The Eltonites' Day with........ Stor Dubiné, the Art Creation

Hello Eltonites. Welcome to the new season. We have to bring here a very special guest for the opening. A multimedia artist with a wondeful story behind. A story of superation, a visual story. In his words, "singers taught me the sound of colour". Elton on the ones. His paintings, the acrilic figures, his concept world is so unique and sensitive. I asked him to be here, and he kindly agreed. So, Néstor, thank you for the acceptation, it’s really an honour to have you here. 

Which are the most beautiful memories of your childhood? How it was growing up in Caracas, Venezuela?

You are very welcome, Miquel, thanks so much for inviting me on your blog, it's an honour to be part of Eltonites ;-)= Best moment in my childhood? Wow, it was exceptional, I have marvellous parents, a great sister and a wide family, always very close, very union between us, and we have shared one thousand and more nights between beaches, houses, studios, work. The most unforgettable day, and most impressive of my childhood, was the first time I got hearing aids, when I was five years old I could remember, and after a long time immersed in the silence, I found the sound in dimensional ways! New sounds that offered me a new and creative imaginary adventures. It was really shocking!

Sure! “I was born sank in the silence. I discovered life with small devices, this tiny microphones offered me a new world of sound where the magic of the silence had died; the new confused sound tortured my mind. But the musical notes controlled my emotions”.  Why music was, and still is, so important for you?

Totally true! Being born with hearing distorsions and to discover the sound with hearing aids it was not easy for me after all, everything I heard was confusing and distressing, I needed time to sort my head with sounds; at time I was discovering the world sound, it was fascinating, I began to discover the harmony and the synchronization in the music. My first favourite artists were Elton John, Gladys Knight in the 70s, for example. Elton's "Honky Cat" completely evolved me with his exceptional bass and piano, I began the coordination with my ears, those instruments, I was feeling the meaning of their sound, it was like a language for me, almost because on that time, the lyrics were completely incomprehensible for me. But hearing Elton's voice was the perfect contrast for the instrumentation of the song. With this song it grew up my interest in music, and "The Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy" was the first Elton's album I bought. The sleeve cover impressive me so much, the illustration gave me so much fantasy: aliens, elves, animals, and the artist himself on the piano, and his classic galactic glasses I could say, took me to imagine absurd histories, while I was listening "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", that was my beginning, the beginning of the creativity with lyrics and art. And Gladys Knight's "Midnight train To Georgia" touched my most spiritual part, that soul music and that voice, it gave me so much peace

Wonderful! When did you realized you had good hands for art? Which were your influences?

I still remember I copied all the Hannah Barbera's characteras, my love for comics started there. I also remember how much I loved Bible's illustrations, Jesus Christ and Mary, I draw and painted and made collages on their history. With them I practised a lot the realisation of bodies and faces... Oh, my father was terrified for if I had the idea to be a priest, hahaha

Oh, I have to say that I was madly in love with Teddy, that sweet and sensitive character with his lessons of life. So, along with Paquito and Mupies, who they are and what they meant to you?

After Hanna Barbera's characters, it was the time I enjoyed so much Quino's Mafalda, and that was the main source of inspiration of PAQUITO, a character for childhood, not in a political way like Quino, for example. It was part of the reminded newspaper for childhood El Meridianito; then TEDDY came, a very special one for me, representing myself in that kind of way: a deaf child who helped others on the same situation, to prove and get over this deficiency with the lip reading, and the constant use of hearing aids to front the world breaking difficulties. That was on the International Year Of Disabled Child; and finally it came MUPIES, a centipede across the world discovering science and histories of the world, and explaining the stories to Cristobal, his boss, a character representing the boy with desire to know and overcome the barriers on the future

Unforgettable ones! Not only comic and design. You ended up making a video of 1991’s Nina Hagen “Gretchen” song, a piece of art in my opinion. Also, “The Illegal Hands”, 2005, is an impressive video with a great story behind it. How you develop to filming and making videos?

Oh sure, Nina Hagen was another of the most admired figures. She might be the bad fairy, and Donna Summer the good fairy. I was delirious with her rock pop music and her operatic singing, with an uncommon image. That was when I made a video with my most favourite Nina's song: "Gretchen", the original text of the theater piece by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe's "Faust"; her voice on the song, when I didn't even understood the german language. It was so intensive for me, and it was the inspiration to write the video's script: and the result was that video. Long time after that, when I understood the language, I was deeply surprised about the video I made, in so much senses, the lyrics of the track had so much relation on what I did. Gretchen was produced while I was studying on a film institute, and I made it with the collaboration of classmates, with an old betacam video, and edited by ourselves. "The Ilegal  Hands" was the video I made when I was living in Berlin, Germany, when I discovered an assotiation in help of illegal american latins in Germany: "Solatina". They needed to make a protest video in favor of illegals who asked for the papers to become legal in Berlin, I offered to do it and I participate on the previous reunions with them, to hear and know their troubles. By then, I had already did the script with the participation of illegal acting, but just one month before the event, the illegals were in so much fear to show their faces on the video, fear to Germany's police, that they quit to go on with everything. It was so much the commotion generated, there was no way that fight will face, the institution was so much disappointed with them, that, one week for the presentation, I proposed to expose their feelings, their troubles, but with only their hands, and a voice explaining everything. It was filmed in sequence, like a theatre piece, without any edition, just the audio of the narrator. And it worked! They had success on the event and finally they got their papers

Absolute amazing! Why you moved to Berlin? What were you looking for?

