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Charles Marvin Fairchild (SFS '48) Memorial
Gallery
Part 1: Latin America, the Caribbean, and
the United States
May 9 · July 20, 2003
Part 2: Canada and
the United States
July 22 · October 19, 2003
Home · Illustrations
Part 1 · Illustrations
Part 2 · Press
VISUAL ARTS OF THE AMERICAS had its origins
in the preparations for the 2003 John Carroll Awards,
given each year by the Georgetown University Alumni Association
to recognize outstanding dedication to Georgetown, remarkable
public service, and notable life achievement. Since the
awards ceremonies were to take place in San Juan, Puerto
Rico, the Georgetown University Library produced a short
video, Library
Lens on Latin America, to describe the
Library’s resources in Latin American studies,
including works from the Georgetown University Art Collection.
The number of items in the Art Collection
by Latin American artists was relatively
small, but included some by prominent printmakers of
the twentieth century.
Additionally, several artists from the
United States—the
area in which the Fine Print Collection is strongest—had
depicted Latin American and Caribbean subjects in their
work. After researching and organizing these pieces during
the video's production, the Art Collection decided to
exhibit several of them, and other related items, to
provide an opportunity for viewers to see quality works
from the Collection not often shown and studied. Art
Collection staff previously had undertaken independent
research on the visual culture of Canada; by adding objects
from and about Canada to the exhibit, the theme Visual
Arts of the Americas was developed.
“The Americas”
In considering the concept, Visual Arts
of the Americas, viewers may reasonably wonder what
is the definition of “of.” What, other
than the happenstance of geography, and the historical
accidents that led to the name “America,” provides
any unity to these visual works so that they may be
considered “of the Americas”? Is it work
produced within the Americas with subjects recognizably
of the Americas? Or by artists of the Americas regardless
of choice of subject? Or work produced by artists originating
from or located outside the Americas that depicts subjects
recognizably of the Americas? All of these designations
are represented in Visual Arts of the Americas.
What, too, are the significance of national
political boundaries or cultures defined
by nationhood? Since the nineteenth century,
many historians of the
western hemisphere had attempted to explore
the past by considering the interrelationships
and interdependence of the peoples of
the many nations of
the Americas. The
first professor of history at the University
of California, Bernard Moses (1846-1930),
wrote in 1898: “American history,
in its proper sense, embraces all attempts
to found and develop civilized society
on this continent, whether
those attempts were made by the English,
the French, the Portuguese, or the Spanish....[W]e
should adopt a
more comprehensive view of American history,
and consider our institutions and achievements
in relation to the
institutions and achievements of other
nations that began as we began on the
virgin soil of a new world.... ”1
The trend received
a significant boost from one of Moses’ successors
at the University of California. At a
1932 address in Toronto
to the American Historical Society, its
president, the eminent historian
Herbert Eugene Bolton (1870-1953), decried
the “provinciality” of
historical research, that had focused
on the United States (or other national
histories) as the primary theatre
of incidence and consequence.2 Bolton
said: “Thirteen
of the English colonies led the way; Spanish
and Portuguese America followed. Throwing
off their status as wards,
English, Spanish, and Portuguese colonists
set themselves up as American nations.
Viewed thus broadly the American
Revolution takes on larger significance....Ever
since independence there has been fundamental
Western Hemisphere
solidarity....We need a [historian] to
sketch the high lights and the significant
developments of the Western
Hemisphere as a whole....”3 Particularly influential
was Bolton’s theory of “borderland zones,” which “are
vital not only in the determination of
international relations, but also in the
development of culture....”4 During
his three decades at the university, Bolton
taught and trained many graduate and undergraduate
students in his
theories.
Such notions about the nature of civilization in the
Americas continued to find adherents.
In a 1981 book that is now regarded by
many as prescient and insightful, Washington
Post reporter
Joel Garreau presented his economic and
political thesis of The Nine
Nations of North America: “Forget about the
borders dividing the United States, Canada, and
Mexico, those pale barriers so thoroughly
porous to money, immigrants,
and ideas....Consider, instead, the way
North America really works. It is Nine
Nations. Each has its capital
and its distinctive web of power and influence. ” 5
Visual Arts of the Americas reflects the fluidity
of ideas across political broders throughout
the Americas, the interest in and influence
upon people of one region by those of
another. The stories and ideas depicted
begin within the tumult of early European
nationhood as its explorers and colonists
encountered the culturally rich civlizations
of the "New World"; and continue to the
present era, with artists reacting to
the rapid and often unsettling changes
from past to future.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Beginning in 1533 and throughout the 18th century, Spain
occupied much of the New World, introducing Old World
culture and tradition to the indigenous civilization.
Among the most influential of these institutions was
religion. As was frequently the case in the exploration
incursions at the time, religious missionaries soon followed
the initial conquering forces into the New World. In
1571, with the arrival of Jesuit priests from Spain,
also brought religious teachings, artifacts, and artwork.
