{"id":3184,"date":"2013-05-06T13:41:14","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T20:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chezarts.com\/?p=3184"},"modified":"2013-05-07T17:42:34","modified_gmt":"2013-05-08T00:42:34","slug":"black-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chezmana.com\/?p=3184","title":{"rendered":"Black Tears"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Michel<\/a>

Michel Bellaiche, “Justine at Dawn,” 2013, Acrylic and China black ink<\/p><\/div>\n

Many wonderful things happen in my life when I am roaming! Not cell phone roaming but getting away from the routine, wandering, and discovery. <\/p>\n

In the last month, a remarkable man named Michel Bellaiche<\/a> contacted me when I was about to roam in NYC. Michel has many talents. He is a painter, a poet, a photographer as well as an engineer. Born in Tunisia and a citizen of France, he has travelled widely and lived in various countries. While his travels have exposed him to many cultural influences, his soul remains Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

For the last ten years, Michel has made his home in Spain, in the small town of Sant Pere de Ribes<\/a>. He is surrounded by vineyards and almond trees with the sea nearby. There are rugged hills and hidden villages. It is a warm and sunny place well suited to an artist such as Michel. Yet it is certainly not paradise.<\/p>\n

Spain is currently going through a deep crisis. With unemployment at 26%, five million people are out of work. Sometimes people come to Bellaiche\u2019s door begging for food. With incomes going down, Spaniards cannot afford houses at any prices. There is darkness amid the bright sunshine.<\/p>\n

I see the same combination of beauty and darkness in Michel\u2019s painting, Justine at Dawn<\/em>. Justine looks like a Tunisian woman with large black eyes, beautiful and ghostly. The memory of her is joyful but her loss brings sadness. She embodies the women who come and go in our lives, leaving their lost possibilities in our dreams. The image speaks to the unfulfilled dreams of many Spaniards today. The dramatic black strokes of the painting even recall the Spanish coastline. It has been largely spoiled by over-development, but there are still beautiful spots, if you know where to look.<\/p>\n