Exhibition

In November 2009, Fernando Marías was commissioned by the SM publishing house to create a groundbreaking ‘transmedia’ novel in Spanish for young readers. The term ‘transmedia’ was used to designate a genre emerging at the time, which, in addition to print, included options such as websites, YouTube links, etc.

Fernando proposed El silencio se mueve, a novel that would tell the story of Joaquín Pertierra, a Spanish illustrator born in 1919 and deceased in 1981, who, during the years of the Spanish Civil War, was involved in a murder that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

An essential part of El silencio se mueve is a comic that Pertierra would have drawn at the end of the 1970s with hidden clues to solve the crime that haunted him: a sort of covert confession. Fernando and SM called on Javier Olivares, illustrator, scriptwriter and comic author, to create this comic. They wanted to play with the idea that Pertierra really existed and created this comic. To do so, they gave Javier an unusual condition that he, even more unusually, accepted: he had to renounce signing the book so that this game of identities would be even more effective. Javier was amused not only by “inventing” a new way of drawing but also by the idea of feeding, outside the book, a blog with supposed drawings that Pertierra had made over the years.

El silencio se mueve was published in October 2010. The ambitious novel project did not work out as the publisher and the authors had hoped.

It was then that the extraordinary story of Joaquín Pertierra began.

Javier Olivares was abducted by Joaquín Pertierra immediately after the book’s release. Javier found himself captivated by Pertierra’s unique approach to illustrating, which offered a refreshing wellspring of creativity that resonated with his own. He saw it as a welcome abduction of his imagination. Javier stopped being Olivares to become Olivares and Pertierra.

He was fascinated by the opportunity to contribute to Pertierra’s blog and began creating pieces that resembled Pertierra’s own work. These pieces ranged from book covers, jazz album covers and movie posters, to a short autobiographical comic detailing Pertierra’s time in Paris with filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville in 1969.

While some experts acknowledge similarities and possible influences between the two creators, it is clear that Pertierra’s work, distinct from the creations of Javier, experienced significant exponential growth. In due course, he gained recognition as one of the foremost writers of his era. Javier, who acted as Pertierra’s agent, successfully spread Pertierra’s work through a blog. Several unique occurrences happened: Javier Pertierra’s art gained recognition among academic publications and author compilations from the 1970s, which quickly caught the attention of publishers from various backgrounds that approached him to commission cover illustrations, and his exceptional work even earned him dedicated exhibitions. Currently, a documentary about his unique career is in the works, solidifying his place as a remarkable artist in the industry.

Who is Joaquín Pertierra? The novel “El silencio se mueve” and its creation story, as recounted here, have generated some inquiries over time;

Is Joaquín Pertierra a real person or just a myth? Did Olivares spread the false idea that Pertierra never existed? Is this a parallel to the story of Bruce Wayne and Batman? Why does Olivares persist in denying Pertierra’s existence, even though his work is well-known and could be compiled into a great book?

Fernando Marías (2020)