Day 3- A different Mexico City

We took the tour bus to the north of the city. It leaves behind the grit and grime of the historical area. Also my first words were of the shock of driving east from the airport to the Centro Historico- It was truely dirty and crowded.

Just on the other side Centro Historico is the Alemeda- a large well kept park and seems the beginning of different and cleaner city.  A little farther north is the Monument de la Indenpendencia- a massive structure that sits among high rises and commercial buildings found in most big cites.

Condesa is an extremely pleasant neighborhood lined with shops and nice restaurants. A part separates traffic on both sides of the street. Bronze sculptures and fountains further decorate this patch of greenery.

Roma, a section north of Condesa is known as bohemian enclave with galleries and cafes throughout.

We got a glimpse of the park where the Archeological Museum and several art museums are, but we will explore that area in more depth tomorrow.

Day 2- Temple Major

We began our day visiting Iturbide’s home? Palace?  He declared himself king until he was ousted by Santa Anna and Mexican independence six months later. The building is now owned by a Mexican Bank (Bankomex- they are everywhere.) There was an exhibition of ornate silver works- jewelry, kitchen ware, various vessels of all shapes and sizes, saddles and even traditional Mexican costume with silver decoration. Featured artists were from Taxco, a town know for silver work and Mexico City. 

The main feature of the day was Temple Major and the Aztec history, Aztec art and of course the Aztec ruins of  Teocalli- the vast temple. On the east side of the great cathedral is a large three dimensional map of the city of Tenochitilan- the future Ciudad di Mexico.  A couple hundred islands surrounded by a lake. The islands are actually next to canals that crisscross the land. Near the center is a larger island with several pyramids. Also to the west a bit is another group of pyramids. I never found out about those pyramids. But as Truckee and I were conversing a gentleman approached us and asked us if we wanted to hear a talk on the Aztec city.  Many in the city make a living,  performing little services like this for tourists. I asked him how much. He said that we could pay what we thought that it was worth.  He gave us a great deal of information about the makings of the city of Tenochitilan, of the various Aztec rulers and of the entry of Spanish into the city. I loved this man’s clear thick accent. When he pronounced Aztec names like Huizoopochtli, the Aztec war god, he pronounced them slowly and with care Hoo-zoo—pocch- chet- teel-li. He did not keep to his word, but charged us $100 pesos for the lecture.

We entered the vast ruins. In 1978 an electrical worker excavating the property where we stood, came upon the head of a giant snake. It turned out that the snake was one of three that guarded the main giant Aztec temple of the city. It was then that the city began its excavations of the site.  To get an idea of design of the temple, one must imagine a series of shells within each other. It was actually a series of five temples built within each other. The first (perhaps it is the second.)  was built in about 1400 CE and is the one in tact today. It is in tack because as the Spanish razed the temple to the ground, rubble and the shells of these subsequent temples covered the remains of the one we see in the excavation. 

It is thought that there is yet another temple beneath the one we saw, but the water table in Mexico City does not allow excavation.  As each succeeding ruler build another layer on top of the preceeding temple, they filled the space in between with gravel- along with the gifts of tribute from the lands all around Mexico.  Generally the sacrifices were made at the top of the pyramid.  The blood was saved and thought to be sacred. We know that the heart were pulled out and put in a sacred place. 

See below: The Priest's Ceremonial Room

 

Temple Major contains a vast number of artifacts from the diggings at this site. They fall into several categories, sacred instruments used by the priests, icons and statues of various Aztec dieties along with their mythical stories and the offerings of communities from all over Mexico- masks, icons, beads, ceremonial items, jewelry, anything of value that these people would give their conquerors.  It is the number and variety of these items that impressed me most. 

In looking at the geography of the area I was amazed at the size of the giant lake that surrounded the city. And that city was not the only one.  Probably about 100 different communities thrived on the lake living in similar island cites, many connected with one another.  Many of these communities had their own pyramids of similar design. 

When the Spanish came, they came as conquerors.  They banned anyone of native blood from the city. They destroyed the temple and built their own temples and estates over them.  They were the conquistadors. 

Miclantecuhtli, the God of Death, his skinny threatening frame beckons people to the underworld. His liver hangs out as that was the organ thought by the Aztecs to be closely associated with the underworld. 

Ciudad de Mexico- Day 1 (December 17)

After less than three hours of sleep, Truckee and I got up at 3 am for our 6 am flight, anything for a bargain. We walked six blocks through the Haight Ashbery with our luggage and promptly drove to the airport.  We had an uneventful flight to Phoenix, then sat across the aisle from each other- at  the emergency exit- (“You are equipped to handle an emergency,” the flight steward stated humorlessly.)

I was fortunate to have seated on the other side a lively and attractive woman from southern California. We shared as pleasant a disagreement as I can imagine.  Cecelia was an admitted Republican with ties to the oil business and I was “more liberal than Obama” blue stater.  She was going to Mexico City for business and little time to play. We looked forward to ten days of busy recreation between Mexico City and San Miguel Allende.