I just need new chances, expand my life and open art perspectives in the art world with the European culture

About creativity: where do you come up with your best ideas in general?

Well, as I said before, the music and the Bilbe figures marked my path to creativity

Munny Legends Series represents your contribution to the seventies music. What has Donna Summer and, specially, Grace Jones to be so important in your art?

After meeting Elton's and Gladys Knight music, came an exceptional and magic voice that enveloped me, that voice was my school and thanks to that I learnt the universal language of music: I am talking of Donna Summer. Maybe you don't trust me, but Summer had a very special voice for deaf people, it was so clear, so easy to synchronize music and lyrics, I could start to sing without any fear to lose the rhyme, and better of this, to learn english while singing'... it was a crazy time, a musical adventure. The disco music allowed me to get insight the value musical ear, things that didn't happened with rock for example. Disco allowed me to catch the tempo, to synchronize music and lyrics, this gave me sensational feelings and my creations were captured on papers. Donna Summer is the perfection, with her I learnt to listen the songs, to expand all the univers of music. That's the reason she's so important for me. 

And, in the 80s, the biggest artistic influence on me was the impressive and unforgettable figure of Grace Jones, her "Nightclubbing" album, her image on the cover was always questioned by me, because for many her androgynous demeanor was terrible and fear, but not for me, for me it was a kind of visual response: a being created for the social and moral actitude, representing a being coming from the ages of men, mythology, religion, sickness, life, death. I consider her, in fact, a frighteningly beatiful woman, representing life itself

When did you became an Eltonite? Remember the first time you heard Elton's music and what moves you to buy his music?

“The Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” for its clearing sound  and for the vibration my ears and heart could capture that time

Have you ever seen Elton? And how many concerts have you been?

Never ever, but surprisingly I received a birthday gift: one ticket for next 5th september "Greatest Hits" show in Berlin! So excited!!! I wish I could meet him and let him know my great affection and respect for him with my art

How was the success of Elton John in your country? Which references had venezolans about Elton, specially in the 70s and 80s? And the most succesful albums there?

In Venezuela? wow, great was his success and still is! I have understood that in the last years he went several times there. Best albums in sales terms?

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”,  

“The Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy”,

“Greatest hits Vol 1 –Vol 2” among others, 

and the most popular songs there, if I reminded well, were:

“I Guess That’s Why Call it the Blues”

“Your Song“

„Crocodile Rock“

„Honky Cat“

„Candle in the Wind“

„Nikita“ among others…

  

Thanks so much. I love your website. That’s on http://www.dubine.com/en/index.html. What else we could find there and is it a way to buy your items?

Thank you, Miquel, so happy you like it! The idea is to be a place to exhibit what I've been doing as an artist, since the beginnings to nowadays. Let the people know me as an artist and also as a person. To buy an item is so easy, just mail me on contacts and I will answer. The buying is on line and shipping by air

What about your upcoming projects? What could you explain about it?

Oh, I've got a lot of projects but, for now, it's best to remain in silence. And yes, I am working in several projects, preparing new exhibitions in galleries, even my project "My Childhood Visuals", about the musical legends that influenced my life, are still on exhibition. You could check out my website 

Would you want to add some observation or suggestion, or something you want to say to other eltonites?

Sure! So glad to meet eltonites! It's so great eltonites take care of Elton's legacy for future generations, he's a real legend, a true musician and composer, an example of person, for his humanitarian charities, we must learn from him about this, like I learnt to overcome all I fronted with my hearing distorsions, to be myself and with my art, for all the world's eyes!

Oh, finally, could you tell me your five favourite Elton's songs in running order, for my AllSongsList, where I tried to find the best of Elton’s songs ever?

1_“Honky Cat“

2_“Lucky in the sky with the Diamonds“

3_“I guess That’s Why Call in the Blues”

4_"Don’t Go Breaking my Heart”

5_"Are you ready for love?"

Thanks so much, Néstor, I had great time chattin' with you, you are superb and a true example to follow. Eltonites, I am sure you enjoyed as much as I did this interview with Néstor, I truly recommend to check out his webite and follow him on facebook, on: 

http://www.dubine.com http://www.facebook.com/stordubine http://www.facebook.com/dubine http://www.youtube.com/user/dubine

Pictures courtesy of Stor Dubiné