Elena Cestero - An Overview of Mexican Art and Exploration of the Contemporary Mexican Art Scene

A Brief History of Mexican Art

Although there was not yet a country known as Mexico, the history of Mexican art typically begins with the Pre-Columbian era prior to Latin America’s colonization by Spain. The art from this era usually falls under the larger category of Mesoamerican art which includes all the art created by native societies in the regions known today as Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs and Mayans were two of the larger of these societies that were located in what is now Mexico although the Mayans were also widespread throughout the region. The art from this period is primarily represented in the form of ceramics and architecture and the paintings that decorate them. Much of the art from this time has been unearthed at arqueological sites throughout Mexico such as Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, Chichén Itzá, and Tulúm. It is interesting to note that writing and art were not separate entities at the time as seen in the detailed glyphs used as decoration and communication. The art was primarily used by these societies as a form of communication or worship with their various Gods.

With the arrival of the Spanish conquest in the 16^th century came the introduction of the art techniques and styles of Europe which transformed Mexican art. For almost the entire colonial period, the majority of Mexican art was modeled after Spanish Baroque and other styles of European art (Renaissance, Moorish, etc.). Initially, if the work was created by a native Mexican artist, it often retained some elements of indigenous art mixed with the European. The art of the time was almost entirely religious as it was used as decoration in the newly constructed Catholic churches, and to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism. Much or the art was commissioned by the church as well as wealthy private patrons much like Renaissance Italy. This heavily European colonial art continued to dominate Mexican art through the 18^th century and beginning of the 19^thcentury until the Mexican War of Independence from 1810 to 1821.

Following Mexico’s Independence from Spain, the art being produced in the country did not significantly change. The art institutions that were created by the Spanish before the war were re-instituted and Mexican art continued to imitate European styles. While there were small movements towards the inclusion of indigenous subjects and rejection of colonialist ideas, the European influences remained strong. Much of the movement made was towards a more realist style, but in general, the 19^th century is considered to be one of the weaker periods of Mexican art.

The post-colonial era of little art imagination ended abruptly following the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). The revolution had a major impact on Mexican art which began to change drastically as there was a major shift away from European techniques and subject matter towards national political themes. The government began commissioning public works in an effort to reinforce its politics and redefine the history and identity of Mexico and its people. This push led to the emergence of the famous Muralist, or Modernist, Movement in which artists like Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco painted huge frescoes on the walls of public buildings and received widespread attention and acclaim. The style of these murals was very different from that of European frescoes. The bright colors and depictions of the greater Mexican population appealed to the masses rather than the elites or the church. The aim of this art was to glorify the revolution and Mexico’s pre-colonial history, and emphasize and celebrate the indigenous features of Mexico both physically and culturally. Another important artist from this time was Frida Kahlo, the wife of Rivera. Kahlo’s paintings were not mural size and the themes of her work were much more personal but she has become one of the most important figures in Mexican art and history in addition to the muralists. The muralists and their works were exceedingly popular and garnered widespread national and international attention. A notable contemporary of the muralists who also gained international attention for his murals and paintings was Rufino Tamayo although his art was less political. Tamayo’s work frequently appears today at auctions of Latin American art.

While the Mexican art scene remained and still remains active, most of the art that has followed in the time since the muralists, from the 1950’s and 1960’s to today, has not been met with comparable visibility or reception. Great artists in the years following, such as painter Jose Luis Cuevas and sculptor Juan Soriano, while well-known, did not attain the prominence the muralists and have been historically overshadowed by them. This overshadowing of contemporary Mexican art continues as Mexican art is consistently underrepresented in the international market. Muralists like Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros are among the only instantly recognizable examples of Mexican artists and art in the world.

Why are the muralists the only widely recognized examples of Mexican art? Who are some of the contemporary Mexican artists active today and what is the current art scene like? In the next sections I will explore and try to answer these questions.

Contemporary Art in Mexico

With the advent of international art fairs and biennials, contemporary art from Mexico has managed to maintain a presence in the international art market but it is small. Nationally, there are several museums in Mexico dedicated solely to contemporary art such as the Oaxaca Museum of Contemporary Art and the University Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City in addition to art fairs like the Zona Maco and the national arts biennial which was held in the Yucatán this past year. Despite both the international and national venues, contemporary Mexican artists have found it difficult to successfully and significantly penetrate the art market.Other forms of art such as cinema and photography have experienced similar neglect, although a few film directors (Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñarritu) have made names for themselves internationally recently.

