07182014Fri
Last updateThu, 17 Jul 2014 8pm

Becoming enlightened: eager guide provides insight into enigmatic art show

Devotees of modern and contemporary art (including those who know the difference) will want to know about the Raul Anguiano Museum of Art in Guadalajara and take in its current exhibit by international artists entitled “Maniera: Una formula para perder la identidad” (Maniera: A formula for losing your identity).

The show, which lasts until September 21, is put on by a collective that was formed in Spain and includes Mexican and Spanish artists, plus an American and a Turk. It has the laudable aim, evident in its title and modus operandi, of downplaying the individual artist and his or her creativity — something of a sacred cow among artists — and, instead, emphasizing the debt an artist owes to others.

In a museum named after Raul Anguiano, you might expect to be able to see work by this Guadalajara native who worked in the pictorial Mexican muralist style. After all, his most famous painting, “La Espina,” was auctioned by Christie’s in New York in 2004, two years before the artist died, for 156,000 dollars. However, the museum’s permanent collection remains in storage, leading some to question its name. Meanwhile, two large-ish rooms in the smallish museum are filled until September 21 by “Maniera,” while an upstairs room hosts fanciful, architectural re-creations of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. 

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