11242016Thu
Last updateFri, 18 Nov 2016 2pm

Funhouse installation graces venerable Cabañas Institute

Prospective visitors have until the rainy season to take in the Daniel Buren installation in Guadalajara’s august Instituto Cultural Cabañas (ICC).

The sprawling work isn’t made of sugar, but the downpours that begin in June will certainly damage Buren’s whimsical and vivid “intervention” — 19 salas accented and occasionally overwhelmed by the high-profile French artist’s columns, stripes, glass panes, mirrors, panels, paint and fluttering curtains.

I approached the sun-baked facade of the ICC with high anticipation. After all, Buren’s “Laberinto” has been hailed as a must-see and the 76-year-old artist, who started as an uninvited “bandit” slapping his striped wallpaper on the streets of Paris, is now sought after to work in spaces such as the Guggenheim and the Grand Palais in Paris.

Even from the shady porch of the ICC where I waited for a friend, a Tapatío well versed in local and international art, Buren’s pink, yellow and green glass panes winked and beckoned me inside.

I wasn’t the only one who was excited and energized. University art students were marching in, sketchbooks in hand, along with droves of uniformed high schoolers, shepherded by their teachers into neat blocks. Perhaps all this was to be expected on a Tuesday, the ICC’s “free day.”

My visit soon took on even more of a fun-house atmosphere. With other curious and apparently happy people, I entered, circled and exited Buren’s columned and paned rotunda, smack dab in the middle of the patio in front of the ICC’s holy of holies — the Capilla Mayor filled with Orozco’s lofty and famed murals. (This chapel, incidentally, is just about the only room besides the bathrooms left untouched by Buren).

Slightly distorted, mirrored panels in other patios only increased the amusement-park feeling. Buren’s constructions inspired a rush of smiles, photo-taking and scampering from visitors, many of them young, and even ICC staff, who may have been afraid of damage from the young people — a bit ironic considering that when Buren started out “intervening” on the streets of Paris, his work was viewed as “damage,” even though French art has a long history of upstart fauves (wild beasts) who criticized traditional ideas about art, including the domination of the art world by academies, museums and galleries.

But the visitors’ mood was not destructive. Some expressed approval of how Buren had set off the solemnity of the museum (originally a refuge for perhaps 1,000 orphans) with his bright-hued splashes.

Color, as my friend and local art whiz commented, is what many foreigners typically notice about Mexico. “Guadalajara is a city of mausoleums and old churches. It’s appropriate that Buren added color that harmonizes with the original building.”

Still, the artist’s colors — St. Patrick’s Day green and primary blue, yellow and red — are unlike the peaches, periwinkles and chartreuses typically seen on houses here. But nobody will accuse Buren of being un-Mexican, especially considering his long history of visits to and study in this country. Indeed, the overwhelming impression after seeing the installation, is that it makes one appreciate the architectural beauty of the ICC even more than before.

Among those who have not seen the show, the first question is, “But didn’t the installation damage the Cabañas?”

The answer is clearly no — Buren’s panels typically don’t use nails and many of them sit in the middle of patios and take existing trees and fountains into their embrace. And Buren’s striped panels that accent arches and columns appear to be held in place by natural, physical pressures.

The critical verdict for locals and foreigners alike is a big thumbs up. If you’ve seen the Cabañas before, the installation will bring out beauty that you might not have noticed. And if you’ve never seen the ICC, the installation adds a layer of delight to its staid walls and will increase your appreciation for the design of the original, mostly stone and plaster building.

Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Plaza Tapatia, five blocks behind Teatro Degollado. Cost: 70 pesos for adult foreigners. Officials say showing “residente” card gets foreigners in for normal price of 45 pesos. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays free.

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