Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/195525
11 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2013 ltese hero is… Antoine Camilleri Artist (1922 - 2005) Elia (anonymous) BY TONI SANT Elia, best of all represents Malta: rustic intelligence, urban 'flâneur' who died planting flowers and trees in all asphalted and massacred spaces. He should be considered THE icon because he succeeded in making the invisible visible by hiding himself and his words of cynical but profound wisdom behind the 'hitan ta' sejjieh' (rubble walls) dating from pre-historic times. His acuteness, wittiness, logic, balanced with his unbelievable Alibabian rich knowledge of the Maltese language with its archaic labyrinths and culture are enough elements for me to comfortably name him as the best representative of Malta. His un-academic quotidian philosophy could have easily paired with that of Heidegger and Wittgenstein, whilst his downtrodden engraved hands and soil-etched feet were so much more beautifully graced than those of the Milos' Venus or that of Urbino: his scent of field manure, urban medieval dampness and greasy dockyard oil with that of all the perfumes of Arabia. Artist Antoine Camilleri is my Maltese icon. Anyone even remotely aware of modern Maltese art in the latter half of the 20th century knows what a significant figure he was within that sphere of activity. Many contemporary Maltese artists count him as their main master and his work is treasured by anyone who owns it. I have seen his work in both North America and Australia, so I have a feeling that it's also present in other countries around the world. I am very lucky to have a small number of his works in my own house. If you have a modern artistic sensibility, you cannot but recognise that his work is that of a brilliant master, who has perfected his own, instantly recognisable style. While his work is not featured along with that of other prominent Maltese artist in the hundreds of churches across the Maltese islands, I have been most spiritually touched by his works on sacred subjects, ranging from Christianity to ancestral worship of mother earth and female goddess from Neolithic times. His crucifixes are simply superb. My favourite is the one called Kristu x-Xandar (Christ the Broadcaster), which has a rough Christ-like figure crucified to a large television antenna, and considered blasphemous by those who don't see that this is work of true artistic genius. It also embodies the stark contrasts in the Maltese way of looking at everyday life, where the sacred and the profane are enmeshed into a hybrid cultural identity that is certainly more Maltese than the George Cross on our national flag or even the so-called Maltese cross. Aside from all this, I am very pleased to say that we were also very close friends for many years, and I miss his friendship even more than I miss his art marking. If Malta had a strategic way to promote Maltese art and culture, I'm sure that Antoine Camilleri's work would also be acquired by some of the world's most prominent museums of modern art, as he would clearly be recognised for the Maltese icon that he is. Toni Sant is a lecturer, radio and television presenter, producer and music journalist BY GIUSEPPE SCHEMBRI BONACI (NB: Elia is a real person, in fact my son Ilya was named after him). Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci is an artist, author, lecturer and former ambassador Dom Mintoff Politician (1916 -2012) BY FR MARK MONTEBELLO Unhesitatingly, I say Dom Mintoff. Not because I happen to have sympathies with him but largely because wherever one goes, whether in Europe or anywhere else in the world, the moment one says that one is from Malta, very often the answer back is, "Ah, Malta ... Mintoff". I believe that his and Malta's names became almost synonymous for reasons other than that of frequently making it in contemporary newspapers around the world, reasons which might be considered psychological. The man personified the Davids of the world before the mighty Goliaths. In his inimitable way, Mintoff revealed tiny Malta's great potential strength amongst commanding power brokers. Though at the time he represented an impoverished country with little to no resources, he had a significant hand in the political games of countries rich and great. Furthermore, together with other leaders, he drove home how pivotal a place the Mediterranean occupied, as a major political theatre, in maintaining world peace and the balance of power. No other Maltese personage, dead or alive, accomplished as much or, perhaps, ever will. Fr Mark Montebello is a Dominican friar, philosopher, activist and lecturer