Hernandez, Jo Farb

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San Jose State UniversitySJSU ScholarWorksFaculty Publications Art and Art History & Design Departments10-1-2002Josep Pujiula i VilaJo Farb HernandezSan Jose State University, Jo.Hernandez@sjsu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pubThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Art and Art History & Design Departments at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been acceptedfor inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contactscholarworks@sjsu.edu.Recommended CitationJo Farb Hernandez. "Josep Pujiula i Vila" Raw Vision (2002): 24-29.Jo Forb Hernandez follows the •cor,struct1on and dismantling of Josep Puiiula i Vila's labyrinthine cabins For almost twenty years, a 5pectacular art environment had been rising alongside o curve in the shallow Fluvi6 river in northwestern Catalunya, Spain. Nestled among the medieval villages of La Gorroxta, this fantastic sprawling construction at once harmonized and collided with the well-worn stones, deep valleys, and verdant volcanic landscape of the local surroundings. locally known as a 'wild park' (pare salvotge} or 'wild village' (poblat salvatge), the seven soaring towers, innumerable bridges, shelters, and walkways, and, above all, a labyrinth, 1.5 kilometers long, had all been created by the labor of Josep HHSTft flPupula 1 Vila. The entire intricate construction covered more than one hectare of UlTimO PHLO! land, and the towers soared some 30 meters high, iauntily copped by Catalan flags and banners. \t had been on unaffected open-air sanctuary, a devilishly enioyable maze, the 'Sagrada Familia of Art Brut,' in on appropriate aesthetic and conceptual reference to one of Spain's most recognizable architectural treasures, Barcelona's cathedral, designed by MMFPFS? M Antoni Gaudi Yet on June I 8, 2002, www,croi,Org/amicacabanes Puiiu\a began the process of dismantling his work, the re5u\t of a meeting held the week before with representatives of the Genera\itat of Catolunya and the mayor of Argelaguer, the owner of the land upon which Pujiula had - illegally - built his masterpiece The mayor and his family were concerned about public safety, particularly the possibility of visitors being hurt while climbing on the structures. Puiiulo's wife and daughter shared these concerns The provincial government's Department of Public Works (MOPU) has also been improving the infrastructure of roods and public buildings throughout the region, and it determined that Notional Route 260 must be slightly rerouted and widened to eliminate a dangerous curve. Not coincidentally, it will be rerouted directly through Puiiulo's environment, thus necessitating its demolition. opposite AI the meeting officially confirming the directive to dismantle the monument, there was some discussion about the possibility of preservation. However, this option has been ieopardized by the Department of the Environment's interest in protecting the forested area around the river, and by the electrical company's high-tension wires that stretch across the site. Further complicating any such effort, Pujiula could not visualize his work without public participation and interaction; he did not want a fence around it with people viewing it from afar. ln the end, preservation seemed unattainable. With an almost visceral understanding that it would ultimately be impossible to fight and win the battle with the authorities for th.e right to preserve his work, Pujiula has taken up the simple tools he used for creation and has turned them to destruction. It was an adventure creating the work, he says philosophically but sadly; so too it is an adventure taking it down. And although it is rare for creators of monumental environments to conceptualize the entirety of their labors in advance -Pupula being no exception ­he nevertheless laments that if only he hod had another eighteen months, a full and finished 'installation' would hove been completed. Unlike other similar artists who hove constructed their monuments to retell local histories, comment on social or political issues, or glorify religious beliefs, Pupula had no initial intent other than to entertain himself and occupy his free lime. Born May 31, 1937, Pupula wos a metal turner by vocation, working fifty hours o week in a local factory. Married and with a daughter by his late twenties, he was always looking for more excitement and entertainment, although he couched these desires in terms of something he could 'profit by doing.' By this he did not mean something that would bring him monetary rewords, but rather something Vie..,· lrarn ,,,uthwe~t of 1tru~"''" bilowtng 'emo~al oi htghest tower levels, Augu'l \5, 2002 above Posted on~ou~cen'"'"' ,11 >ile 'Ne w,\1 f,ght th'·' demolitton "Unt.l the lo>l Stick! RV/40•24 •1ng ming the here was bility of 1as been of the ~ forested electrical ch across ch effort, out public Jl want a it with :rom afar. ~servation e. almost ing that it ly be and win Julhorities ~serve his taken up ~ used for rned them was an the work, >ophicolly oo