Small Shelly Fauna

There Is No Dana, Only Xul!

When I was back in BA the other day I had an afternoon free, so I decided to visit the Xul Solar Museum in his old apartment building on the Avenida Laprida. Xul was a porteño intellectual from the first half of the 20th century, a surrealist artist, intimate friend of Borges, mystic, and “citizen of the universe.” His paintings, which are chief among the output displayed in the museum, prominently feature the zodiac, elevated housing (see above his painting "Vuel Villa" [meaning "flying town"], a clear predecessor of Bluthtopia!), and ruins as running themes, as well as more than a few mastiform hillscapes. In both his paintings and writings a strong fascination with astrology is professed, and many of his later works are variations on kabbalistic representations of the sefirot. All in all, he was a pretty wacky character, but his trippier paintings are quite enjoyable.

Speaking of Borges, from recent experience I can safely say that to fully appreciate the man’s works, there’s no substitute for reading them in Buenos Aires itself. Sipping tea in the Calle Corrientes while reading Borges musing about that same act is a delight. Also from recent experience, I can safely say that there’s no better city to watch Starship Troopers in than Buenos Aires. (For any of you unfamiliar with the film, the Human-Arachnid War is sparked by the total obliteration of BA by a bug-asteroid launched from the Planet Klendathu.) There is a certain uncontestable symmetry between knife fighting in the bars of La Boca and Casper Van Dien getting his thigh impaled by a giant space insect’s tarsal blades.