Pepita: Takehiko Inoue auf der Spur von Antoni Gaudi

by Takehiko Inoue

Half travel memoir, half art book, all beauty.Antoni Gaudi was the world leader of Catalan modernist movement in architecture. Takehiko Inoue is one of the premier manga artists in the world. Inoue’s journey to Spain and to the world of Gaudi is half travel memoir, half art book, and all beauty.

Takehiko Inoue (Vagabond, Slam Dunk, Real) is one of Japan’s leading manga artists, and he has long been obsessed with the architecture of Antoni Gaudi. Pepita is a travel memoir about Inoue’s travels to Catalan, the people he meets, and the stunning architecture he experiences. It’s also an art book of the highest quality, constructed and framed by a leading practitioner of Japanese comics.

Reads R to L (Japanese Style).

Genres: Art, Manga, Nonfiction, Japan

108 pages, Hardcover

First published December 12, 2012

About the author

Takehiko Inoue (井上雄彦) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Slam Dunk and Vagabond.

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction
Sketches, Drawings, Charcoals, Mosaic Work

--Pepita: Takehiko Inoue Meets Gaudi

Chronology of Gaudí's Life
Afterword

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures on my blog)

I've had the Japanese edition of this book pepita 井上雄彦 meets ガウディ that was published in 2011. I like the book but could not understand what was written. It's great that Viz Media released this English edition. There's some difference between the two edition. The English edition left out the behind-the-scenes DVD and some calendar postcards.

Pepita is a sort of a travelogue sketchbook from Takehiko Inoue, the artist for the popular comic series Slam Dunk and Vagabond. Pepita is a very different piece of work from Inoue who is known for manga art.

In 2011, he traveled to Barcelona in Spain to look for inspiration and meaning in Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi's architecture. Collected within are the sketches, photographs and notes that he made on the trip. It's written very candidly and you can read about the thoughts he had when looking and drawing the different places.

He visited the mountains at Montserrat, places were Gaudi lived, and the many sites where the famous buildings are, such as Sagrada Familia, Casa MIla, Park Guell and many more. If you've never seen these places before, you might be filled with a sense of wonder after looking at the designs. The buildings are very organic and is very much influenced by nature. You can't even describe them as European looking because they are something else.

Inspired by the mosaic tiles that Gaudi used occasionally, Takehiko Inoue uses that as a design element for his art in the book. He also has sketches drawn over photographs and portrait sketches of how Gaudi and his family and friends would look like.

There's also plenty of interesting information about Gaudi in the book. The name of the book is actually the name of the woman Gaudi loved. Gaudi scholars were interviewed and provided many insights to the life and career of Gaudi. A list of Gaudi's structures is included.

Recommended to fans of Inoue and those who like travel sketchbooks.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A renowned manga artist visits Spain, ponders Gaudi's amazing architecture and formidable career, and draws what he sees (and what the landscape inspires)

This is a really beautiful, interesting book. The text translation is not great and isn't well-sourced, but so, so lovely to look at.

[hannonle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro podría haber sido una maravilla. (Me refiero a la versión en castellano) Ilustrado por Takehiko Inoue y dedicado a su gran pasión por Gaudí. Lamentablemente la traducción es una pena. Los textos apenas se entienden y están llenos de incoherencias. Por lo demás las ilustraciones son preciosas. Si no te importan los textos, vale la pena. Si intentas leerlo... suerte! Te vendrá bien ser expert@ en resolución de jeroglíficos!

[Dylan Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

A truly odd mashup of an art book. 95% of this book is a biography of famous architect Gaudi. The other 5% is a manuscript by Takehiko Inoue. It’s filled with sketches and interesting writing. Needless to say, I was here for Inoue and his sketches and words. The Gaudi pictures and info was interesting as well though.

[Lusionnelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juste magnifique

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the record of renowned manga artist Takehiko Inoue's visit to Barcelona (and environs) -- seeing and finding out about one-of-a-kind architect Antoni Gaudi.

There are so many excellent aspects to this book, such as Inoue's drawings - the interweaving of photos of architecture, scenery, parks, streets, important locations in Gaudi's life, with Inoue's drawings, Inoue's commentaries/musings on Gaudi, what led to his design ethos - some might call Art Nouveau on steroids - and his overwhelming religious architecture? Was it Pepita - the woman he had fallen in love with, and waited for five years for her divorce to be finalized, only to be informed by her the day he proposed, which was the day after her divorce was finalized, that she had already gotten engaged to another man? And this after he had been visiting her, along with his niece Rosita, every Sunday for five years? It was after this rejection that he threw himself into architecture, and eventually, became intensely religious - to the extent that he had to be talked out of a life-threatening Lenten fast by a Bishop friend.

