Tuesday we decided to go to the Banamex Casa de Cultura. Banamex is the former Bank of Mexico which owns 3 historic buildings in the Centro area which house their offices and also a museum of culture and art. The already dramatic courtyard is made more so now with the focus on this large sculpture as you enter. It´s called ¨Que abre otro misterio¨ which translates as ¨which opens another mystery¨’ by Arnaldo Coen.
The first exhibit is about the history of San Miguel de Allende - as told by Banamex. Disappointingly, despite the claim to multicultural representation and support of indigenous people, the version of history presented is heavy on the narrative about the great things that the colonialists and the Catholic church did for the indigenous people without any acknowledgement of the land theft, plundering, and viollence that took place. They did acknowledge the later history of insurgency in the 19th century however:
In the upper galleries there was more work by Arnaldo Coen.
Title: “Espejo de lo invisible” (Mirror of the Invisible)
In another room, there was some of the artist’s more recent work:
Detail of the two smaller pictures on the right
The discussion of the paintings above makes a reference to the gold used on the large canvas in a manner similar to kintsugi technique in Japanese art where gold is used to accentuate breaks in the structure.
It goes on to say, “In contrast to the minimalism of the large canvases, Arnaldo introduces small cubes painted in vibrant colours as information boards. These cubes not only act as information boards, but are also complete works of art in their own right. They are a game of perception and attention that generate a constant dialogue with the large canvases. A visual antithesis that invites the viewer to a dynamic interaction between the monochromatic and the polychromatic.” A lot to ponder.
The last exhibit we visited was of kites called “Papalotes” by Francisco Toledo. The discussion mentions that kites are used during the “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) to help the spirits of the deceased to find their way to and from the celebrations. Toledo also saw them as reflections on freedom. The first two photos are his kites. The last is the work of children from a project called EMPEZARTE which provides art therapy for kids in SMA
We enjoyed looking at the art, but as with many places in SMA, the feeling of the space and the views from different locations were part of the enjoyment of the visit to this museum.