The history of Cuzco, an Incan town in south-central
Peru, is an example of the
influence of religion on the indigenous
people. In addition to (and perhaps
to supplement) sermons and other religious
teachings, Spanish master painters taught
local artists to paint
in the European style. This group of artists,
known as “Cuzco
School,” mixed religious imagery with more traditional
Incan and Andean imagery and characteristic
painting style and methods to create a
truly inventive works.
This mixing of cultural aesthetics in
the arts echoes some of what also transpired
in politics, religion, economy,
etc, with the meeting of the "Old" and
the "New" World. The Cuzco school is still
in very active today.
Among the work of the Cuzco School included in this
exhibit are a canvas Lamentation from the
seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, that
could be rolled into a scroll for easier transport
by traveling priests; from the same century,
a Virgin of Sorrows; from a century later,
an interesting painting of Pope
Gregory I (Gregory the Great); and in reproduction,
one of the Georgetown University Art Collection's
important paintings, a large Our Lady of Montserrat, the famous Spanish scene depicted within
Andean-type mountains and with South American
people.
Even after these countries became independent of European
government, Latin American arts still
followed the example of Europe. In a period of
upheaval, uncertainty, and
change brought by independence, Latin
American artists embraced the authority
and convention represented by
the European traditions of fine arts and
continued to follow the art model offered
by their former stewards.
In fact, several art schools and academies
were opened in the nineteenth century
that taught formal arts curricula,
in the tradition of Old Europe.6
However, several political events in the twentieth century
spurred a change in the Latin American
arts culture. The Mexican Revolution of
1910 sparked the beginnings
of an indigenous modernist movement in
Latin America, marking a refreshing departure
from the influence of
"Old Europe." Moreover, the disparaging
events of the first World War fueled a
deeper disillusionment with Europe
both politically and emotionally. The
circumstances of the war and political
and military disgrace of the "Old
Europe" motivated a desire, in most of
Latin America, to move away from the "Old
World." Endemic
pro-socialist sentiments developed in
the region, their exponents sometimes
attempting to suggest a romanticized link
between the "proletariat"/peasant culture
and pre-Spanish Incan, Andean and Aztec
societies, such as with the notion of
shared lands and wealth in
these ancient Latin American civilizations.7
From this cauldron of politics, nationalism, and modern
aesthetics arose
a "renaissance" of innovative arts, styles
and methods was noticeable
in the arts of most of the region by
the mid-1920s. One of the first schools
to emerge at this time was the “Mexican
School.” Well-known for its work with murals, the
group was initially comprised of nationalistic
artists, with little formal training.
These artists produced what
was generally regarded as public and monumental
art or “the
people’s art,” aimed at addressing socio-political,
secular and cultural issues. The Mexican
School was also an attraction to many
other Latin American artists, who
often traveled to Mexico City and drew
inspiration from the aesthetic of the
school. This art movement is represented
by a number of artists in this exhibit,
such as Carlos Merida, and younger artists
Francisco Mora, Francisco
Zuñiga, and from the United States, Pablo O'Higgins,
and Elizabeth Catlett Mora, one of the
giants in the history of artists from
Washington, who was attracted to the Mexican
School for its political and aesthetic ideals.
Other "schools of thought" soon followed.
As with their European counterparts, much
of the origin of the modern Latin American
art movements can be found
in literature and literary precedent,
during a time of rapid urban growth. The
concept of modernismo refers
not only to literature, but also defines
an aesthetic subscribed to by many Latin
American artists from 1900s
to the 1930s.8
A significant pioneer of the Mexican School, Carlos
Merida relayed a “modern aesthetic based on native
art and native subjects” in his works.9 Born in
Guatemala in 1891, Merida lived in New
York City, Mexico City, and Paris. His
art was influenced by abstraction
in the ancient art of Mexico, Guatemala,
and the modern works of artists such as
Miró,
Klee, and Kandinsky. The subject matter
of Merida’s
work was taken from the beliefs, customs,
and folklore of his culture; unlike
many of his contemporaries and followers,
Merida was not an overtly political artist.
He focused on the secular formal and
technical aspects of art. Three of his
color lithographs are included in Visual Arts of
the Americas.
The
success of the Mexican School received notice
throughout the Americas, as well as
in Europe. The works produced by the artists
were saturated by nationalism and the
concept of "return
to the source," a
return to tradition while also exploring
the "avant-garde." With the success and
attention given to the Mexican School,
many Latin American artists immigrated
to the United States to work and exhibit.
Their presence in the U.S.
affected and inspired many North American
artists. Similarly to the way in which
Spain had influenced indigenous arts
almost 400 hundred years before, Latin
America now exercised a similar influence
over Western arts.
Ultimately, the period of Mexican and Latin American
modernism marked a breakthrough for those
non-Western artists
previously receiving lesser notice by
the "art world" of Europe and the United
States, establishing the importance of
those artists on the political, social,
and global peripheryin the modern
art world. Visual Arts of the Americas showcases some candid works from these talented
and expressive artists.
