Center for Fine Arts Presents the Image of “the Mexican”
BRUSSELS.- Mexican Images is the centrepiece of the Mexico Festival. The exhibition presents the image of “the Mexican “, As seen through the eyes of Mexican and foreign artists. Portraits of unknown and powerful Mexicans, images of ethnic minorities, and satirical works illustrates the artistic heritage and political and social aspirations of an ever-changing country, from the pre-Columbian era to the 20th century.
Figura con tres caras, ca 250-700. Teotihuacan (atribución). Cerámica horneada con restos de pintura, 18 x 2 x 9 cm. © Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte, UNAM. Donada por Ricardo Hecht, 1964
Mexican Images spans the four great periods of Mexican history: the pre-Columbian era, the colonial period, independence, and modern, 20th-century Mexico . The Center for Fine Arts is bringing together some 150 works of art (paintings, sculptures, photographs, graphic works, and films) by unknown and well-known artists, both Mexicans and Europeans who traveled to Mexico. The highlights include a selection of pre-Columbian sculptures, Pictures by 18th-century European travelers such as Claudio Linati, Who developed a typology of Mexican types, popular portraits by Hermenegildo Bustos and Jose Maria Estrada, Paintings by modern masters such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, And Frida Kahlo, Excerpts from films by, among others, Sergey Eisenstein (Que viva Mexico!), And photographs by Tina Modotti and Manuel Alvarez Bravo.
The works in Mexican Images come from Private Collections and from the most important Mexican collections: the National Art Museum, the National Museum of Anthropology, The Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, The Franz Mayer Museum, and the Museo de Arte de Tlaxcala.
The exhibition includes a great diversity of portraits, ranging from nationalist images of the powerful and the Authorities to depictions of anonymous individuals, workers, and ethnic minorities. Critical and satirical images offer an interpretation of what is typically seen as “Mexican.” These varied portrayals primary form documentary sources for their times, evoking the visual culture of various periods of Mexican history and throwing light on the political and social aspirations of different social groups. The portrayal of Mexicans Oscillate between reality and fiction, between social compassion and national identity. The works of art tell a story to others, but also to themselves. In this way, Mexican Images can be seen as a visual narrative of the mythologies about the people.
Ensures that this approach Mexican Images is not just a fascinating investigation of the Evolution of the “Mexican identity”, But also a reflection both of how presents itself to people and of how it is seen through the eyes of outsiders.
It is not by chance that the exhibition is taking place in 2010, the year In which Mexico celebrates both the Centennial (the centenary of the Mexican Revolution) And the Bicentennial (the Bicentenary of Mexican independence). Mexico is marking this double anniversary, not just with festivities in the country itself, but also in Europe. And Mexico has chosen to situate the center of gravity of the European program in the Brussels Center for Fine Arts. The exhibition is just one part of an extensive Mexico Festival that includes no fewer than five exhibitions: The other four are devoted to Frida Kahlo and her world, Architecture (Mexican modernisms), Contemporary Mexican photography (Mexican Worlds), And contemporary art (The horizon of the mole). The festival also features concerts, theater, literature, and film. The Belgian public, moreover, will also have a unique opportunity to see close up Mexican popular culture in an evening of Wrestling. This spectacular form of wrestling, hugely popular in Mexico, is just one of many not-to-be-missed events in the festival!
