"America"
by Rufino Tamayo sand and vinylite on canvas 13' 2'' by 45' 10
Mexican Painter Rufino Tamayo was commissioned by the Bank of the Southwest in 1955. It took him 5 months, working 7 days a week to complete. The mural is 13' 2'' tall by 45' 10 3/8' wide. America was painted at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico and then rolled up and sent to Houston where it was installed in the banks lobby.
America allegorically portrays the history and richness of the continent. Abundance is reflected in the scale of the mural. The fish represent the wealth of the sea. The plant, symbolizes the richness of the land. There is an oil geyser and a spring of water representing the abundance of our underground resources. In the upper part of the mural two figures embrace. These figures represent the melting of the races whose cultural contributions enrich our spirit! The figure on the left is the white race and next to the figure is the cross symbolizing Occidental culture. The figure on the right, in brown, symbolizes the indigenous people whose culture is represented by Quetzacoatl, the feathered serpent and symbol of the pre-Columbian culture. This painting is rendered in Tomayo's signature style.
America combines aspects of cubism and futurism with epic qualities of Mexican mural painting and the New York school. It's forms derived from Meso-American art with a vibrant palette of red, blues, okras, greens and subtle gradations of grey and white.
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Rufino Tamayo was a contemporary of fellow Mexican artists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Unlike these muralists, however, whose work held strong political commentary, Tamayo eschewed this path and forged his own. The subject matter found in his work is apolitical and purposefully so.
Although his work is embedded with distinctly Mexican roots, both in color and in subject, Tamayo's art is ultimately a response to universal and not temporal matters. Tamayo's lack of enthusiasm for political commentary was not appreciated by Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros who firmly prescribed that important art had to address the societal injustices of the day. Finding his work criticized in Mexico, Tamayo left the country to live for extended periods in both the United States and France. This decision proved beneficial for Tamayo who created many of his important works abroad
Born in Oaxaca to parents of Zapotecan Indian ancestry, Tamayo's cultural heritage is evident in his artwork. Orphaned at a young age, Tamayo was sent to live with his aunt in Mexico City. The young artist worked as a vendor at his aunt's fruit stand, helping her sell produce. The bright and beautiful colors of the tropical fruit has been credited as influencing the artist's future palette. This experience also provided the catalyst for a favorite motif of Tamayo's, namely the watermelon, which is depicted in many of his works. As a young man, Tamayo attended the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, San Carlos, in Mexico City but left before graduating to pursue his studies independently.
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some excerpts courtesy of Mexonline and Mid-Centuria
