Adolfo Mexiac
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Adolfo Mexiac (August 7, 1927 – October 13, 2019) was a Mexican graphic artist, known principally for his politically and socially themed work, especially with the
Taller de Gráfica Popular The ''Taller de Gráfica Popular'' (Spanish: "People's Graphic Workshop") is an artist's print collective founded in Mexico in 1937 by artists Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O'Higgins, and Luis Arenal. The collective was primarily concerned with using ...
and with fellow graphic artist Leopoldo Méndez. He also painted several murals, the most important of which deals with the history of human law at the
University of Colima The University of Colima (in Spanish: ''Universidad de Colima'') is a Mexican public university with several campuses across the state of Colima, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It was created on September 16, 1940 by the President Lázaro Cárdenas ...
. In 2011, a “national homage” was held for the artist at the Museo de la Estampa in Mexico City.


Life

Adolfo Mexiac was born on August 7, 1927, in Cuto de la Esperanza, Michoacán. He began to study painting at the Escuela Popular de Bellas Artes in
Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and lar ...
. Later he moved to Mexico City to study at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. He also studied at the
Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" La Esmeralda or Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado (ENPEG) (English: National School of Painting, Sculpture and Printmaking) is a Mexican art school founded in 1927 and located in Mexico City. History The history of the ENPEG star ...
, with one of his teachers there being
José Chávez Morado José Chávez Morado (4 January 1909 – 1 December 2002) was a Mexican artist who was associated with the Mexican muralism movement of the 20th century. His generation followed that of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqu ...
. He learned engraving studying for three years at the Escuela de Artes del Libro located in
Colonia Roma Colonia Roma, also called La Roma or simply, Roma, is a district located in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City just west of the city's historic center, and in fact is no longer a single '' colonia'' (neighbourhood) but now two officially de ...
, learning various techniques, especially wood engraving, using a jigsaw method to piece the image together which allowed the introduction of various colors, some of the first work of its kind. At age seventeen he changed his last name from Mejía to Mexiac. His artistic and personal career was tied to the promotion of leftist causes. He said that fellow political graphic artist Leopoldo Méndez treated him like a son.


Career

He is considered to be one of the main graphic artists in Mexico. At the beginning of the 1950s he was studying under
Pablo O'Higgins Pablo Esteban O'Higgins (born Paul Higgins Stevenson; March 1, 1904 - July 16, 1983) was an American-Mexican artist, muralist and illustrator. Early life and education Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, O'Higgins was raised there and in San Diego, C ...
and Ignacio Aguirre and occasionally helped them with mural work. When O'Higgins saw some of Mexiac's drawings, he invited him to the Taller de la Gráfica Popular. There he saw the work they were doing and became involved in
lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
and drawing for the organization. He remained for ten years working with Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O'Higgins and Luis Arenal . Themes of his graphic work were mostly political and social, such as support to striking miners and opposition to imperialism. One famous engraving is called Libertad de expresión (Freedom of Expression) which deals with the coup d'état and fall of the Jacobo Árbenz government in Guatemala in 1954. The print caused a commotion in Mexico, showing an indigenous person with his mouth covered in chains and a padlock saying “USA.” Referring to this work, he stated that Mexican artists have never had complete freedom of expression. He was also a member of the
Salón de la Plástica Mexicana Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (Hall of Mexican Fine Art; ''SPM'') is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center o ...
. In 1953, Alberto Beltrán invited him to join the
Instituto Nacional Indigenista The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples ( es, Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, INPI) is a decentralized agency of the Mexican Federal Public Administration. It was established on December 4, 2018, though the earliest Mexican ...
in Chiapas. There he worked on visual aids for communities in the highlands area of that state. After Chiapas he became a professor at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas where he taught for twenty six years. In the 1960s, he worked with photographers
Mariana Yampolsky Mariana Yampolsky (September 6, 1925 – May 3, 2002) was a Mexican-American photographer. A significant figure in 20th-century Mexican photography, she specialized in capturing photos of common people in everyday situations in the rural areas ...
and Manuel Álvarez Bravo as well as with Leopoldo Méndez at the Fondo Editorial de la Plástica. During his career, he had about eighty individual exhibitions of his work, in Mexico and abroad in countries such as Chile, Belgium, Japan and Italy. In 2010 he had an exhibition called Una reflexión sobre el Bicentenario in honor of the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence at the Alfredo Guati Rojo National Watercolor Museum . Mexiac painted several murals with his most important one in
Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...
. This mural, ''El hombre y la mujer en armonía con su universo'' located at the
University of Colima The University of Colima (in Spanish: ''Universidad de Colima'') is a Mexican public university with several campuses across the state of Colima, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It was created on September 16, 1940 by the President Lázaro Cárdenas ...
, was created as a stone mosaic in 2002 with marble,
tezontle Tezontle ( es, tezontle) is a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide. Tezontle is a well-cemented, agglomeritic and scoriaceous rock. Uses Construction ...
and other volcanic rock and cement. The theme of the work is the history of law in humanity. Other murals include ''La ayuda del hombre por el hombre at'' the Instituto Nacional Indigenista in Mexico City, ''Formación del Estado Mexicano'' at the Centro de Estudio para la Reforma del Estado and ''Los constitucionales de México'' at the Palacio Legislativo in Mexico City. The last work was accidentally destroyed and redone by Mexiac in 1992. Recognitions of his work include the
Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which ...
Prize from
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
in 1964, a 2010 documentary film about the artist by Othón Salazar called ''Libertad de expresión de Adolfo Mexiac'' and a national homage to the artist in Mexico in 2011. This homage was held at the Museo Nacional de la Estampa which included a retrospective of his life's work. The retrospective traveled to various museums in the country to cities such as
Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...
, Puebla,
Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, Monterrey and
Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...
, as well as the Mexic-Arte Museum in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
.


Artistry

Influenced by the work of José Guadalupe Posada, Leopoldo Méndez and
José Chávez Morado José Chávez Morado (4 January 1909 – 1 December 2002) was a Mexican artist who was associated with the Mexican muralism movement of the 20th century. His generation followed that of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqu ...
, he believed in art, especially printmaking, with a social context, stating, "if we want to make revolutionary art, we must have printmaking, that noble means of artistic expression which has always fulfilled its lofty function of denunciation, of struggle and the encouragement of a largely exploited population."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexiac, Adolfo Mexican artists Artists from Michoacán 1927 births 2019 deaths Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" alumni