Sagar: “Barcelona will always be a melting pot of artistic fervor”
It's impossible to talk with Sagar (Zaragoza, 1974) without ending up receiving a masterclass on urban art, graffiti, and the artistic scene of Barcelona. Not for nothing, he combines his projects as an illustrator and cartoonist with teaching at the Joso school of comics and visual arts. It's his passion, and he conveys it effortlessly, with simple words, with clear and relatable examples. That's why the lesson learned during an extensive conversation is the kind that opens the eyes of the listener and gives them a global perspective on something that, at first glance, seems as abstract as urban art.
Thus, approachable and instructive is the person in charge of designing the construction wall that surrounds the works at Fraternitat 5. It's in his blood since he left his native Aragon to come to Barcelona with a suitcase full of dreams. “AndI wanted to study Fine Arts, which wasn't available in Aragon. And at that time, in the mid-nineties, Barcelona was the world capital of design. That's why I came with the idea to study and then stay to work”. By chance, or perhaps destiny, before finishing his degree, he already managed to get a job at an animation studio where his first assignment was the design of an audiovisual for an opera by La Fura dels Baus.
It was during that time that he began to publish comics as a hobby. “It's a concern I've had since I was a child. I never stopped doing it and there came a time when I saw that I could make a living from it”. And it was in this way that Sagar became a celebrity in the world of illustration and comics. With all these credentials, his name was one of those that Norma Comics put on the table when the NN Wallery project by Núñez i Navarro was starting to take shape. And that even though the artist was not clear about it at first. “My first reaction was that I wanted nothing to do with it, not because it was Núñez i Navarro, but because the proposal came through an advertising agency (Chârles). I had worked many years in advertising and it's a very demanding job. It caught me at a time with a lot of work volume. Later, when I saw the project clearly, I was convinced and it has ended up being one of the best I have done”.
The key to changing his mind was the freedom he felt to create the mural that best suited his work. “From Norma, they conveyed to me that Núñez i Navarro wanted something personal of mine, in my style. That's why I focused on the Gràcia neighborhood. Although in the end, it's a way of getting to know Barcelona. One cannot be understood without the other”. Once the decision was made, the only thing left was to find the theme, and there, Sagar also had little doubt about the direction he would give to the work. “In recent years I have focused a lot on drawing music, so it was clear to me that the approach was going to be musical. When I knew that the mural would be in the Gràcia neighborhood, it became crystal clear because the neighborhood's own festivities would help me with a musical and urban approach that is accessible to everyone, a kind of music that you can encounter on the street”.
Thus, with Gràcia as a backdrop, the design of a traditional mural began, in which one can distinguish everyday scenes from the neighborhood, such as its festivals and terraces. Although for the artist, “the focus was on the people. The decorations are there to place, to set the scene, but the emphasis is on the people. If we removed that background and put another one from a different district of the city, the mural would still work the same”.
One of the scenes that stands out the most in his mural is a concert where the artists are the parents of rumba, Peret and el Pescaílla. “I lived in Gràcia and once, while walking, I discovered a plaque announcing that Pescaílla was born there. So rumba could not be absent” And like these, a whole host of comic and music icons appear in the different scenes, hidden among the audience, in a 'Where's Wally?' fashion. “The cartoonist Warren Ellis and musicians like Brett Anderson (Suede), Scott Walker, David Bowie, or Christina Rosenvinge”. Of all the stellar cameos, the most curious is that of Sagar himself, who, in a Hitchcockian manner, appears looking at the passersby on Carrer Fraternitat with his daughter on his shoulders. “I thought that if others could be in the scene, I could appear too. But I'm more excited about sharing it with my daughter than appearing myself.” As he himself witnessed while watching the graffiti artist Berockimplement his work on the wall, “people would pass by and stop to look. They were quite amazed to see the work. The feedback was very positive”.
Having completed the mural, and with the neighborhood's recognition, the work will remain on display until the construction is finished, around 2021-2022, and the wall is torn down. At that moment, Sagar's work will disappear, something that the artist himself accepts naturally. “I'm really not sad because I knew it from the beginning. Besides, I don't usually get attached to the works I create. In the end, everything is ephemeral”.
It is at that point in the conversation when the teacher within Sagar comes out, and there began a true masterclass on art, its future, and its mission. “We have been living in times where everything is so intense, impulsive, and fast that we are unable to take perspective, assess which path to take, know if there is a trend, and if it will prevail over the others. The most important thing is to create things that generate beauty”.
Also about the city that welcomed him and where he has developed as an illustrator. “Barcelona has always been a pivotal artistic hub at a European and global level. And it will always be a melting pot of artistic creation”. On this topic, he highlights the “democratization” of art and its emergence into the streets. “We no longer have to enter a museum to see it. Much of this change can be found in murals”, in line with what is currently happening in Rome, a true mirror to reflect upon. Especially in the field of graffiti. “A few years ago, it was something forbidden and pursued by the law. The gradual granting of permissions and the encouragement for people to create murals in the city is important. Fortunately, initiatives like NNWallery by Núñez i Navarro dignify the profession”.