it is aking it ugh it is 1tors of nments to ~ntirety of dvance ­<caption ­had hod l finished d. tho have tell local issues, or no initial 1d occupy ula was a y hours a 1d with a JS always trlainment, 1 terms of By this he uld bring something below, left to right Cine of the fll'"'Y 'dead end' unctu"" "'the ·oby<l<dh. ''"'1"'9 df '' •n1J l,.,vel loC)·«<llh deoa end': •hree··evel covert>cl uby• '"tl, that would be edifying for him, and, perhaps, his family, friends, and community as well. His earliest projects were not architectural or sculptural at all, but involved the creation of a variety of vehicles, including on amphibious Vespa that he could use on land or for floating down the shallow Fluvi6 river. He particularly enjoyed one special area near the river, near the 'Con Sis Rals' spring, where he had fished and swum as a child. Although this property was not his, he decided he would dam up the spring (with earth, cement, rocks, sticks, and a removable metal cap) in order to hove a deeper swimming hole. Ignoring the fact that he was trespassing, he mulled over potential improvements to the area and decided that ducks would add to the charm. But he knew that the ducks would need protection from their natural predators, so he decided to make his first little structure, scavenging wood from the surrounding area and, without sketches, plans, models, or permits, began building a little shed. He then decided it would be nice to have other animals there; within several years he'd added a goal, burros, pigeons, chickens, geese, doves, quail, partridges, and more. Each animal needed its own enclosure, and Pujiula continued to build. Soon the growing number and size of the 'cabins' could be seen from the road, and he began to achieve a degree of local renown. 'It's iust my hobby,' he said, 'It pleased me that so many people came, because they liked it and I saw that they found it good ... it pleased me to keep constructing and to never stop, and people would donate things to me that I could always use.' As more and more people began to visit the pork, Pujiula started constructing new amenities specifically for the visitors. He added 'houses/ decks, picnic areas, 'hammocks,' diving boards, and more, all from scavenged materials. The visitors' enjoyment of his efforts motivated him to continue to build. Yet along with the increased attendance come associated problems. By the mid-1980s, he began to find garbage left over from people's picnics, along with be~r bottles and, more disturbingly, syringes and even human feces, left in the middle of the rood. His retreat became a draw for 'undesirables' and vagrants who freely indulged in extended orgies of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Pujiula calculated that over time, more than 300 visitors spent the night in his house without his permission. He realized that, unless he was somehow able to screen out the miscreants, he would be spending all his time policing the area. Although he stressed that he doesn't really care whot people do, he was upset when his work was destroyed: some of the vagrants were ripping apart his structures to use the wood to build bonfires. His problems were exacerbated when he was required to demolish the large three­story house that he'd buih because it came too dose to the high tension wires stretched high over the park. Frustrated and disappointed, he swore he would add no further improvements. Despite these vows, eight days after he finished the demolition of his house, Puiiula began to work again. He decided to make a tunnel between the hedges to help him get to the area where he hod earlier hidden his amphibious Vespa. He gathered long, slim branches of hazelnut, acacia, and willow, bending them and linking them with wires. As the hedge continued to grow up over the entwined branches, it covered the construction and formed a tunnel He then realized that he could use this technique to help protect his towers from the vagrants. He reasoned that if he made it more difficult for these undesirables to climb the towers, they wouldn't make the effort, and they would go somewhere else to party. He would build a labyrinth with a single entrance and a single exit to get to the heights. He rather feverishly began adding 'tunnels,' actually woven passageways created by the flexible, curved slender branches of the stream-fed saplings. each completely enclosed and tightly wired to its neighbors. Although most of the paths within the labyrinth are so low that an ordinary-sized adult must crouch over to pass through, in others one can pass fully upright, a result of the wearing down of the pathway after many years of footsteps, or from Pujiula's later work with a pick and shovel to deepen the path and facilitate passage. The labyr-inth is complexly intertwined, yet because of the openness of the construction, one con see contiguous pathways, as well as nearby bridges or stairs. The convoluted and intricate nature of the construction, however, often prevents one from figuring out haw to reach or approach even adjacent points. The cage·like warrens twist and turn