Fantastic creatures parade through Mexico City

Saturday, October 22 at 12 noon
5th Annual Parade and Competition of
Monumental Alebrijes (Monumental Fantastic Creatures)

The parade will begin in the Zócalo and continue down 5 de Mayo, Juárez and Paseo de la Reforma avenues until reaching the Angel de la Independence Monument.

After the parade, competitor’s “creatures” will be on exhibit through Sunday, November 6 on the main sidewalks of Paseo de la Reforma, between the Angel de la Independencia monument and Diana Cazadora monument.

Watch portions of the parade here:

Stream videos at Ustream

Related: 

Information about alebrijes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alebrije

Mexico – International Museum of Women

Embrace of Light by Flor Garduno

The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.) has numerous exhibitions and projects by and about Mexican women

“The mission of I.M.O.W. is to value the lives of women around the world.

I.M.O.W. is a groundbreaking social change museum that inspires global action, connects people across borders and transforms hearts and minds by amplifying the voices of women worldwide through global online exhibitions, history, the arts and cultural programs that educate, create dialogue and build community. With its unique focus on cultural change, I.M.O.W. advances the human right to gender equity worldwide.” 

Mexico – International Museum of Women.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique…

-Martha Graham

Ron Mueck’s sculptures on view for the first time in Mexico City

The College San Idelfonso information on Ronald Mueck does not have an English translation and there have been many visits to my first post, so I have decided to publish a translation of the exhibition and gallery information.  This is not an “official” translation, but it will help readers not fluent in Spanish.

Information about the artist:

Distinguished among contemporary artists for the fascinating credibility and amazing realism that characterizes his work, Ron Mueck explores figurative sculpture as a resource that, reducing and enlarging the scale of his models according to the requirements of his theme, give’s life to his creations.

The exhibition, Ron Mueck: High Impact Hyperrealism, presents sculptures of mixed media using materials like silicone, fiberglass and acrylic from the years 2000 through 2009.  Mueck exploits his mastery of anatomy and his ability to set off, by means of these impassive beings, declarations as well as reflections about the limits between reality and artifice, between what is revealed and what is hidden, the palpable union between presence and absence.

With his works of unconventional size, Mueck seeks to recreate the magnitude of emotions related to the body, highlighting the most minute details, skins pigmentation, the most subtle wrinkle, hairs, and facial expressions, so that without difficulty he immediately creates a link with “reality”.

When Ron Mueck visited College San Idelfonso at the beginning of this year, he studied the galleries to establish the layout of the exhibition in order to ensure observers advantageous positions to study expressions and analyze his sculptures’ body language and the shocking, meticulous attention to detail.

The artist questions if a modern sculpture, in the mundane surroundings of a gallery, allows for understanding themes like death, that have been traditionally approached through sacred and religious art.  He presents this enigma through one of his most recent sculptures, Adrift, 2009; of a man, slightly tanned, in an inflatable raft floating on a blue background.  Mounted on the wall by Mueck, it reminds us of 17th century crucifixes that hang in churches.  Here, we are offered a contemporary variation: a crucifixion that appears out of the material world of the 21st century.

Museum hours

Tuesday (general admission free):  10:00 – 20:0; Wednesday through Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00

Guided visits for the general public, free with admission to the museum

Tuesday at 12:00, 15:30 and 18:3

Wednesday through Sunday, 12:00 and 15:30

Admission price to the exhibition

General public: M$4

Students and Teachers with ID: M$22.5

Members, children under 12 and Seniors: free admission

Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso

Justo Sierra 16, Centro Historico (approx. 2 blocks north of the Zocalo)

Telephone:  5702.2991

Only 9 days remaining: Project AKASO, artists of the post-Rupture generation

Special thanks to Jim Johnston, author of the wonderful blog Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide, for his contributions this month. His post Around Town: September in Mexico I’ve tweeted; it’s a gem.

I’ll focus on the AKASO exhibition at the  Museo del Chopo which has been extended until the end of this month. The website for this project is in both Spanish and English: http://www.akaso.com.mx/. If you click on PROJECT you will find an introduction to the exhibition.  To whet your curiosity I’ll list its contents so you don’t even have to leave this page to learn more:

• 26 monumental paintings created by 26 Mexican painters from the post-Rupture generation.
• 21 videos and/or animations, based or inspired in the paintings. Created by 21 video artists.
• 1 Documentary Film and 1 TV series (13 episodes), created by Varios Lobos Productions
• 1 publication, RECORDarte, a tabloid format catalogue and special edition of “Record” newspaper

The website is a fascinating encapsulation of the project preparing you for your actual or virtual visit.  The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 to 19 hours; there is no charge to the galleries on Tuesdays.  Address:  Dr. Enrique Gonzalez Martinez, 10, Colonia Santa Maria de la Ribera  Telephone:  5546.347

For an understanding of the term post-Rupture, some background: José Luis Cuevas is a modernist painter and sculptor from Mexico. Born in 1934, he is one of the creators of the “Rupture Generation” that departed from the politicized and stylized mural school of Orozco and Diego Rivera and manifested against the art that presented political programs focused on promoting nationalist ideals, a diverse group of artists united only  by their rejection of the establishment.  Briefly, post-Rupture painters are those born in the 50′s that followed this generation.

High impact hyperrealism in Mexico City: Ron Mueck

The first exhibition in Mexico City of Ron Mueck, Australian hyperrealist sculptor, opens tomorrow at the Antiguo Colegio de San Idelfonso/San Idelfonso College.  The collection arrives in the capital after its show at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo/Museum of Contemporary Art (MARCO) in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Visit the College’s website for more information about gallery hours and admission.

For more information about San Idelfonso College, now a museum and cultural center, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ildefonso_College

Popular culture and Folk Art

The European influence and sophistication of the Palacio has led to a case of “europhile” fatigue by this blogger, so I thought this was just the thing to bring a bit of whimsy to my posts. These enchanting clay figures are in the Museo de Arte Popular/Mexican Folk Art Museum. This wonderful museum opened in 2006 with a mission to promote and preserve Mexican handcrafts and folk art.

In October, I will share with readers photos and details of an event of Mexican creation which has been embraced by the residents of the city wholeheartedly. It also is a showcase of a craft practiced in many parts of Mexico today. Monumental alebrijes, fantastical creatures created of cardboard, paper-mache and sometimes wood of brilliant colors parade through the streets in an event organized by the museum since 2007. Last year, more than 120 alebrijes were created for the event and over 200,000 spectators attended.

Personality Contest – choose your favorite!

From the photos above, choose a favorite and explain why. (i.e., what captures your interest, how does it make you feel, what do you think the artist meant to convey, the craftsmanship, self identification, etc.)

The photos are displayed in 5 rows, so first identify your choice by identifying the row, and then in that row, from left to right, identify photo a, b, c or d.

For example, one of my favorites is R3,a. I love the simple bulk of this gentleman, the bend in his knees and his elephant-like feet. He seems so grounded yet his arms are so thin and on his head are his only ornaments, some kind of vessel and ear rings. He holds on to the vessel as if it will topple or the wind will blow it away.
Also, I would like to think that the weight distribution was more than just a structural decision to keep him on his feet. His inferior/lower body is enormous, his arms are as fine as twigs, and his head, likewise is small while his ears seem to have descended to the level of his cheeks. Is this just gravity’s effects over time or something else?