Pepita: Takehiko Inoue Meets Gaudí

In 1992, when Inoue was traveling in Spain to watch the United States "Dream Team" compete in the Barcelona Olympics. While there, he visited some of Gaudí's main buildings, and felt overwhelmed at the sight of the Sagrada Familia.^[2]

Twenty years after his first visit, Inoue was invited by Nikkei BP to revisit Barcelona accompanied by experts, including architect Tanaka Hiroya,^[2] in order to explore Gaudí's life, creative process, and the idea of genius.^[3] During the trip, Inoue also held long conversations with the sculptors, carvers, and other craftsmen involved in finishing the Sagrada Familia. Inoue made a third trip to Catalonia, visiting the rural land where Gaudí grew up and was first afflicted with arthritis.^[2]

Inoue notes the visual similarities between the Montserrat and some of Gaudí's modernist shapes, beginning the book with the mountain's natural beauty before moving on to Gaudí's respect for nature, family of craftsmen, later life, and legacy.^[4]