Photo credit: Detail of Maíz Flor Serpiente/ Flower Maize Serpent commissioned digital art work by the Indigenous Design Collection, 2015.
The Mexican Museum in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco, presents the exhibit Mexican Masks. Curated by Juan Coronel Rivera, Mexican curator and grandson of artist Diego Rivera, the exhibition showcases nearly sixty masks from The Mexican Museum’s permanent collection.
On the American continent during the Pre-Columbian era, masks acted as a sort of spiritualistic relic. Among the Mesoamerican cultures, masks played a metaphysical function. They represented the Gods and divine creation, and demonstrated wealth, social, and ceremonial status, especially when used as funerary objects. The Pre-Cortesian world nourished the mask as object-subject of the hideout, parody, game, and hidden mockery. Today, unfortunately, the original significance of the mask and its meaning has been forgotten in some cases. For some, the masks reconstruct the mere representation of a ritual that returns to their origins. The meaning of the masks might be lost but the reason for their creation continues to endure.
Made out of wood, leather and other materials, the masks included in the show belong to different Mexican regions and cultures providing the viewer with a taste of Mexican history and traditions. The exhibit was underwritten by current Board Member Nora Wagner, and co-curated by former Mexican Consul for Cultural Affairs Paula Linares, who is currently collaborating with The Mexican Museum on its Museo sin Muros Program.
Mexican Masks will open its doors at the gallery of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco on August 21 and will be on exhibit through October 11, 2019. The gallery, located on the third floor of 532 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94105, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 3 pm.
Opening reception will take place on Wednesday August 21st from 6 to 8 pm. If you wish to attend, please RSVP through our Facebook event or by email to info@mexicanmuseum.org
Find out more: mexicanmuseum.org
Credits: Tlacololero (Rastrero) Mask, Carved polychrome Wood, 20th century, Tlaltempanapa/Ayutla, Guerrero, Mexico. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Handley to The Mexican Museum.
Red and black mask (Mexico, 20th Century, Polychrome paint on wood)