University of Amsterdam

Master Art History Master thesis

Expanding the Surrealist Canon: Female Artists and the Scene in the 1940s

By Martine Geeret Wilts Student number: 10830731 2017 - 2018

Supervised by Dr. Sophie Berrebi Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Chapter 1: Feminism and Art History: Towards Inclusion 1.1 Defining and explaining 11 1.2 Female artists and the Surrealist movement 15 1.3 Dangers of categorizing ‘female ’ 18

Chapter 2: Surrealism in 2.1 Fantastic art in Mexico: before the arrival of the Surrealists 23 2.2 The duality of the Mexican art scene and the establishment of 28 female émigré artists in Mexico during the 1930s and 1940s

Chapter 3: Case Study: The Representation of Female Surrealists in the Art Scene of 3.1 Mexico City’s tastemakers: the National Museum of Art 40 and the Modern Museum of Art 3.2 The representation of female Surrealist artists in Mexico 45 City’s gallery scene 3.3 Conclusion case study 48

Conclusion 50

Images 53

Bibliography 60

2 Introduction

In March 2017 the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington launched their ‘#5WomenArtists’ campaign in the context of the Women’s History Month.1 With this yearly campaign the museum tries to reach a broader audience to bring female artists to the attention and to celebrate their lives and work. Ask a random museum visitor to name five male artists and they will be able to sum them up fast from the top of their heads, but ask them to name five female artists and the task immediately seems to be very difficult, or even impossible. With this simple example that was put into practice, the National Museum of Women in the Arts touched upon an important and current issue: the gender inequity in the art world. In February 2017, online art marketplace Artfinder.com published ‘the Gender Equality Report.’ The statistics in this report were based on the inventory data and sales that were made through Artfinder.com and consist of the data of major art museums that were willing to share their information on this matter.2 One of the most remarkable results of this report is that in 2015, only 1% of the works sold at European and American auction was by women. Another outcome is related to the collection of one of the most influential museums in the Unites States, the in New York. In 2015, their permanent collection display consisted solely for 7% of works by female artists.3 The exclusion of women in the art world is a continuous subject of debate at important online art platforms including Artsy.com4 and was recently addressed in the form of a panel discussion at the prestigious art fair Art Basel, Switzerland under the title “Art World Talk. Sexism in the Art World” (June 13, 2018).5 When we look at the representation of the history of avant-garde art of the mid- twentieth century, the discourse and the canon are dominated by male artists. This has

1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com.mx/entry/can-you-name-5-women- artists_us_58b6bf6ae4b0780bac2ec9b1 2 The full Gender Equality Report can be downloaded online: https://www.artfinder.com/blog/post/equality- pledge/?utm_source=equality&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=equality-pledge17#/ 3 In this thesis the term ‘woman artist’ will not be used, primarily because many female artists associated with Surrealism denied the label of ‘woman artist’ and second, by escaping the established term ‘woman artist’ I aim to move away from the separate category of ‘woman art.’ However, since it is necessary to specify the term ‘artist’ to refer to women, the term ‘female artist’ will be used in this research. 4 https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-11-radical-latin-american-women-artists 5 https://www.artbasel.com/events/detail/7089/Art-World-Talk-Sexism-in-the-Art-World

