Juan O'Gorman : A Confluence of Civilizations
Juan O'Gorman : A Confluence of Civilizations
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Author(s): Cooke, Catherine Nixon
ISBN No.: 9781595347978
Pages: 140
Year: 201611
Format: Trade Cloth (Hard Cover)
Price: $ 41.33
Dispatch delay: Dispatched between 7 to 15 days
Status: Available

To create the "Confluence of Civilizations" mural commissioned for the 1968 World's Fair in San Antonio, Texas, Juan O'Gorman collected natural stones from all over Mexico--twelve colors in all--field stones that the artist knew would never fade or change their hue. Juan O'Gorman: Confluence of Civilizations follows the life of Juan O'Gorman and covers the creation of this spectacular piece of midcentury public art that stands the test of time not just in vibrancy but as one of the most influential works created by a storied Mexican artist. Juan O'Gorman was a not only a painter and a muralist, a mosaic artist, a critic, and a professor, but he was also an architect and a revolutionary; possibly most famous for his close friendship with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and as designer of their infamous two-house studio in Mexico City--Casa Azul--linked by a symbolic bridge. To celebrate San Antonio's "HemisFair" Exposition in 1968, Juan created the giant mosaic mural that still adorns one wall of the Lila Cockrell Theater along San Antonio's famed River Walk. The design plans for the five ton mosaic measured 2600 square feet and consisted of 540 numbered panels, each weighting about 90 pounds. The panels were produced at the artist's studio outside of Mexico City and trucked to San Antonio for installation at the newly constructed convention center. The unveiling of the mural at Hemisfair '68 marked a turning point in the San Antonio's history, transforming its cultural landscape from one of Spanish colonial settlement and antibellum American into a modern, cosmopolitan city, embracing its legacy and future as a crossroads of many cultures. Juan O'Gorman: Confluence of Civilizations tells the life story of a Mexican icon and how he came to create one of the most famous pieces of public art in the Southwest.



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