Celebrating Mexican Heritage Through Art
Tags: History, Art, Mexico, Contemporary Art, Culture

Celebrating Mexican Heritage Through Art

On Cinco de Mayo, MutualArt explores contemporary Mexican art and revisits some art giants from its past.

Diego Rivera, Pan American Unity, 1940, fresco on plaster. Courtesy of the Diego Rivera Mural Project, City College of San Francisco, and SF MoMA

While most people think of Cinco de Mayo as a celebration, rarely do people unaffiliated with Mexican culture know exactly what they’re celebrating. On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army was victorious over the French army in the Battle of Puebla. Taking place near the city southeast of Mexico City during the second French intervention in the country, this victory was a monumental moment in history — the French army was better equipped and much larger, making Mexico’s win completely unprecedented. Not only were the people of Mexico proud of their country’s positivity and determination, but this win slowed the French advance towards Mexico City, keeping the people living there safe. The yearly festivities take place both in and out of Mexico, as a celebration of Mexican heritage for locals, expats, and descendants living abroad. As it is the time of the year of these festivities, it’s a good opportunity to highlight work by artists that commemorate their Mexican heritage through their craft, no matter what time of year it is.

José Cussachs, Batalla de Puebla, 1903, oil painting on canvas. Courtesy of Museo Nacional de Historia

Beyond the legendary victory, the city of Puebla has made a name for itself in other ways, such as the creation of the Amparo Museum in 1991. The building and its annexes were originally developed in 1538, as the first hospital in the city. It has since become one of the most important cultural arts institutions in all of Mexico. Housing both rare, dated pieces, and local, contemporary work, the museum establishes a clear, proud sense of Mexican culture. Some standout artists of the incredible contemporary art collection include Julio Galán and Carlos Amorales. A question posed by the Amparo Museum’s contemporary art collection in regards to finding work that is both modern and moves in a register of Mexican cultural and political resonance, goes as follows: “This condition indicates a constant negotiation between two artistic discourses that have historically been in opposition: how to be cosmopolitan and continue to be Mexican.” Both Galán and Amorales are mastering that negotiation.

Julio Galán, Portrait of Elizabeth, 2000, oil painting on canvas. Courtesy of Museo Amparo

For Galán, being simultaneously cosmopolitan and true to his culture means drawing elements from the past and redefining them in the present. In his Portrait of Elizabeth, his sister sits in a Louis XV chair, posing as if she’s a subject in an old Renaissance painting. While this is a stark contrast to the pastoral background, Mexican prints, and scattered national symbols, nothing is quite as jarring as her usually white face when compared to her darker, natural skin tone peeking out of her shoes. As the viewer discovers the backdrop is being held by a man’s hand, and begins to acknowledge the giant bubbles floating around the scene, the image begins to evoke a sense of Surrealism, denouncing the oppressive seriousness of a period it initially nodded to, instead blending time periods and artistic styles to create a multi-faceted Mexican identity.

Carlos Amorales, Incorruptible, 2010, aluminum cutouts arranged outside. Courtesy of Museo Amparo

Amorales created Incorruptible with a completely different approach to the “constant negotiation” of Mexican contemporary art, by keeping a Mesoamerican focus. Made specifically for his solo exhibition “Living outside one’s home,” Amorales used aluminum to make eagle heads, a symbol of power for Mesoamerican people, repeating the same form many times and arranging them outside of the museum’s typical exhibition space. He then laid them out in formations that are a combination of shapes found in archival images and a Mayan glyph that resonated with him from a piece in the museum. Choosing a large-format approach to installation, his work’s positioning is somewhat obstructive, giving the feeling that it is invading on the institution.

José Clemente Orozco, Prometheus, 1930, fresco on plaster. Courtesy of Pomona College Museum of Art

A century before these contemporary artists began making work, painters in Mexico began making larger-than-life murals that shook up the art world. It is thanks to them that the search for the balance between modernity, culture, and politics came into question in the first place. While Diego Rivera’s influence has never been doubted, seeing as he is still the most sought after, expensive Latin American artist to date, there were two other men running in similar circles, who, at the time, were all wildly popular for their revolutionary art. One of them was José Clemente Orozco, a powerful caricaturist and the man behind the Prometheus mural in Pomona, California, which Jackson Pollock called the “best painting in the Western hemisphere,” and the ceilings of Guadalajara’s Cabañas Cultural Institute, which has since become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The other was David Alfaro Siqueiros, who was known for being an outspoken activist, having fought for the rights of the poor and working classes, and for painting the murals at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), also a World Heritage Site. Together, the three men were called “Los Tres Grandes,” meaning the big three, as they were the three most influential muralists of the 20th-century. Despite their stylistic differences, their social and political messages post-Mexican Revolution promoted nationalism and indigenous identity, serving as an inspiration for the Chicano Art Movement in the United States.

David Alfaro Siqueiros, University City murals, 1952–53, painted mosaic mural. Courtesy of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Saving the best for last, Frida Kahlo is an icon when it comes to artists allowing their Mexican heritage to shine through their work. Considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists of all time, the longtime partner of Diego Rivera was known for her passion, pain, and incredible self-expression. Paying close attention to Mexican culture, indigenous populations, and the female experience from a woman’s perspective, her art was highly personal, but the emotion that came through her work and her open-mindedness in her depictions of a normal, nonidealized female form made her relatable. Her art was an extension of her unique identity, and while she pulled bits of inspiration from Mexican portrait painters, who had been influenced by European Renaissance painters, her greatest inspiration was herself. She unknowingly embodied an impressive dichotomy — being a symbol of counterculture while staying relevant to her culture.

Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait Along the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States, 1932, oil painting on metal. Courtesy of Frida Kahlo

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican heritage and is a great reminder of the beautiful art that does the same, irrespective of the period or time of the year. From the local contemporary artists, to their predecessors, the famous “Los Tres Grandes” muralists, to the legendary Frida Kahlo, Mexican artists have been carving their own paths to find their answer to the “constant negotiation” of cosmopolitanism and nationalism. While each have their individual route, they all still evoke a sense of pride in Mexican heritage and emotional relatability in their own way, which is truly something worth celebrating.