Antonio M. Ruiz

Happy Birthday Antonio M. Ruiz!

Born September 2, 1892, Antonio M Ruiz was a painter from Texcoco. Although his father was a physician and his mother was a concert pianist, his grandfather was also a painter. His family moved to Mexico City and he attended the Academy of San Carlos, studying architecture and painting. Ruiz not only relied on education as his mainstay after his parents died early on, but he also taught at La Esmeralda later. He spent a couple of years in Hollywood working on set design in the mid 1940's

Ruiz artistry was focused on Mexican culture; detailed depictions of everyday life. Although he was of the Mexican muralism time period, he was not part of the movement, preferring small canvases instead. He was a slow worker with attention to detail and completed only 3 or 4 paintings per year. Ruiz experimented a bit with Surrealism and one of his best known paintings: The Dream of Malinche is an example of this...

The painting depicts the mythical figure La Malinche asleep on a bed with the Mexican landscape upon her blanket. La Malinche is the symbol of the indigenous people, an Indian woman said to fall in love with a Spanish conquistador and alter the pure Mexican bloodline. Her reputation varies between that of the embodiment of treahery and/or the symbolic mother of the "New Mexico" It has been mused that the meaning is "Mexican's past still slumbers beneath the trappings of the European present".

Marcelino Vicente

Happy Birthday Marcelino Vicente!

Potter Marcelino Vicente was born in 1933, in the small rural village of Ocumicho in the northwestern region of Michoacan. He was the last of 11 or 12 siblings. Always fascinated with watching the lady potters work on their pottery, he took up the profession for himself even though in his town it was considered "women's work". He hand-built his pieces and they became known as diablitos...or little devils. Most were humorous works with several zany characters, usually with one or more devils, and often sexual or even pornographic. He created many of the molded clay scenes and sold them at the tianguis (open air market), where they were a great hit. He gathered a group of men and women and formed a workshop to create the pieces. His work became popular not only in Mexico but also the US. It was not common for men and women to socialize or work closely together as this group did, nor was it looked on favorably for men to be gay, as it was rumored he was. Sadly one evening he was beaten to death while enjoying a beer at a local bar. This ended the life and work of the unusual individual, at the age of 35.

Ana Victoria Jimenez

Happy Birthday Ana Victoria Jimenez!

Ana Victoria Jimenez was born on August 31, 1941, in Mexico City. She was a member of the Communist Party and a feminine activist and she took courses in photography. This led her to experiment with methods, styles, techniques and she became a photographer.

Jimenez' work focused on women: doing domestic chores, in poverty and crisis. She also created photos of landscapes, often with "monstrous" trees or in erotic shapes.

In addition to her artistic photos she also documented marches, speeches, festivals and uprisings of various causes but concentrating on feminist aspects. Through this work Jimenez became an important archivist of the period of history from 1960-90. She also published many articles in various publications.

Some of her artistic expression is included below,,,

Yolanda Cabrera

Happy Birthday Yolanda Cabrera!

Since I don't know the date of Yolanda Cabrera's birthday, let's celebrate it today! She was born in Mexico City and studied to be a graphic designer, a field she worked in for twenty years before branching out to focus on fine arts. She returned to her alma mater Academy of San Carlos to realize her dream of becoming a painter. Cabrera's work encompasses varied media including acrylic on wood, drawing, collage, ceramics, installations, etc. She often includes symbolism in her creations (as in the boat images below representing life's voyage) Her graphic design experience is definitely an apparent influence in her later work.

Cabrera's work has been included in many collectives as well as solo shows. She has received recognition for both her graphic design as well as her fine art. Cabrera has been an educator at Taller de Experimentacion Plastica since 2010.

The mixed media piece included today is from her series "Barcas Solares" which explores the theme of life and death.

Ramon Alva de la Canal

Happy Birthday Ramon Alva de la Canal!

Pioneer Mexican muralist, Ramon Alva de la Canal was born today,  August 29, 1892, in Mexico City. He studied at the Academy of San Carlos and then under Alfredo Ramos Martinez at the Escuela de Pinturas al Aire Libre, in Coyoacan. He was a member of the Sindicato de Obreros Technicos Pintures, Escultures y Grabadores.  Alva de la Canal also fought in the Mexican Revolution.

His mural work was in the *fresco technique and most was culturally or politically themed. The largest and perhaps most important project was a monument to Jose Maria Morelos, consisting of 56 panels that he painted with fellow artist Pepe Diaz. In addition to mural painting, he also was an engraver, using his images to further his political views.

Alva de la Canal believed in access to technology to further the success of mankind. He felt to be an artist and get across one's views required a "sensitivity, spiritual delicacy, a certain nervous conformation and the will to embrace it."

*fresco: the creation of mural panels done by mixing pigment with wet plaster.

The fresco mural I am including today is found at Antiguo Colegio de San Idelfonso. The artist created the first fresco of twentieth century Mexico there, in 1922.

Olga Costa

*Note: This post was actually for yesterday but we had internet problems in San Pancho and I could not post!

Happy Birthday Olga Costa!

Born in Germany on August 28, 1913, Olga Costa immigrated to Mexico at age 12. Although she was only able to attend Academy of San Carlos for three months, she continued to successfully teach herself to paint. She was married to fellow artist Jose Chavez Morado and they relocated to Veracruz where he began a painting school. Her first artistic endeavors were to paint the halls of the teachers' college there.

Her early work was greatly influenced by the Mexican muralist movement. With no formal training, her paintings often exhibited distortion, skewed proportions: an innocence. she painted Mexican themed still life, landscapes, portraits and costumbrista. Later she exhibited a more academic and formal style with a varied color palette. Costa's creations were exhibited and sold in the US as well as Mexico.

In addition to her own art, Olga Costa was a promoter of the arts. She and her husband opened galleries, founded museums and donated art. She received several awards and a book was written about her life in 1984.

Fanny Rabel

Happy Birthday Fanny Rabel!

Fanny Rabel (Rabinovich) was born in Poland on August 27, 1922, into a family of traveling actors. She immigrated to Mexico with her family at age 16 and attended La Esmeralda. Rabel is thought to be the first female modern day muralist and was the only woman in the group of four "Los Fridos" who studied under Frida Kahlo.

In addition to mural painting, she also created canvas paintings, drawings, engravings, and even ceramic sculpture. Her work often featured children and she was concerned with social injustices and the plight of the poor. Rabel was one of the first to voice environmental concerns about smog, pollution, garbage, etc. through her art.

She has had many exhibits of her work and it is included in collections all over the world.