3 everything to do with the way that art history is presented at universities, museums, galleries, and in literature as well as in popular culture. Gender inequity is in particular problematic when it comes to major museums and collections that reach a broad audience. Leading institutions in the art world are considered to have a social, political and educational function. The collections that are presented in these institutions are the reflections of art history in the society of today. Major art museums are highly influential in the way that they teach the general public about art in their position as ‘global tastemakers.’ When visiting an influential museum, one assumes that what is presented there, is indeed an accurate reflection of the highlights of the history of art, unfortunately this is not the case. What is presented at these institutions is considered as most important and influential, but according to who? Are visitors always aware of the individual voices that are hidden behind the process of decision-making and behind the formation of art history? Not only major art museums and galleries are problematic institutions in this context, a deeper problem can be found at the universities that teach art history. Looking back at my own Bachelor study in Art History at the University of Groningen (2011-2014), I noticed that male artists and scholars dominated the topics in the classes. A publication like Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art, dating from 1950 is still used to introduce art history students in their first year of college to the history of art. The fact that a publication is used where initially not even one female artist was included in ‘the story of art’ is a problematic factor for future students. As the study of art history develops, students learn that it is important to realize that there is no such thing as ‘the’ story of art and that art history is a subjective field. Yet the way art history is taught, and the fact that a publication as The Story of Art is still used as an important handbook is problematic and shows that the problem of the exclusion of women in the art world comes from a deep-rooted and structural problem. Art Historians Griselda Pollock and Rozsika Parker, both Scholars in the field of Feminism in Art Studies, delved into the topic of this structural problem in a review of their publication Old Mistresses: Women, Art, and Ideology (1982) in 2013. In the prologue they introduced the following question: “It is forty years, almost half a century, since the opening salvo of a feminist initiative to challenge the erasure of women from the

4 History of Art. Has it changed attitudes? Has it created an inclusive History of Art?”6 Unfortunately, it is anno 2018 not possible to speak of an inclusive history of art. Even though attitudes might have slightly changed and the problem of gender inequity in the art world has been acknowledged by scholars and curators from Europe to the Unites States, there is still a way to go. The necessity of the move towards inclusion was recently underlined by Curator Maura Reilly with the publication of her book Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethic of Curating (2018).7 In this publication Reilly exposed the need of an inclusive art history since sexism and racism are still common practices in the art world. She states that curators carry an important responsibility in the shift towards inclusion and encourages them to be more considerate in creating exhibitions by including former excluded groups, as women, non-Western artists, artists of color and LGBTIQ8 artists. Progress has been made since the raise of feminism in art studies in the 1970s, however the way female artists are presented today is often limited to anecdotes with sensational reviews of women’s private lives, including gossip regarding their sexual lives instead of proper reviews of the quality of their art. Pollock and Parker questioned the main assumption that Art Historian Linda Nochlin had made in her article “Why Have There Been No Great ” (1971). Nochlin explained that the reason we don’t know many female artists today was because of the fact that women did not get the same opportunities as men because of institutional sexism and discrimination. After extensive study on the history of modern art in the United States and Europe, Pollock and Parker pointed out that female artists were visible in the art world and that they did participate in exhibitions, yet for some reason art historians did not include them in their writings. The period of modern art was defined by Parker and Pollock as a time of the creation of knowledge: “Art History expanded in the universities and art publishing houses were founded to create and feed a market for knowledge about art.”9 This, as they call it, ‘removal’ of women from art history happened in a century where art history and especially modern art was actively put into a specific narrative that is still considered as ‘the master narrative of modern art’ and presented as such in modern art museums today. This certain way of actively promoting and presenting modern art in the

6 Parker, R. and Pollock, G. (2013) Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, London: I.B. Tauris, p. xvii 7 http://www.artnews.com/2017/11/07/what-is-curatorial-activism/ 8 The term ‘LGBTIQ’ has recently been coined and refers to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning sexualities. 9 Parker, R. and Pollock, G. (2013) Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, p. xxiii.

