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David Sweet
Mrs. Wiesen
Art 1100
2 December 2013
National Museum of Mexican Art
During my late visit to the National Museum of Mexican Art, I realized something;
Mexican art is pretty darn cool. Theres so much culture and life reflected in their works of art. It
was a great learning experience to go and read about the various works of Mexican art over the
years, and, best of all, it didnt cost me a dime! Thats one of the greatest things about the
museum; I was able to go experience a bit of Mexican culture without breaking the bank. Of the
many works of art shown, Ive selected my top three favorite pieces to write about and analyze,
and I even got a few sweet pictures of myself standing in front of the artwork (see page 4). The
first work of art I stopped by, The Ancient Memories of the Mayahuels People Still Breathe, is a
beautiful, and interesting, piece by Mario Castillo. It was probably my favorite piece in the
whole museum. The second work of art, El nuevo amanecer, or, The New Awakening, is a
colorful ceramic piece done by several different artists. The third work of art that I chose,
Retablo, or grand altar ensemble, is a spectacular religious piece done by Alejandro Garcia Nelo.
All of these works of art are beautiful, culturally rich, and were a lot of fun to learn about.
The first work of art that I chose, The Ancient Memories of the Mayahuels People Still
Breathe, was definitely my favorite piece. I loved the appearance of it, and the way the painting
changed upon long examination of the piece. In fact, Mario Castillo, the painter of the piece, did
this intentionally. He calls the phenomenon Perceptualism. When the viewer stares at the
center of the painting, the pupil of the eye, eye fatigue causes the viewer to lose the painted

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subject and the way the colors are being used. This causes the painting to appear to vibrate,
fluctuate, and change. Upon extended viewing, the painting even appears to change colors when
the viewer moves back and forth. I tried to do this myself, and I was very impressed. The
painting really did seem to change the longer I stared at the pupil of the eye, which belongs to
several different creatures in the painting. After a while of staring, the creatures did seem to
disappear, and the painting seemed to transform itself. You can tell that every color and line used
in this painting was used intentionally to give it a feeling of fluctuating energy. Castillo seems to
really want to say something about the energy of life and the way we are all interconnected. He
drives this message home by literally using his own semen to paint the piece. He does this so that
the painting would contain an extraction of (his) body presence. Castillo seems to have a lot
of passion about his work, and The Ancient Memories of the Mayahuels People Still Breathe just
reflects the talent that this artist has.
My second favorite work of art, The New Awakening, is a ceramic piece made by several
different artists. The vibrant colors and creativity that went into this piece truly amazed me. All
80 squares in this geometric gem seem to tell a story of their own. From the crescent-shaped
moon with teeth in the upper left-hand corner, to the standing golden turtle, to the robed bearded
man in the bottom right-hand corner, every single one of these ceramics should be appreciated
separately from the piece as a whole, and every tile can be interpreted differently. One of the
greatest things about this work of art is that it takes a little time to actually take in and appreciate
the entirety of the piece. One cannot just simply take a quick look at the work and walk away;
the piece demands a little bit of time to truly appreciate the wonder of this work, especially since
the piece is pretty large in scale. Each beautiful tile complements the others perfectly. When
viewed separately, the tiles are undoubtedly gorgeous, but, when viewed together, as a whole,

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they are magnificent. I actually had to stand back a few feet just to take in the entirety of the
work, and I was very impressed to see how all the squares worked together to create one big,
beautiful piece of art. I was also delighted to learn a little bit of the history behind ceramics.
Apparently, the craft of ceramics has been engrained in Mexican culture for quite some time. In
fact, in Ancient Mexico, they were made as ceremonial objects under the supervision of shamans
or priests. Needless to say, I found it very interesting to view a beautiful work of art with such a
rich cultural background.
My third favorite piece of art, simply titled Retablo, is a stunning altar ensemble by
Alejandro Garcia Nelo. A retablo is, in fact, another name for grand altar ensemble, and it is
considered to be one of the most important art forms in Colonial Mexico. Combining
architecture, sculpture, and painting, the retablo was a principal decoration and educational
instrument within churches. They displayed religious miracles and life stories of various different
religious figures. Nelos own take on a retablo tells the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a
miracle that occurred over five hundred years ago in Mexico when the Virgin Mary appeared to a
man named Juan Diego. In his work, the left-hand row is meant to show the sense of the spiritual
in the pre-Cuauhtmoc world, while the right-hand row illustrates the Roman Catholic religious
sense. The central row, depicting the Virgin Mary is meant to unify both worldviews, and
demonstrate the religious transformation that occurred after Juan Diegos encounter. Nelos piece
is successful in its telling of this story, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about it. This is another
culturally-rich piece with a great backstory, and the work itself is absolutely breathtaking. I can
tell Nelo really poured his heart and soul into his work of art, and it shows.
So those were my top three favorite pieces from my overdue trip to the National
Museum of Mexican Art. It was really great to get an opportunity to learn about so much culture

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and history. The fact that I didnt have to pay a dime for it was just a bonus, especially because
there are so many other beautiful works of art displayed at the museum. Id definitely
recommend checking it out to anyone, especially if theyre on a budget. Theres just so much
history to learn about over there. My personal top three pieces are even more beautiful if you see
them in person, and what I really love about them is that they are all very different from each
other. They each have a different meaning and story behind them. Each beautiful and culturallyrich piece was a joy to learn about, and broadened my understanding of art.