An exhibition by the students of Spring 2016 AHC 4333.03/5813.007 Muralism Across the Border and into the 21st Century
May 4-11, UTSA Gallery Corridor
Curated by Dr. Teresa Eckmann,
Film Direction by MFA Martín Rodriguez
Twenty students from the UTSA departments of Art and Art History and Bicultural Bilingual Studies enrolled in AHC 4333.03/5813.007 Muralism Across the Border and into the 21st Century during the spring 2016 semester. This exhibition features three of their assignments: a sketchbook produced by each student throughout the semester, and a film of student on-site presentations conducted in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, and a few of the presentations in San Antonio as well.
During the first eight weeks of the semester the students, grouped in ten teams of two, conducted research on major Mexican mural programs by Jean Charlot, Fernando Leal, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros painted between 1921, when the Mexican Mural Movement began, and 1951. The students then traveled to Mexico during Spring Break March 13-19, 2016 guided by Dr. Teresa Eckmann, Adriana Miramontes Olivas and Andrei Renteria, with the goal of performing a formal presentation on site. The video on exhibition documents the success of those efforts.
Students then applied what they learned of Mexican muralism during the first half of the semester to their approach to the study of contemporary San Antonio murals during the second half of the course. Contemporary Muralism in San Antonio began with the Cassiano Homes project, which spanned 1978-89, and continued with San Anto Cultural Arts, the Westside non-profit organization, which has produced 50+ murals since 1993. As little scholarship has been written on San Antonio muralism, students conducted pioneering primary research interviewing local artists including Adriana Cantu, Rigoberto Luna, Jane Madrigal, Alex Rubio, and Robert Tatum. We also met as a group for an extended conversation with Adriana Garcia, interim director at San Anto Cultural Arts. Again, students in ten different teams of two performed their presentations on site in San Antonio. A few of these presentations are included in the film exhibited here.
Participants: Aurora Berrueto Cordova, Ana Burwell, Keli Rosa Cabunoc, Yasmina Codina,
Paulina Escobar-Cotera, Houston Fryer, Verena Gaudy, Elizabeth Griego, Michael Guerra, Layla Lustri,
Abigail Marquez, Taylor Maupin, Adriana Miramontes Olivas, Cherise Munro, Nicole Poole, Andrei Renteria, Martin Rodriguez, Robert Ruiz, Cynthia Solis, Juan Vallejo, Melinda Vargas, Jerry Villarreal.
Funders: We thank the following for their support for this project: Greg Elliott, Department of Art and Art History; Carlos and Malú Alvarez and their International Study Fund; René Zenteno, Lisa Marie Gomez, Sherrie Matthews, and Carelli De la Garza Torres of International Study Abroad; The UTSA Graduate School.