back on themselves, dead-end, or force one up or down ladders and through doorways, folding back on themselves and making it easy to get lost. As he had predicted, 'normal' people really enjoyed the challenge of making it mare difficult to reach the towers (only about one in twenty were able Ia do so), end the druggies didn't have the inclination to exert that much energy to find the right access path. (Pujiulo himself hod his own secret way of climbing to the lop, so that he didn't need to pass through the labyrinth in order to reach the towers.) With his towers more secured by the obstacle of the labyrinth, he returned once more to the heights, building a fifth, sixth, and seventh tower. Covered walkways were constructed at a height of some 20-25 meters Ia provide access between the highest points, and the towers were ornamented and finessed with found objects and gifts. The entire structure rose high above the supporting trees. providing a fine view of the surrounding foothills of the Pyrenees. And despite the inherently ephemeral nature of woad, the acacia branches remained strong. even those that had been in the mountains' winds, rain, sun, and occasionally even snow for almost thirty years. Pujiula's structures were sturdily built, and as he climbed through his work doily, he was always pushing and prodding it. checking for weakness and decay. If he detected problems, he returned later to odd reinforcements for strength and support. As 1 write, Pujiula is working every day to dismantle the structure. He started with only his hand-saw, wire clippers, and hammer, but soon he brought a pick­axe and chain sow to speed up the process. Because of the rising opposition from below left E'"'"'" ,,Je cf ·he fnbYrrnlh below right lnlennr v ew lh·cuqh (1 !''-''''-":=!"' ,~f rhe lnb·vr n•h obove Pujiula ren opposite lower PlOrt visitors being er that at !1 will be c A the WO\ decks, c below. F the main on his b had core but it ha still comE cut dow structure dismantlt 'discards not prevE continuin Pupula "' when mo quits, not wanting 1 he losses An the Amic cabins ­demolifio obove Pujiulo removong deb"s from towl!'rs to bon/or"' 11!1!'. opposite Lowl!'r north side of ~tructure prior to any demolition, June 2002. All pho•os Jo Forb Hernandez visitors internationally to the demolition, he is being careful to dismantle it 'gracefully,' hoping that at least some portion of his monumental work will be able to be saved. As he cuts, he tosses the large sections of the woven wooden labyrinth, the towers, the decks, and ladders over the side to the ravine below. from there, he drags them by hand up to the main level, pulling, dragging, or carrying them on his back. The first week of the demolition he hod cordoned off the area with plastic police tape, but it had no effect on the legions of visitors who still come to the site daily. As more sections were cut down, he began to encircle the remaining structure with a new fence built from the dismantled pieces. However, even this fence of 'disr::ards,' some 6-8 feet high in some places, is not preventing visitors from entering the area and continuing to climb into or onto the structure. Pujiula works early in the morning. By midday, when most visitors or passersby begin to arrive, he quits, not wanting to police the area, but also not wanting to have to worry about hitt"tng a visitor as he tosses the pieces below. An ad-hoc organization has been formed, the Amics de les Cabanes - the friends of the cabins - with a new website to advertise the demolition and request international support for opposition to the removal of Pujiula's work: www.crol.org/amicscobanes. We hove solicited and are receiving letters voicing opposition to the destruction from all over the world, and these ore being forwarded to the authorities in the regional provincial capitol of Girono, as well as to the village mayor. Yet despite this attention, it is unlikely that this spectacular structure will be saved, resulting in the loss of yet another graceful and idiosyncratic artistic treasure of international importance. Pujiula's masterpiece at the Font de Can Sis Rals was at least partially inspired by public response to his work; how ironic that the fact that people visit the site is being used as an excuse to destroy it. And further, how ironic that in the year that Spain is celebrating the genius of Gaudi, the work of another Catalan architectural innovator should be demolished in the nome of progress. ~) Th1s ort1cle •s excerpred from o book on Spantsh trod•toonol rHto_sts to be published by the Un•versoty Press of Mossossrpp• Jo Forb Hernandez, curator, folklorost and author has stuC1eri nnri documented ort environments srnce thE" rnod-1070s and .,..,n.. ,. extensively on such ortosrs os A.G Rtzzcli formerlv Presidf>rr of the Coliforn1o A1soc•at1on of Museums, she" curre~tlv Dllf'ctor -:1 the Thompson Gollery 1n the Sc~ool ol Ali and Destgn ot Sun j(,,,_, State Univer1ity RV/40•29 

Josep Pujiula i Vila

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Josep Pujiula i Vila

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