Art and science converge in the exhibition Mexico under the shadow of the Moon, in which 22 artists, mostly from the state of Oaxaca, share their visions and interpretations of the total solar eclipse that will occur this Monday, April 8, the first in the country since July 1991.
Carried out with the support of the Institute of Astronomy of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the National Committee of Eclipses Mexico and the UNAM Foundation, the exhibition was inaugurated this Thursday at the Palacio de la Autonomía (Licenciado Primo de Verdad 2, Centro Historico ), where it will remain until April 21.
There are 24 pieces, created specifically, that address this astronomical phenomenon from perspectives and approaches that range from the mythological and ancestral ritual to the symbolic and the contemporary, using both the figurative and the abstract.
Rigor and subjectivity
Our idea is to generate interest and curiosity so that the public approaches science through different doors. One of the kindest and noblest is art. Furthermore, it is a very successful combination, because while scientists are very rigorous, artists tend to be very subjective, so that an equation is achieved as is. An eclipse is a conjunction that aligns and everything works
emphasizes the artist Ivonne Kennedy, curator of the exhibition and one of its participants.
Emerged at the request of the Oaxacan astronomer Héctor Hernández Toledo, based on the friendly relationship that has always existed between the Institute of Astronomy of the UNAM and the artistic community of that entity of the Republic, this project involves practically the same number of creators of male than female sex.
Very aligned proposal
It was not deliberate, but thanks to the fact that the offer of women’s art has also grown a lot, it was able to be balanced and it is something that we like a lot, because we continue in that game of opposites, of the Sun and the Moon; like everything has converged in a very aligned way in this proposal
says the cultural promoter in an interview.
“Although it now inspires us and represents the same purpose: the eclipse, the exhibition shows a very wide range in terms of styles, techniques, languages and colors. Suddenly, it is said that in Oaxaca the same thing is always painted, but here it is shown that this is false, that each artist has his own universe.
Here you can see very different proposals, contrasts and palettes; We have everything from rigorous easel painting, which is a craft that has been diluted with conceptual art, but in Oaxaca we still have it very strong, to digital printing techniques, all with very fine craftsmanship.
Another purpose of Mexico under the shadow of the Moon, According to Ivonne Kennedy, is also to offer the public a window to the art that we make in Oaxaca, in addition to showing the interest there is in science.
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Add: We consider that through this sample we can recognize a scientifically active Mexico that suddenly is not sufficiently visible, perhaps so that all the research work that they (astronomers) are continually carrying out is in the public domain.
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All the works in the exhibition have a round format of one meter in diameter and in them you can find representations of the eclipse, both mythical and ancestral rituals, as well as symbolic, through landscapes, characters such as astronauts and various animals such as the crab, the rabbit and the dog, details the artist, “All this that exists around an eclipse, that happens, that dismays, that excites, is represented in these works.”
The participating artists are: Román Andrade, Vicente Mesinas, Jarol Moreno, Tomás Pineda, Guillermo Pons, Virgilio Santaella, Ana Santos, Soledad Velasco, Alejandra Villegas, Susana Wald, Siegrid Wiese, Pita Wild C., Raúl Herrera, Ivonne Kennedy, Abelardo López, Cristina Luna, Katy McFadden, Rosa Astorga, Saúl Castro, César Chávez, Manuel de Cisneros and Amy García.