The most active art scenes in Mexico are currently located in Mexico City and Oaxaca where prominent galleries include EDS, Galeria de Arte Mexicano, Ethra,Garash, Kurimanzutto, Nina Menocal, OMR, Ginocchio,and Le Laboratoire. It should be noted though that these galleries do not exclusively represent Mexican talent but also Latin American and other international artists. One particular contemporary Mexican artist who kept appearing as I researched is Gabriel Orozco. Orozco is nationally and internationally recognized for his work which includes painting, photography, video, sculpture, and installations. He recently exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach where he was represented by Kurimanzutto. Orozco is also represented by Marian Goodman Gallery in New York. A Wall Street Journal article about the event mentions Orozco, “Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, whose midcareer retrospective traveled to London's Tate Modern this year, will lead a talk at the fair. The Mexico City gallery Kurimanzutto will show a $350,000 "particle painting" by the artist, a 9/11 image of the World Trade Center rendered in tens of thousands of dots.” The article also quotes co-owner of the gallery, Jose Kuri as saying, "The market is in a very good moment…Where there is quality, there are buyers." I believe his last remark refers to the contemporary art market in general and not specifically to Mexican art.

Another notable contemporary Mexican artist is Carlos Amorales whose work was also displayed at Art Basel Miami Beach this past December. Amorales, like many contemporary artists, uses various media, but he became well-known in particular for his works regarding “luchadores” or masked Mexican wrestlers. Rafael Lozano Hemmer, an installation artist, and graphic artist Francisco Toledo are also well-known contemporary Mexican artists who round out a handful of contemporary Mexican artists who that have gained international recognition in the art world in the last half century. While these artists may be recognized by the art world as evidenced in articles in the New York Times and other media outlets in recent years, they are mostly unknown to the general public. They have not had enough overwhelming success and visibility to make them household names like the muralists. There are several theories that I have about the reasons for this and I will explore them in the next section.

Issues and Possible Solutions

After having taken this Art Market class, and in combination with my research and interview, I have come to the conclusion that one of the largest barriers for contemporary Mexican art, and in fact for most contemporary art from developing countries in the global market is the power and influence that Europe and especially the United States hold. While there is clearly an abundance of art from all over the world, the market focus is heavily on American and European artists. Since the United States (more specifically New York) became the most powerful national player in the art market in the 20^th century, its tastes and trends have dictated who is successful and what good art is. While artists and art from around the globe are represented in the art fairs and exhibitions, as we saw in one of the readings, American galleries are by far the best represented and therefore so is American art in the market as a whole. In addition, the majority of art patrons are also Americans. Basically, American (and European to a lesser extent) galleries, artists, and art overshadow the rest of the market. Everyone else enters the market at a disadvantage. While a lot of the difficulty of art recognition for Mexico and other countries is due the current dominance of the United States on the world stage, this will not likely change in the very near future. That being said, I believe there are other issues that can be addressed in order to help Mexican art gain better visibility and recognition.

I think a significant problem for contemporary Mexican art is a lack of visibility. In many cases, there is little information concerning contemporary art in Mexico, and the information that does exist seems to be disorganized; a basic internet search for contemporary Mexican art or artists does not bring back many viable results. If the search is in Spanish, the results are better but still not impressive, and if the person searching for information does not know Spanish then the results are useless. Even the artist I interviewed did not have a personal website on which to display his art which is typical for most American and European artists. This failure to properly and fully incorporate electronic media as a form of promotion of artists and their art is detrimental to their visibility in the art market. While I do not always agree with how the art market currently functions, I think Mexican artists must adapt more quickly and efficiently to the changing market in order to maintain and enhance their presence in it.

Another major barrier to the success of contemporary art in Mexico is the lack of support from the government. Mexican schools have not typically focused on or mandated arts education for young children. In addition, the lack of financial support for artists and art especially when they do not align with the politics or culture of the country has also held Mexican art back from reaching its potential. Furthermore, there is a shortage of Mexican art historians and art critics. Raquel Tibol, who has a radio show called “Hablemos del Arte (Let’s Talk about Art)”, and Cuauhtémoc Medina, who publishes a column called “Ojo Breve (A Quick Look)” in El Reforma newspaper, are among the only notable art historians and critics in the country. The cultivation of more art intellectuals and experts could bring much needed attention to the Mexican art scene. In short, if Mexico were to allocate more resources and unbiased support to developing its artists and offering technical and historical art education, I think the results for both artists and the country would be overwhelmingly positive.

