The de la Torre Brothers' art exhibit Upward Mobility at the McNay Art Museum is a breathtaking perspective that combines sensational blown glass, electrifying lenticular montage, stupendously designed wallpaper, the precocious grouping of a lavish dining table, as well as brilliant use of found objects. The focus, according to the artists, is on the “threads of opulence and consumption.”
Linda--Thanks for your thoughtful note. I will share your comments with the curator, Rene B. of the McNay. Did you see today's New York Times two page article on de la Torre Bros. ? Great story--my wife likes mine best. Ricardoromo358@gmail.com.
In my earlier comment I forgot to mention the significance of references to the images from the Maya king Pakal the Great's sarcophagus lid at Palenque. Some have suggested that the image appears to be an ancient astronaut at the controls of a space ship. The de la Torre brothers made panels of Pakal the Great on the back of the Olmec space capsule in the fourth room. And they put a figure inside the capsule which mirrors Pakal in his "astronaut" position. The ancient image must have inspired their vision of unconquered high-tech Olmec civilization. Thank you to the security guard who urged me to look behind the space capsule. Again, wonderful!
LOVED this exhibition. I had seen some of the work of the de la Torre brothers online in a post from the Cheech! at Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA. They created a massive lenticular image of the Aztec earth goddess Coatlicue. This earth goddess, creator/destroyer, is a strong thread running through the "Upward Mobility" exhibit. (I first saw the massive Aztec sculpture of Coatlicue in the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City in 1982. Stunned, I sat and made a sketch of her and I have painted her compelling image several times since then.)
In the "Upward Mobility" exhibit there is a small glass Coatlicue figure on top of the entrance to the exhibit. She is the Godzilla figure called by the de la Torre brothers "Coatzilla" defending Mexico City from Putin. And she appears as the Olmec astronaut in the final room. Inside the Olmec space capsule and on the back panels are references to the image on the lid of the sarcophagus of Maya king Pakal the Great in the Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque. This is an exhibit to be re-visited often. Wonderful!
This is what passes for art these days?! Psychedelic-induced art? Aborted fetuses on plates? Depicting Jesus in grotesque poses? It’s not only blasphemous to Jesus Christ but it’s also deviant, disturbing, and disgusting 🤮. Why is Christianity always being insulted? I bet it would be different if it were Mohamed instead of Jesus? The de la Torre brothers try to be avant-garde, push boundaries, and be thought provoking but this is not cool at all. You don’t have to be disrespectful and disgusting if you want to say something about global elitism and wasteful capitalism.
Thanks for sharing this; it looks amazing and can't wait to see it!! The photos are brilliant, too !! xo
Linda--Thanks for your thoughtful note. I will share your comments with the curator, Rene B. of the McNay. Did you see today's New York Times two page article on de la Torre Bros. ? Great story--my wife likes mine best. Ricardoromo358@gmail.com.
In my earlier comment I forgot to mention the significance of references to the images from the Maya king Pakal the Great's sarcophagus lid at Palenque. Some have suggested that the image appears to be an ancient astronaut at the controls of a space ship. The de la Torre brothers made panels of Pakal the Great on the back of the Olmec space capsule in the fourth room. And they put a figure inside the capsule which mirrors Pakal in his "astronaut" position. The ancient image must have inspired their vision of unconquered high-tech Olmec civilization. Thank you to the security guard who urged me to look behind the space capsule. Again, wonderful!
LOVED this exhibition. I had seen some of the work of the de la Torre brothers online in a post from the Cheech! at Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA. They created a massive lenticular image of the Aztec earth goddess Coatlicue. This earth goddess, creator/destroyer, is a strong thread running through the "Upward Mobility" exhibit. (I first saw the massive Aztec sculpture of Coatlicue in the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City in 1982. Stunned, I sat and made a sketch of her and I have painted her compelling image several times since then.)
In the "Upward Mobility" exhibit there is a small glass Coatlicue figure on top of the entrance to the exhibit. She is the Godzilla figure called by the de la Torre brothers "Coatzilla" defending Mexico City from Putin. And she appears as the Olmec astronaut in the final room. Inside the Olmec space capsule and on the back panels are references to the image on the lid of the sarcophagus of Maya king Pakal the Great in the Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque. This is an exhibit to be re-visited often. Wonderful!
This is what passes for art these days?! Psychedelic-induced art? Aborted fetuses on plates? Depicting Jesus in grotesque poses? It’s not only blasphemous to Jesus Christ but it’s also deviant, disturbing, and disgusting 🤮. Why is Christianity always being insulted? I bet it would be different if it were Mohamed instead of Jesus? The de la Torre brothers try to be avant-garde, push boundaries, and be thought provoking but this is not cool at all. You don’t have to be disrespectful and disgusting if you want to say something about global elitism and wasteful capitalism.