Canada
While campaigning in the federal elections
of 1904, Canada’s seventh prime minister, Wilfrid
Laurier (1841–1919; served 1896–1911),
told a Toronto audience that “the twentieth century
shall be the century of Canada and of
Canadian development. For the next seventy-five
years, nay for the next hundred
years, Canada shall be the star towards
which all men who love progress and
freedom shall come.” 10
Whether the Honorable Mr. Laurier's prediction fell
true is a topic for discussion beyond
the scope of this essay. Nonetheless,
Canada and its civilization serve as an
intriguing case study of the legacies
of Renaissance exploration and of the
development of political, legal, cultural,
and social traditions of that era as they
blossomed into those of a great, trans-continental
young nation. As with another such case
study, its neighbor the United States,
Canada is an immigrant nation of worldwide
attraction; such development
has felt the imprint of an often disputatious
but necessarily inseparable relationship
between the English colonial era and
the great cultural traditions of France
and French Canada that were, in fact,
the origin of European civiliazation in
upper North America; and Canadian culture has
felt the inescapable influence of
the neighboring nation that eventually
would supplant its English colonial "home country" as
the most powerful nation on earth. Visual Arts of
the Americas offers of sampling of works from,
of, and about Canada, reflecting the fascinating
flux of ideas and aspirations that have
developed in the five hundred years of
Canadian civilization.
Much like their Mexican counterparts, Canadians expatriate
artists looked (in their case not north
but south) to the U.S. for direction in
modern art in the beginning of the twentieth
century. New York City became a meeting
point; the new center for art production,
especially after the World Wars left a
disillusioned image of "Old Europe." As a former
colony, Canada moved to distance itself
from the cultural patronage of Europe
and in doing so became involved in the
socio-political artistic movements that
were happening in New York City
at the time.
From the often divisive regionalism in
Canada, ironically, many Canadian artists
found a unifying factor in modern art
movements in New York City, a very "un-Canadian"
place. Much like the artists of the Mexican
School, New York City artists
addressed social change and political
issues in their work. However,
where Mexican arts explored public forms
of expression, the American (and therefore
Canadian) approach was much
more intellectual and abstracted. Among those
artists who sought acceptance in New York
were Caroline and Frank Armington in the
early twentieth century, and Jean-Paul
Riopelle during the Abstract Expressionist
movement a few decades later.
Visual Arts of the Americas includes rare book illustrations
from France during its colonial period
in Canada; work reflecting important developments
in printmaking during the nineteenth century;
and modern masters of graphic arts in
Canada.
For further reflection...
Visual Arts of the Americas offers an
opportunity for viewers to consider
the importance of cultural, historical,
and aesthetic ideas that have been a
part "of the Americas."
- David C. Alan, Art Technician
Olubukola A. Gbedagesin, Intern
1 Bernard Moses, “The neglected half of American
history,” University Chronicle, I (Berkeley, 1898);
reprinted in Lewis Hanke, ed., Do the
Americas have a common history? A critique
of the Bolton theory (New
York: Alfred A Knopf, 1964), pp. 55, 58.
2
reprinted as “The Epic of Greater America,” American Historical
Review, XXXVIII (1933), pp. 448–474; included in Hanke, p. 67–100.
3 idem, pp. 78, 98, 100.
4 idem, p. 99.
5 Joel Garreau, The nine nations of North America (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin
Company,
1981), p. 4.
6 Oriana Baddeley and Valerie Fraser, Drawing the line: art and cultural
identity
in contemporary Latin America (Verso Publishers, London: 1989).
7www.backpackersinc.com/NEWS%20AND%20ARTICLES/n+a2002/abril/socialismin%20latin%20america.htm
8 Jacqueline Barnitz, Twentieth-century art of Latin America (University
of
Texas Press, Austin: 2001).
9 Jacinto Quirarte, “Mexican and Mexican-American Artists in the United
States 1920-70,” in The Latin American spirit: art and artists in the
United
States 1920-1970 (New York : Bronx Museum of the Arts in association with
Harry N. Abrams, 1988).
10 Desmond Morton, A short history of Canada (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart
Ltd.), p. 158.
Special acknowledgment is given to Curatorial Intern
Olubukola Gbadegesin, for invaluable assistance
in the preparation of artwork for exhibit,
and research on the artists and historical themes. The following persons are acknowledged for their support for and assistance
with this exhibit:
University Librarian Artemis G. Kirk; Associate University Librarian
for Special Collections Marty Barringer; Curator of Prints Emeritus The
Reverend Joseph A. Haller, S.J.; Assistant Curator LuLen Walker; Joseph
N. Tylenda, S.J., Director of the Woodstock Theological Library at Georgetown;
Assistant Manuscripts Librarian Scott S. Taylor; Archivist Lynn Conway;
Isabelle Ringuet, Reference Archivist, National Archives of Canada; Manuscripts
Librarian Nicholas B. Scheetz C'74; Director of Development Marji Bayers;
Development Assistant Stephanie S. Hughes; Special Events Manager Caroline
W. Griswold; Graphic Artist David Hagen, Multimedia Specialist Nicholas
J. Brazzi, and Multimedia Specialist Jovanna M. Frazier.
Roderick Quiroz G'91 graciously provided translations from the Spanish
language.
Matting by Frames By Rebecca, Inc.; Silver Spring, Maryland.
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