The Germanías Auditorium hosted yesterday the premiere of the documentary “Luz Mudéjar: the art that illuminates the world” by David Segarra and Víctor Serna with original music by Efrén López. This production, financed by the Diputación de Valencia, reviews Mudejar art and especially its ceramics throughout Valencia.
In the words of the councillor for Culture and Promotion of Ceramics of our City Council, Xavier Morant, “the premiere of this documentary could not take place in any other place than Manises, a UNESCO Creative City for the past year and the birthplace of lustre ceramics”. “It is a high-quality production that reflects the Mudejar influence through architecture and ceramics in the Valencian country,” added Morant.
The deputy for Culture, Xavier Rius, wanted to join in the premiere. In his own words, “it was necessary to make an explicit recognition of the great influence of Mudejar culture on us. Many of the cultural, heritage and landscape elements are a direct legacy of the cultural exchange and hybridisation that took place here. The authors have managed to capture this spirit in a delightful way”.
A hymn to the crossing of cultures
Luz Mudéjar is a journey by the hand of artists and historians through an unknown and extraordinary Valencian territory. In times like ours, the light of art and knowledge is more necessary than ever. Luz Mudéjar is a documentary to discover the Valencian Mudejar legacy.
Valencian ceramics occupy spaces in museums and art history books all over the world. In the Metropolitan Museum in New York alone, there are hundreds of references to ceramics. This phenomenon is reproduced in books on Islamic art. Most of them are lustre-painted ceramics. A technique of Arab-Andalusian origin but made during the Gothic period in the Kingdom of Valencia. They were already admired and exported throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. This style was born in Persia and Iraq, and from there it reached Malaga, where the seedlings were planted and flourished in the lands of Valencia. But if Mudejar ceramics are recognised throughout the world, how is it that we know so little about them? Who knows that it was from Xàtiva that paper from China was introduced throughout Europe? And even more marvellous, how is it possible that five hundred years later Mudejar ceramics are still being produced? And in architecture, what influence has it left?
We are heirs to the peoples and cultures that have inhabited these lands: Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, Amazics, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Mudejar art fused these influences to create one of the most sublime and universal cultural expressions of humanity.
Here is the link to the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9tE29fDFhI
