge_5.html]
*" Mein heimliches Auge " (Germany) 2006 * [http://www.konkursbuch.com/html/auge.html]
*" Fósforo " (Spain) 2004 * [http://www.revistafosforo.com/jorgeartajo.htm] digital magazine directed by Gonzalo Escarpa* [http://www.escarpa.net/]
*" Flies and Flights" (Finland) 2001. Edited by Sari Gurney to * [http://www.http://www.a-i-u.net/]
*" Medios Revueltos " (Spain) 1980, directed by Felipe Hernández Cava* [http://www.tebeosfera.com/Documento/Entrevista/Cava/FelipeH.htm]
*" Writings on the Wall " For the RikArt artist books collection * [http://rikart.lib.hel.fi/en-GB/WorkOfArt/?WorkOfArtID=177] at the Rikhardinkatu Library * [http://www.lib.hel.fi/en-GB/rikhardinkatu/] in Helsinki (Finland) 2004 ]

hows and exhibitions

*" COGAM " . Madrid
*" Librería Berkana ". Madrid* [http://www.libreriaberkana.com/]
*" Librería Antinous ". Barcelona* [http://antinouslibros.com/catalog/]
*" Galería Ob-Art ". Barcelona* [http://www.ob-art.com/]
*" Axel Hotel ". Barcelona
*" Colegio Mayor Pio XII " Madrid
*" Colegio Mayor San Juan Evangelista ", Madrid
*" Cárcel de Carabanchel ". Madrid
*" Galería sobre el pont ". Montgat (Barcelona)
*" La Casa de la Puntxa ". Tiana (Barcelona)
*" Teatre Lliure ". Barcelona
*" IsReal Gallery " Nutopia
*" Restaurante El armario ". Madrid
*" Bar Moderno ". Madrid.
*" Bar El pobre Gaspar ". Madrid
*" Auditorio de la FNAC " Callao Madrid
*" Auditorio de la FNAC" Plaza Catalunya Barcelona
*" Cafeteria D4 "
*" Circo de pulgas " Madrid* [http://www.revistafosforo.com/cdp/]
*" La Dinamo " Madrid* [http://www.ladinamo.org/]
*" Librería El bandido doblemente armado ". Madrid* [http://www.elbandidodoblementearmado.com/]
*" Librería Panta Rhei "* [http://www.panta-rhei.es/]

Performances

*" Virgo Potens y las ánimas" (Virgo Potens and the souls). With Ana Rossetti
*" La búsqueda de Diógenes nos 1 y 2 (Diogenes Search # 1 & 2)
*" Retales’’ (Remnants)
*" Gritar tu nombre" (Screaming your Name)
*" Plazos de entrega" (Delivery Term)
*" El último viaje" (The Last Trip)
*" Piloto automático" (Autopilot)
*" Tránsito" (Transit)

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/jorgeartajo Jorge Artajo in myspace]
* [http://www.ed-bellaterra.com/ Editorial Bellaterra]
* [http://www.editorialkokinos.com/ Editorial Kókinos]
* [http://www.a-i-u.net/ Web site with all Yoko Ono mastered by Sari Gurney]
* [http://rikart.lib.hel.fi/en-GB/WorkOfArt/?WorkOfArtID=177 Obra Writings on the Wall en la Rikhardinkatu Library de Helsinki]