Within
the history of modern architecture in México, collaboration is a
recurring theme. Urban planners, architects and artists praised
collaborative actions as a way to integrate new buildings into the
city in a coherent manner as well as to achieve a synthesis of the
arts with architecture. Through these collaborative efforts,
outstanding works of architecture were raised, such as the modern
campus of the National University (1953) and the Housing Complex of
Nonoalco-Tlatelolco (1964), just to mention a pair. Nevertheless,
there were some projects that, with time, ended up contradicting the
original spirit of collaboration through intense debates concerning
authorship. The Towers of Satellite City, built by Luis Barragán and
Mathias Goeritz between 1957-58 are infamous in this regard. The
dispute around authorship for this monumental sculpture broke any
sort of relationship between the architect and the sculptor from the
late 1960s until Barragán’s death. Even today, followers and
fanatics of Barragán’s or Goeritz’s production continue arguing
about this dynamic.
In
contrast, the history of modern architecture in Mexico is full of
examples of fruitful collaborations. A case in point is the exemplary
collaboration between Juan O’Gorman and Max Cetto, sustained in
great part by their close friendship. O’Gorman, credited as the
first architect to construct a modern building in Mexico, met Cetto
shortly after he arrived to the country in 1939 as refugee escaping
from Nazi Germany. Friendship between the two developed rapidly; they
shared, among other things, progressive ideas regarding art,
architecture and politics. No one knows with certainty the extent of
their collaborations, dialogues and mutual influences; however, their
use of stone and other natural materials in the process of
construction in an almost expressionist fashion, the stair as a
sculptural element, and their respectful and close attention to the
relationship between architecture and the landscape are some of the
interests and defining characteristics that their architectural
practices share.
Collaboration
between Cetto and O’Gorman has not yielded any sort of polemics,
even though the Mexican architect signed and registered the work of
his friend until he became a national citizen. This absence of
disputes can be understood, partly, if the nature of their
relationship beyond their professional practices and dialogues it is
taken in consideration. Juan Guzmán’s (Hans Gutmann) series of
color photographs from the 1950s in O ́Gorman’s well known
residence/studio at Avenida San Jerónimo, features images of what
appears to be Cetto playing chess with O ́Gorman, an activity that
they practiced habitually. In other photographs, the daughters of the
German architect play and lounge around the property, as if it were
their own house.
In
2005, Anuar Maauad found an architectural drawing of Rufino Tamayo ́s
house and studio located in the Anzures neighborhood. The building,
completed in 1949, is part of Cetto ́s production, although Maauadńs finding is signed by O ́Gorman and the drawing showcases some
architectural features that easily relate to his functionalist
period. There are differences between the drawing and the final
buildings, like the stair in the studio, but the general concept of
the construction is very similar. Intrigued by the history of this
project, Maauad began researching the work of O’Gorman and Cetto,
and also included the presence of Tamayo who commissioned the
construction. Without finding any reliable information about this
house’s history, Mauuad’s speculation began: Is this drawing a
preliminary study of the construction signed by O’Gorman shortly
before Cetto became a Mexican citizen in 1947? How much discussion
existed between the architects, as the project demonstrates s shared
interests and solutions between the two? Did Tamayo play any part in
this story, since his confrontational stance against figures such as
O’Gorman increased during the 1940s?
For
this exhibition Anuar Maauad has built three models of Tamayo’s
house and studio--as it appears in the drawing that he found, as it
was constructed in 1947, and as it appears today after decades of
unfortunate interventions and modifications. Each structure
represents a point in the history of this building that,
miraculously, is still standing. He also gives a physical presence to
Cetto, O’Gorman, and Tamayo who were involved in the mythology of
this house. The large-scale plaques made of stretched canvas with
their signatures rendered in bronze serve as an index of identity and
authorship. The artist has collected and displays photographs and
documents that serve as fragments from which to speculate about the
house’s history and the three characters involved with it. In one
of these images, it is possible to see the functionalist houses built
by O’Gorman for his family and Diego Rivera in San Angel between
1929 and 1932. In the photograph, a sign on his family’s house
reads “This Modern House for Rent.”
It
is from this document that Maauad borrows the title of this
exhibition. If in this case, the title announces This Modern House
for Sale it is because this project aims to be an open invitation for
someone to acquire Tamayo’s former residence and workplace. As part
of his initiative, the artist seeks to find a buyer for the house, in
order to restore it and redefine its history. As such, This Modern
House for Sale is an invitation to collaborate with the artist, in
the spirit of O’Gorman and Cetto, in order to preserve an example
of modern architecture and launch a platform to advance research and
programs on this matter.
- Daniel
Garza-Usabiaga
Anuar
MaauadThis Modern House for Sale
November 18 - December 10
Efrain
Lopez Gallery
