Posts Tagged 'Mexico 200'

"Exotic" Mexican Objects at the DMA and Crow Collection

In commemoration of the 2010 bicentennial of Mexico’s independence from Spain, many Dallas-area institutions have hosted events or created exhibitions related to Mexico’s past, present, and future.  In addition to highlighting Mexican and Spanish colonial works in the Museum’s fourth floor galleries, the DMA currently has two special exhibitions celebrating Mexico’s 200th anniversary: Jose Guadalupe Posada: The Birth of Mexican Modernism and Tierra y Gente: Modern Mexican Works on Paper.

For me, one of the most intriguing objects in these galleries is an eccentric folding screen from colonial Mexico.  This screen is elaborately painted and gilded in the European decorative tradition, but its central vignettes are drawn from a Flemish book of moralizing tales.  Additionally, the ornate borders of the screen contain Japanese and Chinese-inspired motifs popular in European Rococo.  This object connects with a recently opened exhibition, Black Current: Mexican Responses to Japanese Art, 17th-19th Centuries, also in celebration of Mexico’s bicentennial, at the Crow Collection of Asian Art.

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*Photography by George Ramirez

This exhibition includes Mexican-made objects, such as folding screens and rolled paintings, that were greatly informed by trade via the The Black Current.   This marine trade route, established in the 16th century,  ran eastbound from Manila to Acapulco, bringing goods such as decorative arts, silk, and spices to Mexico.  Approximately 500 Pacific crossings were made along the dark river in the sea, feeding the growing market for luxury commodities in Mexico and generating Asian demand for American resources such as silver.  These exchanges led to an artistic interchange that left lasting impressions on Mexican artists.

Cosmopolitan, Mexican-made objects, such as those in Black Current and the DMA Screen, reference their Asian precursors through the inclusion of Asian-inspired motifs, use of laquer, inlay and shells, and format of the folding screen and scrolls mounted on rollers.  Additionally, they serve as visual documentation of ambitious exchanges between spatially disparate cultures.

Ashley Bruckbauer

Programs and Resources for Teachers Intern

Mexico 200

The Workers, Alfredo Ramos Martinez, 1944-45

The Museum is gearing up to celebrate the bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence with two exciting exhibitions, both opening June 18th.   

José Guadalupe Posada: The Birth of Mexican Modernism showcases the artworks of Posada, a Mexican printmaker whose popular images of social and political satire illustrated broadsheets and leaflets in the early 20th century.

Tierra y Gente: Modern Mexican Works on Paper  highlights the Museum’s stellar collection of mid-20th century Mexican works on paper.  Included in the exhibition are prints, drawings, and photographs that explore how artists captured the people of Mexico in their native land. 

Also highlighted during the Mexico 200 celebration are the Museum’s rich collections of Ancient American, Spanish Colonial, and modern Mexican art, which together span over 2,000 years of art-making by Mexican artists. 

Works from Mexico 200 will be highlighted in this summer’s Go van Gogh library outreach program, Arts of Mexico.  Each summer Go van Gogh volunteers visit Dallas Public library branches to present free, hour-long programs for a drop-in six-to-twelve year-old audience.  Arts of Mexico will introduce students to the artistic styles and cultural ideas and beliefs of Mexican peoples expressed through ancient and modern artworks.  The program will include interactive conversations and art-making activities, a recommended reading lists for learners of all ages, and a free family pass to the Museum for participants. 

Below is a schedule of our upcoming Arts of Mexico library programs.  Please confirm space availability with the library in advance.  We hope to see you at the library (and at the Museum)!

Wednesday, June 23rd @ 2:00p.m.
Highland Hills, 3624 Simpson Stuart Road, 75241

Friday, June 25th @ 2:00p.m.
Kleberg-Rylie, 1301 Edd Road, 75253

Thursday, July 1st @1:00p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr., 2922 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 75215

Tuesday, July 6th @ 2:00p.m.
Lochwood, 11221 Lochwood Boulevard, 75218

Friday, July 9th @ 2:00p.m.
Bachman Lake, 9480 Webb Chapel Rd., 75220

Wednesday, July 14th @ 2:00p.m.
Renner-Frankford, 6400 Frankford Road, 75252

Thursday, July 15th @ 2:00p.m.
Forest Green, 9015 Forest Lane, 75243

Friday, July 16th @ 2:00p.m.
North Oak Cliff, 302 West Tenth Street, 75208

Monday, July 19th @ 10:30a.m.
Arcadia Park, 1302 North Justin Rd., 75211

Tuesday, July 20th @ 2:00p.m.
Timberglen, 18505 Midway Road, 75287

Wednesday, July 21st @ 2:00p.m.
Preston Royal, 5626 Royal Lane, 75229

Wednesday, July 28th @ 2:00p.m.
Paul Laurence Dunbar Lancaster Kiest, 2008 East Kiest Blvd, 75216

Thursday, July 29th @ 2:00p.m.
Oak Lawn, 4100 Cedar Springs Road, 75219

Friday, July 30th @ 10:30a.m.
Fretz Park, 6990 Belt Line Road, 75254

Amy Copeland
Coordinator of Go van Gogh Outreach


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