{"id":896,"date":"2020-07-17T04:07:01","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T02:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/?page_id=896"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:08:03","slug":"the-city-and-the-signs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/the-city-and-the-signs\/","title":{"rendered":"The city and the signs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row css_animation=&#8221;&#8221; row_type=&#8221;row&#8221; use_row_as_full_screen_section=&#8221;no&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; angled_section=&#8221;no&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; background_image_as_pattern=&#8221;without_pattern&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=&#8221;row&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; css_animation=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-896 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1-flue.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"881\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1-flue.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1-flue.jpg 900w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1-flue-300x294.jpg 300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1-flue-768x752.jpg 768w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1-flue-700x685.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-464'>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Flue<\/strong><br> Japanese porcelain plate,<br> Chinese cobalt blue underglaze, 1250 C.<br> 30 x 30 x 4 cm.<br> 2015<br> New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum Collection, Taiwan.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/2-birdhouse.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"998\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/2-birdhouse.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/2-birdhouse.jpg 700w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/2-birdhouse-210x300.jpg 210w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-465'>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>The Birdhouse<\/strong><br> Japanese porcelain wheel-thrown vase.<br> Chinese blue underglaze, 1250 C.<br> 67 x 21 cm diameter.<br> 2015<br> New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taiwan.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"772\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view-768x539.jpg 768w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view-1024x719.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3-another-view-700x491.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-466'>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Another view of Sheboygan City<\/strong><br> Porcelain stoneware.<br> black pigment overglaze.<br> 33 x 26 x 23 cm.<br> Kohler, Wisconsin, USA.<br> 2016\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4a-be-careful.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"1002\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4a-be-careful.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4a-be-careful.jpg 700w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4a-be-careful-210x300.jpg 210w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"922\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful-768x644.jpg 768w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful-1024x858.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/4-be-careful-700x587.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-468'>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Be careful what you wish for\u2026<\/strong><br> Porcelain stoneware toilet, cobalt blue over white glaze.<br> 71 x 70 x 45 cm.<br> Kohler, Wisconsin, USA.<br> 2016<br> Contemporary Art Collection of the Generalitat Valenciana. Spain.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1300\" height=\"867\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-Ive-got-toothache-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1300\" height=\"867\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5a-Ive-got-toothache-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-469'>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>I\u2019ve Got Toothache<\/strong><br> Sink<br> Black pigment on transparent glaze on porcelain stoneware.<br> 43 x 48 x 15 cm.<br> Kohler, Wisconsin, USA<br> 2016<br> Private Collection\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/6-Marcel-Duchamp-still-pissing.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\" src=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/6-Marcel-Duchamp-still-pissing.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/6-Marcel-Duchamp-still-pissing.jpg 700w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/6-Marcel-Duchamp-still-pissing-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/6-Marcel-Duchamp-still-pissing-683x1024.jpg 683w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-471'>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Marcel Duchamp Still Pissing<\/strong><br> Urinal<br> Black pigment on white glaze on porcelain stoneware.<br> 75 x 38 x 51 cm.<br> Kohler, Wisconsin, USA<br> 2016\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text]\u201cUp to a certain point it corresponds to landscape-symbolism in general, of which it forms one representational aspect, embracing the important symbols of level and space, that is, height and situation. With the dawning of history there arose, according to Ren\u00e9 Gu\u00e9non, a true, \u201cSacred geography\u201d and the position, shape, doors and gates, and general disposition of a city with its temples and acropolis were never arbitrary or fortuitous, or merely utilitarian. In fact, cities were planned in strict accord with the dictates of a particular doctrine; hence the city became a symbol of that doctrine and of the society which upheld it The Old Testament speaks of cities as women\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Juan-Eduardo Cirlot<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>A dictionary of symbols<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">[vc_separator type=&#8217;transparent&#8217; position=&#8217;center&#8217; color=&#8221; thickness=&#8221; up=&#8217;20&#8217; down=&#8217;20&#8217;]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is the city today, for us? I believe that I have written something like a last love poem addressed to the city, at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to live there. It looks, in-deed, as if we are approaching a period of crisis in urban life; and Invisible Cities is like a dream born out of the heart of the unlivable cities we know. Nowadays people talk with equal insistence of the destruction of the natural environment and of the fragility of the<br \/>\nlarge-scale technological systems (which may cause a sort of chain reaction of breakdowns, paralyzing entire metropolises).<\/p>\n<p>The crisis of the overgrown city is the other side of the crisis of the natural world. The image of \u201cmegalopolis\u201d the unending, undifferentiated city which is steadily covering the surface of the earth. The most important thing is to find the hidden reasons which bring men to live in cities: reasons which remain valid over and above any crisis. A city is a combination of many things: memory, desires, signs of a language; it is a place of exchange, these exchanges are not just trade in goods, they also involve words, desires, and memories\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Italo Calvino<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Invisible cities<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>[vc_separator type=&#8217;small&#8217; position=&#8217;center&#8217; color=&#8217;#ccc&#8217; thickness=&#8221; up=&#8217;30&#8217; down=&#8217;30&#8217;]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The City and the Signs includes a part of work in ceramics and drawings on paper, in which, once again, the focus is placed on the city and its symbolism. These are narratives about a saturated, controlled, anaesthetised, chaotic and threatening city that envelops isolated and lost characters in a tangle of paths with no specific destination.[vc_separator type=&#8217;transparent&#8217; position=&#8217;center&#8217; color=&#8221; thickness=&#8221; up=&#8221; down=&#8221;]<br \/>\nRefected structures, in cobalt blue or black pigment on white paste, delimit a concrete yet unfathomable space, and present the city as a disturbing element and refection of the society that has procreated it, resulting in an undefined planimetry, always at the service of a Power that does not inhabit it, but remains hidden behind vibrant screens on impersonal buildings. Perhaps only the image of a sparkling lighthouse tries, as a beacon, to mark an encouraging route within this topography of chaos.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row css_animation=&#8221;&#8221; row_type=&#8221;row&#8221; use_row_as_full_screen_section=&#8221;no&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; angled_section=&#8221;no&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; background_image_as_pattern=&#8221;without_pattern&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=&#8221;row&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; css_animation=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;] [\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text]\u201cUp to a certain point it corresponds to landscape-symbolism in general, of which it forms one representational aspect, embracing the important symbols of level and space, that is, height and situation&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-896","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2010,"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/896\/revisions\/2010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xaviermonsalvatje.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}