Artist:
Juan O' Gorman
Title:
Representacion Historica de la Cultura
Year:
1956
Adress:
Ciudad Universitaria
Website:
www.wikipedia.org:
Juan O'Gorman's most celebrated work due to its creativity, construction technique, and dimensions, are the four thousand square meters murals covering the four faces of the building of the Central Library at Ciudad Universitaria at Unam. These murals are mosaics made from millions of colored stones that he gathered all around Mexico in order to be able to obtain the different colors he needed. The north side pictures Mexico's pre-Hispanic past and the south facade its colonial one, while the east wall depicts the contemporary world, and the west shows the university and contemporary Mexico.
"From the beginning, I had the idea of making mosaics of colored stones in the walls of the collections, with a technique in which I was already well experienced. With these mosaics the library would be different from the other buildings of Ciudad Universitaria, and it would be given a particular Mexican character.
www.cdmxtravel.com:
The mural by the painter and architect, Juan O'Gorman, has a history even before the ideas it embodies, it was made of white marble and colored stones that the artist collected nationwide. The project lasted a year with virtually no budget and a working day of over 12 hours.
It is noteworthy that the library that O'Gorman painted is, along with other buildings in the Ciudad Universitaria, a Unesco World Cultural Heritage site.
The four sides of the upper block form an integral work of four thousand square meters, where various aspects of Mexican history are represented. In the mural, the sun and the moon act as vigilantes and between them history and the characters who fight for truth, especially in the pre-Hispanic culture, develop.
The mural looks at the dialectic of ideas, including criticism of history and diverse ideologies.
www.mxcity.mx:
La Biblioteca Central y es clasificada como una obra maestra de la arquitectura funcionalista. Se trata, no solamente de una de las colecciones bibliográficas más importantes de nuestro paàs, sino también de una espectacular pieza de arte.
La base de la edificación está hecha con piedra volcánica (proveniente del pedregal donde se encuentra) y está labrada con motivos de las culturas prehispánicas mexicanas. La entrada norte del edificio está adornada con una fuente en forma de Tláloc, dios de la lluvia y la fertilidad, un motivo que se repite en distintos lugares del edificio. Además, en las bardas del jardàn de la planta principal se encuentran labradas las siluetas del dios Quetzalcóatl, de Ehecátl (deidad del viento) y una máscara rodeada de "Desde el principio, tuve la idea de hacer mosaicos de piedras de colores en los muros ciegos de los acervos, con la técnica que ya tenàa bien experimentada. Con estos mosaicos la biblioteca seràa diferente al resto de los edificios de la Ciudad Universitaria, y con esto se le dio carácter mexic", dijo O'Gorman sobre éste, uno de los mosaicos más grandes del mundo.
Realizado con piedras de colores y titulado Representación histórica de la cultura, el mural que cubre el cuerpo entero del edificio funciona como un códice, es decir, supone una narración de la historia de nuestro paàs en diversas etapas, y de la importancia de la Universidad Nacional.
El muro norte del edificio representa imágenes de las culturas prehispánicas mesoamericanas y sus deidades. Su temática gira en torno a la dualidad vida-muerte. El lado norte está ilustrado con el rostro de Tláloc, enmarcado con un par de manos abiertas y retrata diferentes escenas del pasado prehispánico de México, como la fundación de Tenochtitlán.
El muro sur retrata la llegada de los espaà±oles a México y la Conquista, asà como la dualidad Dios-Diablo. Además presenta la parafernalia de dicha etapa de la historia, como iglesias, caà±ones, mapas, monjes y códices.
El muro oriente retrata la modernidad mexicana, siendo us ejes temáticos. En el centro hay un modelo del átomo, principio generador de la vida. Hay también una Luna y un Sol, una representación más de la dualidad.
El muro poniente habla de la Universidad Nacional y su importancia, siendo el escudo de ésta uno de los temas principales. También hay distintas alegoràas y representaciones de todo eso que esta magna casa de estudios representa: la ciencia, la cultura, el deporte, etcétera.
La Biblioteca Central es actualmente un distintivo visual y arquitectónico de la UNAM y de la Ciudad de México; es un tesoro que cuenta historias del pasado, de la modernidad y de la UNAM, un hermoso tesoro, retrato de nuestra cultura.
Translation:
The Central Library is classified as a masterpiece of architectural functionalism. It is not only one of the collections most important bibliographic of our country, but also a spectacular piece of art.
