Mexican Museum Research Paper

The Museo del Canal Interoceanico was the Panamanian museum chosen by the Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A. (FEMSA), to exhibit the more than seventy incredible Mexican artworks. These pieces of arts were displayed in seven different theme zones: “From the European experience to the Mexican School of Art”, “Landscapes”, “The Vangaurds”, “Fantastic Art and Surrealism”, “The Arrival of the European Surrealism”, “The New Tendencies for the Mexican Plastic Arts”, and “Pictures”. This exhibition did not only portray Mexican artworks, but also included a magnificent piece of art from a well-known Panamanian artist, Alfredo Sinclair. Before we get to know what artwork I considered was the symbol of this exhibition, we need to be clear of what was the premise of this art exhibition.

“Identidad Fanstatica” was the name of this incredible display of art.

The name is due to the fantastic art that has been always realized in Mexico, to the plastic art spirit, and the magic that is present in the pre-Hispanic and popular art. Also because of all the artworks that have a fantastic and surrealistic character, that were portrayed even before the arrival of the European surrealism to Mexico. I considered it was a very wise to choose this name for the exhibition, because the visitors were really able to get to know the different Mexican artworks that had existed in the different time periods and within different art movements. Fantastic, is just the perfect word to describe this display of art, because most of the time we considered European artists, as the supreme deities of art, but we devaluate all the incredible pieces of art that Latin America has. Diego Rivera, David Alfaro, Jean Charlot, Frida Kahlo, and Cordelia Urueta, are some of the Mexican artists whose works were exhibited in this museum. A unique trait of this art exhibition is that it included portrays of the different artists, in order for the visitors get to know these artists in a different

field.
“Ensayo de Titeres” from the Mexican artist Antonio Ruiz, is definitely the artwork I chose to be the symbol of this exhibition. The medium of this artwork is tempera on cardboard. I chose this piece of art for the simple reason that it perfectly portrays the premise of this exhibition. In this painting, we see all the different fantastic elements it has, it is just a magic piece of art. The paint portrays a puppet circus that invite the viewer to read the art through all the different blueprints, because it is a painting that has many scenes in just one piece of art. For example, we see the two kids and the man playing with puppets, and this can be considered as the message of the artwork, but they are also trying to convey a message to the viewer. This trait is what makes this incredible painting to be classified as fantastic. Also, the use of the different vibrant colors makes this piece of art much more attractive to the viewer, and somehow tries to call the attention of it. The medium of this artwork is tempera on cardboard.

Without doubts, this exhibition was exceptional, and it really accomplished its mission of educating the Panamanian audience about all the fantastic and surrealistic Mexican artworks. On the same hand, these artists really were able to convey the message they wanted to all the viewers they had. Definitely, these are the types of cultural activities Panama needs in order to artistically enrich our society.