The final issue in contemporary Mexican art that I will discuss is that of stereotyping. The work of the muralists seems to have defined to a large extent what is considered Mexican art in both the national and international arenas. Mexican art has become a stereotyped category that many believe must include indigenous or traditional iconography in order to be authentically Mexican. This idea is prevalent not only internationally but also in Mexico’s national consciousness, and I believe that in part this has led to the lack of serious appreciation and recognition of contemporary Mexican art, much of which does not contain these themes. Mexico and the world must expand their idea and definition of Mexican art and come to the realization that folk art or indigenous themes are not necessarily a defining element of Mexican art. I believe the rejection of this stereotype would greatly benefit Mexican art.

Interview with contemporary Mexican artist Alfonso Fernandez Benitez

The final portion of this project is the following interview with artist Alfonso Fernandez Benitez. It provides an artist’s perspective of contemporary art in Mexico and further insight into the work of and issues encountered by Mexican artists today:

EC: What kind of art do you make?

AFB: My art is realist and sometimes hyperrealist, since I was young I liked the realist style and as time went on I started to focus on hyperrealism as well.

EC: Tell me about your art, how would you describe it, what are the themes, what do want to express?

AFB: Presently I am doing a series on the human figure that I’ve wanted to do since I was young; I’ve always liked the human form so I am starting to develop that a little more. In Mexico there are many taboos concerning nudity, it is automatically categorized as pornography. With my work I want to protest that nudity is not pornographic and that it can be artistic. I use the human figure as my principal theme because to me it is the best subject in the world to paint. I paint in a realist style because in Mexico right now conceptual art is everywhere and other forms of contemporary art are being neglected. Here the museums follow the latest trends and impermanent art is what is popular so I use the realist style almost as a form of protest or a way to defend realist and classical styles of art.

EC: I see that you have a mix of styles (still life, figure, abstract) why such a variety and what style do you enjoy the most?

AFB: I don’t conform to only one style or technique, I consider myself more versatile, sometimes realism is a little limiting so I do different work like the type of paintings you have. There are things I can’t express with realism but I don’t do much of other styles because it is not as well received. People are surprised when they see realism and they seem to like it the most of what I do so I sometimes do this style out of necessity.

EC: What gallery/dealer are you signed with, and what are the conditions of the contract (time, amount of art production required, gallery/dealers cut)?

AFB: I have an exclusive one year contract with Galería La Colección in Puebla. They pay me $60,000 (Mexican pesos) per month, and I’m expected to produce four works each month. I get 10% of the purchase price when my art sells and the gallery gets the rest.

EC: Who are the most powerful dealers/galleries in Mexico?

AFB: There are so many, one that I hear mentioned a lot is Galería Praxis.

EC: Has any of your work sold in the international art market?

AFB: Yes, I have sold to particular collectors in New York, Los Angeles, Peru, and Ecuador.

EC: Has any of your work been sold at auction or has any museum or private collection bought any of your work?

AFB: No.

EC: Do you think Mexicans value art?

AFB: Yes, I think they value art but many times they don’t really understand it or have any historical context to put it in.

EC: Who is buying art in Mexico?

AFB: There are a few collectors who buy a lot of art, but in my opinion many of them don’t have good taste.

EC: Are the international and national markets for Mexican art strong?

AFB: Yes, there seem to be plenty of buyers but if you are not one of the really established artists it is hard to find a good venue to broaden your exposure.

EC: Do you think that the Mexican government supports the arts adequately?

AFB: No, they don’t promote it but they do take advantage of certain artists. If you have talent they market you and make you famous but it is just for their own benefit not the enrichment of the society. To me supporting art would mean that they promote all artists. When I was young they didn’t have art classes in school, although I took a class on perspective drawing and that’s how I discovered I was good at art. The only public art school in Puebla is falling down; I heard that they cancelled classes because the roof collapsed.

EC: Who are other contemporary artists who you admire?

AFB: I identify most with Arturo Rivera, Javier Pelaez, and Roberto Cortázar. I especially like Cortazar’s work but I never tire of discovering contemporary artists who I knew nothing about and are doing interesting work.

EC: What artists influence your work?

AFB: Well, I don’t read a lot about the history of artists but I did see a biography of Van Gogh that was very interesting, I felt I could relate to his experience in some ways.

EC: Where has your art been recently exhibited?

AFB: My last exhibition was here in Puebla as part of a Galería La Colección group exhibition, and the one before that was at the UPAEP museum.

EC: What are your plans and goals for the future?

AFB: My principal concern right now is to continue expanding my portfolio and exhibiting. My goals are to do exhibitions abroad, participate in important art events, and eventually get my art into the best private collections.