Jose Reyes Meza

Happy Birthday Jose Reyes Meza!

November 23, 1924, was Jose Reyes Meza's birthday. He was a Mexican painter, illustrator and theater set designer, born in Tampico, Tamaulipas. His mother was only 16 at his birth and Reyes lived with her in Altamira on the Gulf Coast in the Huasteca region (home to the native people Huastec). The cultural aspects, the music, etc. influenced his art later. He did eventually go to live with his father, in who was a metal engraver and jeweler, but Jose turned to theater and painting instead. He was granted a scholarship to the Academy San Carlos and studied painting, later enrolling in classes in archeology and history as well.

In addition to his canvas paintings, Reyes created murals and is sometimes referred to being part of the Mexican Muralist Movement, along with Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, etc. His themes reflect the life of the common Mexican people. He has stated that his art echoes all of his life experiences, including music.  Reyes also attempted to reinstate still life painting in Mexico.  He was a founder of the Salon de la Plastica Mexicana and has exhibited his work in the US as well as Mexico.

Bridget Bate Tichenor

Happy Birthday Bridget Bate Tichenor! 

Surrealist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor was born on November 24, 1917, in Paris, France. She received her education in London, France and New York. Her art career initially was in fashion, as a model for Coco Chanel and a fashion editor for Vogue. She became acquainted with Surrealist photographer Man Ray, a friend of her father's who photographed her at various stages of her modeling career.

She first visited a cousin Mexico in 1947 and moved there in 1953, leaving her (second) husband and fashion career. In Mexico, although she had friends who were painters, Tichenor lived and worked as a recluse, devoting her attention to her painting. She felt deeply connected to Pre-Columbian creation cycles and ancestral spirits, expressing her beliefs through her art. She painted using an Italian Renaissance tempera technique she learned while in New York, from Paul Cadmus.

Tichenor's work is included in many private and museum collections internationally. She has been recognized with retrospectives and special exhibitions centering on her vision and unique style and methodology. She lived to be 72 years old.

 

 

Jose Clemente Orozco

Happy Birthday Jose Clemente Orozco!

Influential painter and muralist Jose Clemente Orozco was born on November 23, 1883, in Ciudad Guzman (then Zapotlan el Grande). He was inspired by Jose Guadalupe Posada, who worked on satirical engravings in his shop window on Orozco's way to school. He studied at Academy of San Carlos and went on to become one of the "Big Three" muralists along with Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siquieros. They specialized in political murals in support of the Mexican Revolution and established the Mexican Muralist Renaissance. Unlike Rivera, who held a somewhat rosy view of the outcome, Orozco was concerned with the plight of the peasant workers, as evidenced in his creations.

Orozco was a genre painter, a Social Realist, influenced by symbolism. It is said that he was fascinated by machines.  He lived in the US for a time and painted a few murals there as well, becoming the first Mexican artist from the Contemporary Mexican School to paint a mural outside their home country. He also illustrated the book "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck. He lived to be 65 years old.

Miguel Covarrubias

Happy Birthday Miguel Covarrubias!

Born on November 22, 1904, Miguel Covarrubias was a Mexican caricature artist, as well as an illustrator, painter and art historian. He began cartoon work right after graduating from Escuela Nacional Preparatoria when he was 14. At age 19, he traveled to New York on a grant and began drawing for several well known magazines. He ultimately became a top caricaturist for the magazine Vanity Fair.

He became enamored with the Harlem jazz scene in New York, and created a series of drawings of the people, music and culture,  pointedly capturing the "spirit if the Harlem Renaissance. He met and married choreographer and dancer, Rosa Rolando, and they traveled extensively, but eventually returned to Mexico to live. He wrote the book Island of Bali after the couple's honeymoon there. They became friends with photographers Tina Modotti and Edward Weston as well as muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo.

In  addition to illustration and cartooning,  Covarrubias also worked in theater set and costume design, and painting. He painted a series of highly regarded murals for the Golden Gate International Exposition in the late '30s. He gained international fame and his work was shown in the US, Mexico and Europe. His style has been regarded extremely influential.

 

Angel Zamarripa

Happy Birthday Angel Zamarripa!

Watercolor artist and cartoonist, Angel Zamarripa, was born on November 16, 1912, in Morelia, Michoacan. After attending high school in Mexico City, he entered the Academy of San Carlos. Later he studied engraving at the Escuela de las Artes Libros. He became a graphic artist, known as perhaps the best Mexican cartoonists of the 20th century.

He began work for the magazine El Ilustrado under the pseudonym La Fa-cha and moved to Excelsior where he remained for 50 years. Zamarripa's work was usually satirical. He felt cartooning was a powerful, influential weapon. It has been noted that his work was more about current situations rather than specific characters. In addition to cartooning, Zamarripa was an accomplished watercolorist, concentrating primarily on Mexican landscapes, exhibiting mostly in the US and Europe.

Andrea Gomez

Happy Birthday Andrea Gomez!

Mexican muralist and graphic artist Andrea Gomez was born on November 19, 1926, in Mexico City. She attended Universidad de San Nicolas in Morelia and later Escuela Nacional de Arte Plasticas, in Mexico City, and finally, lithography at Escuela del Artes  Libro. 

She was a member of  Taller de Grafica Popular and the Salon de la Plastica Mexicana. Gomez traveled extensively in Mexico and abroad, where she studied fresco painting, knowledge which she applied to several fresco murals later. In addition to her graphic work and mural painting, she also painted portraits, influenced by Flemish painters.

Gomez was instrumental in establishing several art centers, helped produce free textbooks and worked on magazine and newspaper projects throughout her varied art career. She won Mexico's National Engraving Prize for the engraving pictured below.

                                                              La Nina de la Basura

Jesus Alvarez Amaya

Happy Birthday Jesus Alvarez Amaya!

Jesus Alvarez Amaya was born on November 19, 1923.  He was born in Mexico City and worked as a baker before becoming an artist. He attended Escuela de Arte para Trabajadores and also studied with Ramon Alva de la Canal. He was an assistant to Diego Rivera on a few projects as well.

Versatile in various art forms, Amaya was best known for his political and social consciousness through mural and graphic work. An avowed communist, he led the Taller de Grafica Popular for nearly 40 years, printing materials during the student uprising in the late 60's  His work revolved primarily around his political beliefs. In addition to his murals and graphic art, Alvarez also created canvas paintings, mostly self portraits and those of Emiliano Zapata, leading icon for the peasants in the Mexican Revolution.