Erasto Cortes Juarez

Happy Birthday Erasto Cortes Juarez!

The Mexican artist Erasto Cortez Juarez was born on August 26, 1900, in Tepeaca, Puebla. At age 16, he trained at the Academy San Carlos and later at the Escuela de Pintura al Aire Libre. He is best known for his engraving, which he did not even start until age 48! In addition to his artistry, Cortes also taught at several institutions and wrote textbooks on engraving techniques and biographies of important engravers.

He was politically active and a member of several groups and organizations. He was a founder of the Salon de la Plastica Mexicana. His engravings were politically motivated and created on plates of stone, wood and linoleum. A museum houses over 900 of his prints as well as those of other artists, in his home state: Museo Taller de Erasto Cortes.

Rufino Tamayo

Happy Birthday Rufino Tamayo!

The famed Rufino Tamayo was born in 1899, on August 25, in Oaxaca. He was a painter of Zapotec heritage, studying art at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas after going to live in Mexico City with his Aunt when his parents died. He also attended Academy of Art San Carlos.

Although he was a contemporary of Diego Rivera, Orozco, Siquieros and other muralists, he did not agree politically with them. He was not a proponent of the Mexican Revolution, believing it would hurt Mexico. Tamayo also lived in Paris and New York for a time...but each time returned to Mexico.

Tamayo was a painter and muralist, but is best  known for printmaking. He and Luis Remba were responsible for the technique of "mixografia", a printing process allowing the production  of three dimensional textured prints.   Throughout his career he experimented with many styles of art, including Expressionism, Cubism, Abstraction as well as Figurative. He is known to be a colorist, judiciously choosing only a few colors to create emphasis. The limited color palette is demonstrated in the work below: Tres Personajes Cantando.

Fumiko Nakashima

Happy Birthday Fumiko Nakashima!

Japanese born Fumiko Nakashima is a Surrealist watercolor artist. She was born on August 24, 1981, but relocated to Colonia Roma, Mexico City in 2010, after becoming enamored with Mexico at age 17. She studied the art of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and that of the Huichol in Mexico, in 1999. Before coming to Mexico permanently in 2010,  Nakashima studied art in Japan.

Her art shows definite Mexican influences from Kahlo and Remedios Varo, but also combines her own Japanese heritage and themes. The unique surrealist style of Nakashima draws on stories, images and dreams as well as events such as the earthquake and tsunami to hit Japan in 2011. She has exhibited in Mexico and Japan.

Luis Monasterio

Happy Birthday Luis Ortiz Monasterio!

Mexican sculptor Luis Monasterio was born in Mexico City on August 23, 1906. His father died the year he was born. He began his career studying to be a teacher, later returning to Academia San Carlos for art classes. He went back and forth from Mexico to the US, where he was exposed to other sculptors such as Rodin,  Monasterio really became a success during his time in the US with his work the at International Sculpture Exhibition at the Philadelphia Art Musthe eum with the museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, each purchasing a sculpture from him. He returned to Mexico City to live permanently.  In addition to sculpting, Monasterio also taught at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas and authored several books.

Known for his monumental works, he also created smaller pieces. Monasterio's monumental sculptures tended to be Pre-Hispanic in theme, sculpted from native stone, while his smaller works could be sensual or mechanical in feeling. He used classical as well as geometric shapes. He received several awards and tributes during his career.

I've decided to include one of his larger sculptures today...


                                  

La Victoria (1968)

Hector Garcia Cobo

Happy Birthday Hector Garcia Cobo!

Perhaps the most important photojournalist of Mexico was born on August 23, 1923. Hector Garcia Cobo started life extremely poor. As a child he was a wanderer, meeting and visiting with people he met, and at age 7 he hitchhiked to Veracruz! After receiving a camera as a gift when he was 18, he began looking at photography as a carer. After receiving work at Celuloid Magazine, he studied formally at Academia de Artes Ciencias y Cinematografias.

Cobo worked as a photojournalist for over 60 years, photographing uprisings, campaigns, strikes. He also took portrait pictures of celebrities as well as poor folk. In addition to his work for international publications, he also created artistic and social criticism works with his camera. He illustrated a few books and later in his career experimented with cinematography.

Hector Garcia Cobo's work exhibited social commentary as well as artistic expression.

Francisco Vallejo

Happy Birthday Francisco Vallejo!

The Mexican muralist Francisco Antonio Vallejo was born in 1722. His work is indicative of the last of the Mexican Baroque period. The use of blue shades characterize his paintings, most of which are located in churches and chapels in Mexico. A member of the Academy of Painting, he also taught at the Academy of San Carlos. Vallejo died in 1785.

Bernardo Gomez Pimienta

Happy Birthday Bernardo Gomez Pimienta

Bernardo Gomez Pimienta, born in Belgium in 1961, on August 18. He became an architect in 1987 and is now one of the most well known architects and furniture designers of Mexico. He is the current director of the school of Architecture at Universidad Anahuac del Norte.

Pimienta has won numerous awards for his work. Below is pictured one of his most well known projects...

Escuela Nacional de Arte Teatral