Gaudi used recycled materials at times - some of the mosaics in his creations are made up of broken tiles, and even broken dishes, soup bowls etc. His works take disparate elements, textures, tiles, colors, patterns, flowing shapes - and join them into organic structures that often look like extensions of the natural environment. Was he in this way putting together the pieces of his broken heart? Certainly, putting broken chinaware into tile designs, such that they add a 3D element to the work, weren't these "ephemeral" shards given a second life as "eternal" works of art - saved from the garbage heap to become art? We shall never know exactly why his design took an idiosyncratic turn after the rejection by Pepita - which was never followed by any romantic interest in any person, female or male, ever after.

The subject of Gaudi's work is complex and this book is certainly not an exhaustive overview of Gaudi's architectural output. Some buildings Inoue didn't get a chance to walk around in, for example, on his trip. However, there are many wonderful insights on every page, such as the artist's respect for the craftsmen he meets, and how Gaudi's father, a copper smith, must have shaped Gaudi's tight linkage with the many craftsmen he worked with to produce his architectural marvels.

Gaudi's life was marked by losses - in his own family, as one by one members of his family died off, even finally Rosita at age 35. He had finally moved into his still unfinished masterpiece - the Cathedral of La Sagrada Familia - when, he was hit by a tram and died three days later. He was living for his architecture by then, sustained by his religion - was he hit by the tram "accidentally on purpose" on his part, since he was so alone in the world? That may be reading too much into the incident - but certainly, living in an unfinished cathedral, totally focused on religion and architecture, perhaps he had "given up" on some level by then.

I don't want this review to become morbid or overly focused on the "tragedy" of Gaudi's life - his remaining alone after Josefina's (Pepita's) rejection - although he was always surrounded by craftspeople, architects, and so forth. Gaudi had an interesting life before he met her and became a famous, respected architect after his rejection by her. His work is a testament to his vision - and his buildings have stood the test of time, since he was continually conducting stress experiments using models on the curved forms he often used.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Gaudi, and thinking about the wellsprings of creativity. It's also a glimpse into the region of Catalonia, the city of Barcelona and nearby towns - including incredible mountain landscapes (Montserrat) which might have also inspired Gaudi. The vegetation includes palm trees, olive trees, many different types of greenery - Mediterranean, yet also tropical. Gaudi's architecture seems to grow out of these natural botanic shapes and colors that surrounded him, and the rocks and boulders of the nearby mountains.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A famous manga artist keeps a journal while he visits Spain to see first-hand the buildings of a famous architect he greatly admires. This book appealed to me right away because I love art journals, travelogues and architecture! It is not exactly what I expected but enjoy it, I did! Described best perhaps as a coffee table book, this is a very visual book full of illustrations, photographs and (something I really appreciated) photographs the author has altered by illustrating over them. I had no idea who the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) was, nor was I familiar with any of his buildings before reading the book. However, through the author's love of his subject we get a good appreciation of Gaudi's work and the man, briefly, through his work. Informationally, the reader is introduced to the work of Gaudi as it is discussed through the eyes of an appreciative artist. I highly enjoyed both the text and the illustrations. The text is written in a variety of forms: paragraphs, illustration/photo blurbs, short sentences and an engaging flowing style I found read like poetry though it was in prose not verse. Truly, one of the most unusual books I've come across this year but one I highly appreciated aesthetically. I think the book is going to appeal to fans of the author/artist, aspiring artists, Gaudi/architecture connoisseurs and art journal enthusiasts.

[G34R_B34R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pepita is more of a history book than what Inoue typically produces, but as a fan of Takehiko Inoue I was really excited for this. It features sketches by Inoue as he researches architect Gaudi's life and work through interviews with experts, as well as exploring the beautiful architecture that Gaudi produced. The reader also gets to see Inoue's journey to Barcelona through photos.

Seeing his sketches of the people in Gaudi's life, along with their photos, only made me appreciate Inoue's talent even more. Not only that, I had never heard of Gaudi before this book (forgive my ignorance), so it was interesting to see what inspires one of my favorite artists, not to mention what I myself learned about Gaudi.

If you love Inoue's work, as I do, give this book a try. Even though it had no relation to Inoue's manga, it is still worthwhile. Others who might appreciate this effort are those interested in architecture, and to a lesser degree, history.

[Ann Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book called out to me every time I passed it...for days I would see that boy with the sky blue eyes until finally I had enough and grabbed a copy...I do not read manga...I have never heard of this Takehiko person...and while I could not get into the actual writing I loved the art work...a traveling diary of sorts...like looking at grandpas postcards when he came home from his adventures

[AHUA · Rating 4 out of 5]

适合高迪和井上双料粉！