The description of the 2007 "Revelations" exhibition in Mexico City really piqued my interest. The show is said to provide fresh perspectives on more than 300 years of history, that is Mexico's colonial history which for many is a painful and difficult history to recall. Despite it being the biggest exhibition of colonial art ever to be displayed in Latin America, it really didn't seem to attract the fanfare or attention that a show of this magnitude would.
And it is understandable why Mexicans, especially given the art history of outspoken artists like Diego Rivera, would not be clamoring to view art that waves the colonial flag. As stated in the article, "Joe Rishel, curator of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, put together the show, which first opened at his museum. He says that Latin American colonial art has not been appreciated at home and abroad." Despite the circumstances and events surrounding these artworks, each piece seems to showcase an incredible range of skill and visual strength.
The lack of attention to art may simply be because Latin American countries are poorer, and poor people care for art less. Or it may be that the themes are so religion-heavy. While art critics may speak in the abstract of the artwork reflecting the energy of cultural fusion, the actual pieces seem to show little of the Spanish pioneers: their work, the triumphs of their conquests, or the tragedies of their cruelties. The Bible paintings cloy after a while.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comment about how attention might be lacking because of poverty, that these peoples concerns might not be with art. I wish the show would have came to san francisco not LA! That would have been an amazing thing to attend to see the works from all the 13 countries, to see the depictions of colonizing from their point of view and how they reflected upon it differently in different regions and times.
ReplyDeleteI am angered by the fact that this exhibit wasnt interesting to those people. That is terrible and yet being sympathetic to the white man ( no offense to anyone else) is more important. I can empathize with the outspoken hearts of the mexicans. I would fight too, I too am mexican and i would have liked to have been treated like my history was just as important as Columbus'.
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