A US Airways hairy landing deposited all of us on Mexican soil. The bureaucratic rigmarole of immigration, customs, baggage retrieval and check took about an hour and a half until we were spit out the exit and confronted by four taxi companies of Buona Fortuna, Integrity, Armarillo and Verde Cab. I chose Integrity and after reading multiple warnings about taxis, was sure we would be ripped off. Alas, it was an honest operation. Our driver got behind the flashing lights of the Policia and we were spirited across the gridlock of Mexico City at a much quicker pace than any auto. 

I am sure that it had to do with the gritty neighborhoods that line the path from the airport to Centro Historico.  Building in disrepair, broken windows, litter, miles of street vendors covered by tattered multicolored tarps- hoard of shoppers arms full of bargains. It was my first view of Mexico and Ciudad de Mexico.

Our Hotel- Ritz, built in 1930, was on the famous Marida Francisco- just a block and a half from my infamous inlaw Iturbede. (More about him, later) By the time we entered the cute room, both of us were on the verge of total exhaustion.  I managed to return a couple of emails in my comatose state, but then laid down for about a half hour of deep sleep. I was awaked by the strains of loud American 90s pop music.  At first I thought it was coming from the streets, but just below our window was the hotel dance floor with dozens dancing and whooping it up to the music.

Motivated by the auditory ambiance and my short nap, we went out looking for food- Hosteria de Santa Domingo “whipping up classic Mexican fare since 1860”.  True, it was a Monday, but the place had four customers, two of whom looked like us- Gringos.  I stuttered my way though ordering, but we ended up having two classic dishes, mine a chicken ranchero and Truckee’s a traditional beef dish with chilies, fruit and nuts, smothered in a white sauce and pomegranate.  The piano player played intermittently familiar tunes- but unnameable pieces from the 30s and 40s.  Two TVs added to decorative and ornate surroundings. You will get an idea from the photo.

After dinner we walked down to the brightly decorated Zocolo and central square.  The square was filled with massive slopes and snow runs- real snow (well, man-made snow).  Large masses of adults and children filled the square, many with new inflatable six foot candle sticks that they would hurl into the air. (You had to be there. )

The stores windows were decorated, the streets filled with people and large numbers of police in every direction. Some store had there own security guards standing outside. But one non-descript enterprise, the guard held a shot gun. I am wondering who that vendor pissed off.

This entry has become as wordy as some of my European journals. What can I say? I am on the road again. And I am excited about traveling- even with only 3 hours sleep.

Off to Mexico

My son and I are flying into Mexico City tomorrow. Stay tuned in for more about the art of Mexico and our adventures.

Henry Inman

I am getting ready to put my original Henry Inman (1801- 1846) on the market.  He was a central figure in founding the National Academy of design, along with Thomas S. Cummings. It was a surprise find among my uncle's possession. I suspect that it has been in my family a long time. My family roots are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Inman lived in Philadelphia from 1831 to 1834. There is a good chance that he painted it when living there. Dennis Calabi who restored it for me said that it was mostly covered with coal dust residue, but otherwise in very good condition. He also said that the amount of residue was consistent with being on a wall for a very long time.

One of Inman's favorite subjects was children. Here is a teaching moment- a grandfatherly character showing a child how to graft a branch on to a tree. Dennis thought that he may have painted this just his own pleasure. The brush strokes are free. The paint is laid on lightly.

The Grafter, 9" X 12" by Henry Inman

Winter Progress

I have about two months of work here that I have never shown. They are truly works in progress. A few of them are finished, and maybe we disagree on what is in progress or finished. There are some pieces that I am showing here where the glue is not even dry yet.

I will load about dozen here and comment on each of the ones I have downloaded. I am saving a few for entries all their own. I hope that you will enjoy them. I present them as is. If you would like to buy one, let me know. I will tell you the size and other pertinent information and you can bid at this point. If I think that the bid is too low, I will tell you. To give you an idea prices could range from $50 to $1000. Some I may not sell because I may feel that they are not finished.

I am beginning to work a little bigger. I have two collages in process that are 20" X 30". The first is a motif that I have used before. In fact I feel that piece that I am thinking about, may be my most successful.

The next piece is just as large and just as unfinished. I feel that it is pretty successful so far. At this point there is always a danger that I will do too much.

The piece I put away for about a year because I was dissatisfied with it. I worked on it some more and voila! I feel that it is really a successful piece. I love the layers and edges. Having so much of a red base has really given it some vibrancy.

I have been playing with masking tape and I have some more complex pieces than I am showing here in process. It has been fun. I have a future blog about some ways this might go in the future.

Something here without the masking.

A little Monet copy done at the end of a day of painting.

And finally a few of my standard 9 X 12 abstract landscapes.

My Show in June

Yes, it's a long time since June. But I think that I never posted very much about my show. It really went very well. I was also happy with turn-out and sales. At one point I thought I would run out of frames and made a last minute purchase of some. I am posting the photos of the walls. Close ups of all pieces are available. I rented the panels and thought I might have them through August to create and publicize a show for my uncle's work. I had everything up. I went off for a week for a music camp in Portland. When I returned the panels were gone. Katherine at the Art Center had a panic attack about the upcoming show. The Grand Salon. She thought that they would need more wall space, which they didn't. So again John's paintings are in stacks around the room. My next project: To buy some panels and framing, nail them together, paint them and create my own panels. Well, here is some idea of the show.