The base of the building is made of volcanic stone (from the pedregal where you are located) and is engravifs of the pre-hispanic cultures in mexico. The north entrance of the building is adorned with a fountain in the form of Tlaloc, god of rain and fertility, a motif that is repeated in different places of the building. In addition, in the fences of the garden of the main floor are carved silhouettes of the god Quetzalcóatl, Ehecátl (deity of the wind) and a mask surrounded by snakes.
'From the beginning, I had the idea of making mosaics of colored stones in the walls the blind of the assets, with the technique that was already well experienced. With these mosaics the library would be different from the rest of the buildings of the University Town, and this gave the character a mexican.', said O'Gorman about it, one of the mosaics world's largest.
Done with colored stones and entitled historical Representation of culture, the mural that covers the entire body of the building works as a codex, that is to say, it involves a narrative of the history of our country in various stages, and the importance of the National University.
The north wall of the building depicts images of the pre-columbian cultures of mesoamerica, and their deities. Its theme revolves around the duality of life-death. The north side is illustrated with the face of Tlaloc, framed with a pair of open hands and portrays different scenes of the last pre-hispanic Mexico, as the foundation of Tenochtitlan.
The south wall depicts the arrival of the spaniards to Mexico and the Conquest, as well as the duality of the God-Devil. In addition, it presents the paraphernalia of that stage of the story, such as churches, guns, maps, monks and codices.
The wall east portrays modernity mexican, being the Revolution one of its central themes. In the center there is a model of the atom, a principle of life. There is also a Moon and a Sun, a representation of the duality.
The wall on the west speaks of the National University and its importance, with the coat of this one of the main themes. There are also different allegories and representations of all this, that this great house of studies represents: the science, culture, sport, etc.
The Central Library is currently a distinctive visual and architecture of the UNAM and the City of Mexico; it is a treasure that tells the stories of the past, of modernity and of the UNAM, a beautiful treasure, a portrait of our culture.
www.wikipedia.org:
Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 '' January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect.
Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal District, to an Irish immigrant father, Cecil and Encarnación O'Gorman (née O'Gorman). His parents were di cousins. He had three younger siblings, Edmundo, Margarita and Tomás. In the 1920s he studied architecture at the Academy of San Carlos, the Art and Architecture school at the National Autonomous University.
His first marriage was to Nina Wright, Russian-American architect. He later married Helen Fowler, an American artist with whom he had an adopted daughter.
Juan O'Gorman's most celebrated work due to its creativity, construction technique, and dimensions, are the four thousand square meters murals covering the four faces of the building of the Central Library at Ciudad Universitaria at Unam. These murals are mosaics made from millions of colored stones that he gathered all around Mexico in order to be able to obtain the different colors he needed. The north side pictures Mexico's pre-Hispanic past and the south facade its colonial one, while the east wall depicts the contemporary world, and the west shows the university and contemporary Mexico.
"From the beginning, I had the idea of making mosaics of colored stones in the walls of the collections, with a technique in which I was already well experienced. With these mosaics the library would be different from the other buildings of Ciudad Universitaria, and it would be given a particular Mexican character.
www.cdmxtravel.com:
The mural by the painter and architect, Juan O'Gorman, has a history even before the ideas it embodies, it was made of white marble and colored stones that the artist collected nationwide. The project lasted a year with virtually no budget and a working day of over 12 hours.
It is noteworthy that the library that O'Gorman painted is, along with other buildings in the Ciudad Universitaria, a Unesco World Cultural Heritage site.
The four sides of the upper block form an integral work of four thousand square meters, where various aspects of Mexican history are represented. In the mural, the sun and the moon act as vigilantes and between them history and the characters who fight for truth, especially in the pre-Hispanic culture, develop.
The mural looks at the dialectic of ideas, including criticism of history and diverse ideologies.
www.mxcity.mx:
La Biblioteca Central y es clasificada como una obra maestra de la arquitectura funcionalista. Se trata, no solamente de una de las colecciones bibliográficas más importantes de nuestro paàs, sino también de una espectacular pieza de arte.
La base de la edificación está hecha con piedra volcánica (proveniente del pedregal donde se encuentra) y está labrada con motivos de las culturas prehispánicas mexicanas. La entrada norte del edificio está adornada con una fuente en forma de Tláloc, dios de la lluvia y la fertilidad, un motivo que se repite en distintos lugares del edificio. Además, en las bardas del jardàn de la planta principal se encuentran labradas las siluetas del dios Quetzalcóatl, de Ehecátl (deidad del viento) y una máscara rodeada de "Desde el principio, tuve la idea de hacer mosaicos de piedras de colores en los muros ciegos de los acervos, con la técnica que ya tenàa bien experimentada. Con estos mosaicos la biblioteca seràa diferente al resto de los edificios de la Ciudad Universitaria, y con esto se le dio carácter mexic", dijo O'Gorman sobre éste, uno de los mosaicos más grandes del mundo.
