The Convex and the Concave: The Feminine in Jorge Oteiza's Mythological Cosmogony

Abstract

This paper tries to make sense of Oteiza's feminine sculptures and cosmogony of the concave using basic guidelines taken from the tradition of Basque gender anthropology. It argues that the gender perspective is the most comprehensive single standpoint to interpret Jorge Oteiza’s heterogeneous body of work. Oteiza's Pietá at the Basilica of our Lady of Aranzazu in Oñati, is described as the utmost symbolic representation of his mythology of the concave and the feminine in relation with Basque cultural mentality and politics.