First Week in Mx- Art tour

January 17, 2019October 27, 2019 by admin In Study Abroad 1 Comment

I was very lucky that my mom is as curious about Mexico as I am, so she joined me for a week in Mexico City and Puebla prior to my actual study abroad. It has been overwhelming so far in its newness, I have tried many new foods and become more confident in my Spanish. We saw some incredible art our first week, which have helped me think more deeply about Mexican history and culture.

In Mexico city, we saw first the History of Mexico in the stairway of the National Palace. This mural and the others in the upper level hallway show in depth both the violence and national pride of Mexico in a really raw way. Rivera depicts both slavery and the accomplishments of the Mexican indigenous people. The size of this mural is important, and seeing it in person was much different than seeing it online when I originally learned about it. The mural is larger than life and is overwhelming, much like the complex history of Mexico.

To complement the murals of Diego Rivera, we next went to the Blue House of Frida Kahlo. It was pretty unreal seeing where she worked, lived and suffered. Looking at  some of her unfinished work and her lesser-known work reminded me of how technically (as in classical technique) talented she is. It was also very moving to see photographs of her I had never seen before.

It is interesting to consider how internationally renowned Kahlo is, which I think she is much deserving of. However I began to wonder if we celebrate her at the expense of  other Mexican female surrealists.

Next, we saw the Templo Mayor, the Aztec temple that was buried by the Spanish. It has been uncovered in the middle of Mexico city and is juxtaposed with the church that is right next to it. The Museum for the Temple is like a monument itself, it is really well designed and has countless incredible pre-cortesian artifacts. My favorite artifact was the Coyolxauhqui disc. It is truly awe-inspiring and I  spent a long time looking at it.

At the Museo Nacional de Arte both me and my mom were really impressed by an exhibit about Carlos Mérida. He was a prolific artist who celebrated Latin American culture and also innovated abstract art. His is some of my favorite abstract art I have ever seen, and I think it’s really disappointing he is not included in the general art history canon that I was educated in.

While in Puebla we had to go shopping for some of the traditional pottery called Talavera. It is unique in that the designs are often three dimensional, and the paint is very strong. Mom bought four bowls in this style.

We saw much more art than this but these were a few highlights! I hope that I can continue to learn about Mexico’s artistic legacy while making some of my own art soon.

¡Hasta Luego!