Realizado con piedras de colores y titulado Representación histórica de la cultura, el mural que cubre el cuerpo entero del edificio funciona como un códice, es decir, supone una narración de la historia de nuestro paàs en diversas etapas, y de la importancia de la Universidad Nacional.
El muro norte del edificio representa imágenes de las culturas prehispánicas mesoamericanas y sus deidades. Su temática gira en torno a la dualidad vida-muerte. El lado norte está ilustrado con el rostro de Tláloc, enmarcado con un par de manos abiertas y retrata diferentes escenas del pasado prehispánico de México, como la fundación de Tenochtitlán.
El muro sur retrata la llegada de los espaà±oles a México y la Conquista, asà como la dualidad Dios-Diablo. Además presenta la parafernalia de dicha etapa de la historia, como iglesias, caà±ones, mapas, monjes y códices.
El muro oriente retrata la modernidad mexicana, siendo us ejes temáticos. En el centro hay un modelo del átomo, principio generador de la vida. Hay también una Luna y un Sol, una representación más de la dualidad.
El muro poniente habla de la Universidad Nacional y su importancia, siendo el escudo de ésta uno de los temas principales. También hay distintas alegoràas y representaciones de todo eso que esta magna casa de estudios representa: la ciencia, la cultura, el deporte, etcétera.
La Biblioteca Central es actualmente un distintivo visual y arquitectónico de la UNAM y de la Ciudad de México; es un tesoro que cuenta historias del pasado, de la modernidad y de la UNAM, un hermoso tesoro, retrato de nuestra cultura.
Translation:
The Central Library is classified as a masterpiece of architectural functionalism. It is not only one of the collections most important bibliographic of our country, but also a spectacular piece of art.
The base of the building is made of volcanic stone (from the pedregal where you are located) and is engravifs of the pre-hispanic cultures in mexico. The north entrance of the building is adorned with a fountain in the form of Tlaloc, god of rain and fertility, a motif that is repeated in different places of the building. In addition, in the fences of the garden of the main floor are carved silhouettes of the god Quetzalcóatl, Ehecátl (deity of the wind) and a mask surrounded by snakes.
'From the beginning, I had the idea of making mosaics of colored stones in the walls the blind of the assets, with the technique that was already well experienced. With these mosaics the library would be different from the rest of the buildings of the University Town, and this gave the character a mexican.', said O'Gorman about it, one of the mosaics world's largest.
Done with colored stones and entitled historical Representation of culture, the mural that covers the entire body of the building works as a codex, that is to say, it involves a narrative of the history of our country in various stages, and the importance of the National University.
The north wall of the building depicts images of the pre-columbian cultures of mesoamerica, and their deities. Its theme revolves around the duality of life-death. The north side is illustrated with the face of Tlaloc, framed with a pair of open hands and portrays different scenes of the last pre-hispanic Mexico, as the foundation of Tenochtitlan.
The south wall depicts the arrival of the spaniards to Mexico and the Conquest, as well as the duality of the God-Devil. In addition, it presents the paraphernalia of that stage of the story, such as churches, guns, maps, monks and codices.
The wall east portrays modernity mexican, being the Revolution one of its central themes. In the center there is a model of the atom, a principle of life. There is also a Moon and a Sun, a representation of the duality.
The wall on the west speaks of the National University and its importance, with the coat of this one of the main themes. There are also different allegories and representations of all this, that this great house of studies represents: the science, culture, sport, etc.
The Central Library is currently a distinctive visual and architecture of the UNAM and the City of Mexico; it is a treasure that tells the stories of the past, of modernity and of the UNAM, a beautiful treasure, a portrait of our culture.
www.wikipedia.org:
Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 '' January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect.
Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal District, to an Irish immigrant father, Cecil and Encarnación O'Gorman (née O'Gorman). His parents were di cousins. He had three younger siblings, Edmundo, Margarita and Tomás. In the 1920s he studied architecture at the Academy of San Carlos, the Art and Architecture school at the National Autonomous University.
His first marriage was to Nina Wright, Russian-American architect. He later married Helen Fowler, an American artist with whom he had an adopted daughter.