20 November 2007
The book, which pays homage to his research career, is a collection of papers by lecturers, disciples, friends and colleagues of Dr.Juan Plazaola Artola.Hewaslecturer and dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, and Vice-Rector of the University of Deusto at its San Sebastian campus. His contributions to the knowledge of Sacred Art, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Art, andthe history of the Basque art, are an example of the breadth of Plazaola?s interest in the most essential aspects of the history of art today. His research work includes a vast number of studies, essays, monographs and articles. This shows the importance of his work, which is considered a crucial reference point for all those fields to which he contributed to elucidating.
Participants in this meeting included: Jaime Oraá SJ (Rector of the University of Deusto), María Luisa Amigo (professor of Philosophy and lecturer in Aesthetics), Carmen Alonco (co-editor of the book and lecturer in History of Art) and Edorta Kortadi (co-editor of the book and lecturer in History of Art). In addition, a large number of artists, draftsmen, sculptors, etc., who had good relationships with him and his work, wanted to join in on paying this homage and collaborate with their own works of art. Some of them are original works while others are copies or slides of some of their works. Collaborations included drawings by important sculptors such as Néstor Basterretxea, Vicente Larrea, Joxe Alberdi, sculptures by Díez, Jose Mari Moraza and Alberdi, paintings by Inés Zudaire, Pablo Pombo, Nori Ushijima, Juan Luis Goenaga, Ángel Uranga, Luciano and Ruizanglada.
Juan Plazaola was born in San Sebastian in 1919. He entered the Company of Jesus in 1936, and was ordained priest in Loyola in 1951. He lived in Paris for three years, where he obtained a PhD in Arts from the Sorbonne University. Then, he earned another PhD in philosophy from the Complutense University in Madrid.
His life has been linked to teaching. He was alecturer in classical studies in Veruela (Zaragoza) from 1956 to 1963, and in Salamanca from 1963 to 1968. Later, he became alecturerin the faculties of theology and philosophy at the University of Deusto in Bilbao from 1968 to 1974. He taught at the San Sebastian campus from 1974 to 1992, when was appointed emeritus professor. He had previously obtained the chair in aesthetics and history of art. In San Sebastian, he was a lecturer and dean of the philosophy department. He was Rector of the Technical University Studies in Guipuzkoa (EUTG) from 1977 to 1979. He was vice-chancellor of the University during the years at the head of the regional religious communities (provincialato) from 1979 to 1985. He was also Vice-rector at the San Sebastian campus of the University of Deusto from 1985 to 1989, and founder and chairman of the Ignacio de Loyola Institute since 1993.
He supervised numerous PhD theses and dissertations, and he spent long periods of time in universities in Nicaragua, Paris, Venezuela (Andrés Bello Catholic University) and Mexico (Iberoamerican University).
About twenty works and fifty articles encompass a life devoted to study and research. His contribution to the study of art and aesthetics is especially enhanced not only by the documentary value and soundness of this collection of works, but also by his artistic knowledge
-Religious art:
El Arte Sacro Actual.Teoría.Panorama.Documentos, 1965; 2006
El Arte Sagrado, 1966
Historia y Sentido del Arte Cristiano, 1996
La Iglesia y el Arte, 2001
Historia del arte cristiano, 2001
Futuro del arte sacro, 1973
Futuro del arte sacro, 1973
-Basque art:
Néstor Basterrechea, 1975
Arte Vasco, 1978
Iconografía de San Ignacio en Euskadi,1991
Cartas a Iñigo.Perfiles para una semblanza, 1991
La pintura vasca en el primer tercio de siglo,1994
Los Anchieta.El músico, el escultor.El santo, 1997
Historia del arte vasco (four volumes), 2002-2004
-Theory and Aesthetics:
Introducción a la Estética, 1973/1991
El Arte y el hombre de hoy.Apuntes para una filosofía del Arte Contemporáneo, 1978
Modelos y Teorías de la Historia del Arte, 1988/1992/2003
Le Baron Taylor.Portrait dun homme davenir, 1989
El lenguaje del artista, 2005
All these works show that his main interests lay in the fields of Aesthetics and History of Art. His work seeks and describes modern art, and more specifically, contemporary art. His work is focused on research into art and on a reflection on aesthetics.He examines art as a cultural expression. In particular, he applies this philosophy of aesthetics and his philosophy of the history of art to sacred art and Basque art.
In addition, Juan Plazaola was founder and chairman of the Ignacio de Loyola Institute.This Institute has been a university commitment to deepen into the figure of Saint Ignatius.During its ten years of existence, this Institute has published ten works, some of which are of great value for contemporary studies of St. Ignatius.
Juan Plazaola?s long and fruitful career was defined by his passionate search for truth, his independent thinking, his personal honesty and his deep commitment and dedication to work. His humility, austerity and tenacity marked his fast work pace until shortly before he died of cancer in 2005.