5 twentieth century can be seen as one of the sources where the structural problem of gender inequity seems to come from. It is a fact that men dominate the discourse and art historical canon of twentieth century avant-garde art. One of the most elaborated movements of this time is Surrealism; a movement that is in particular interesting when it comes to the problem of gender inequity and the ambiguous role of women in this circle. The Surrealist movement10 can be explained as a hierarchic, patriarchal group where women fulfilled a role somewhere between mistress and muse. Yet there was a distinct wing of the Surrealist movement that developed outside of Paris and New York during the end of the 1930s. This distinct wing of Surrealism was established in Mexico; it was there where women were able to work as independent artists in a more liberated environment.11 It is in this regard interesting to look at the history of Surrealist art from this non-Western point of view, outside of Europe and the United States. Uncountable writings have been published on the history of Surrealism in Paris and New York, but there is a third place that was of crucial importance female artists associated with the French Surrealist movement – this place is Mexico City. Recently there has been shown a renewed interest in the lives and works of female artists who were working in Mexico in the 1940s. It is noteworthy that certain female artists have been honored with an extensive amount of writings and exhibitions. One of them is (England, 1917-2011), an artist who is considered Mexican today because of her emigration to the country in 1943.12 Since 2010 an increasing amount of specialized publications and biographies have been published on her live and work. The most recent one appeared in 2017 and was written by Carrington’s cousin and Journalist Joanna Moorhead titled The Surreal Life of Leonora Carrington. In October 2017, a documentary aired in the Netherlands, titled “Leonora Carrington – The Forgotten Surrealist.”13 A title that indicates how problematic the situation regarding these artists is in Europe. Presenting Carrington as “forgotten” already puts her in a dark corner. Hence the recent interest and increasing writings on artists as (Spain, 1908-1963),

10 “The Surrealist movement” refers to the hierarchic circle of Surrealist artists and writers who were active in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s under the leadership of André Breton. In this thesis ‘the Surrealist movement’ will also be referred to as ‘French’ and ‘Bretonian’ Surrealism to indicate the crucial difference between French Surrealism and the similar artistic and social tendencies in Mexico. 11 Fort, I.S. and Arcq, T. (2012) “Introduction” in In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States, Los Angeles: DelMonico Books, p. 20 12 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, UK: Lund Humphries, p. 57 13 https://www.npostart.nl/close-up/08-10-2017/AT_2086803

6 (France, 1904-1987), (France, 1910-1993) and (Hungary, 1912-2000), the academic literature and general acknowledgement on these artists in Europe remains scarce. It is safe to say that the only female Mexican artist worldwide known is (1907-1954). As a rebel, bi-sexual, and political activist with a physical disability, she has reached a cult status today.14 Kahlo’s way of dress is currently honored with a major exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (June – November, 2018) titled Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up.15 Her sense of fashion has further been an inspiration to many famous designers, and magazines as Vogue dedicated shopping guides to Kahlo’s sense of style.16 Her life was illustrated in the movie Frida in 2002. This film can be seen as a feminist project, directed by Julie Taymor and co-produced by Mexican actress Salma Hayek, yet it simultaneously focused on Kahlo’s sexuality and her position as a victim of adultery. A tendency that writer Valeria Luiselli explained in 2018 in the context of the distribution of the film by the Harvey Weinstein company: they asked for a sexier Kahlo “more nudity, less unibrow and got away with it.”17 Frida Kahlo’s iconic status illustrates the current idea of the female artist as either being overlooked, or portrayed as a sensation in the social sphere of sexuality – the art historical interest in the work of these women remains secondary. There is still a lot underexposed in the field of female Surrealist artists in mid- twentieth century Mexico City and academic literature on this topic is scarce. One of the problems with the existing academic publications is their availability, since these books are rare, they are expensive and not easily available through libraries. This indicates the current need of literature on female artists. Most of the writings that have appeared are focused on one single artist, an approach that Art Historian Dina Comisarenco Mirkin described as “the monographic methodological perspective commonly used by art historians […] that diminishes the social and political significance of their coherent artistic

14 The development of Kahlo’s cult status in relation to the commercial appropriation of her life was further defined by Valeria Luiselli in The Guardian (June 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jun/11/frida-kahlo-fridolatry-artist- myth 15 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/times2/exhibition-review-frida-kahlo-making-her- self-up-at-the-v-a-sw7-trrnwkmxr and http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/frida-kahlo-making- her-self-up-va-museum 16 http://www.vogue.it/en/fashion/trends/2016/07/06/mexican-style-and-frida-kahlo-for- summer-2016/ and https://www.vogue.com/article/frida-kahlo-artist-clothing-shopping- outfit-ideas 17 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jun/11/frida-kahlo-fridolatry-artist- myth

7 production as a group.”18 Working partly in response to this blind spot in art historical research, my thesis will focus on the group of female Surrealists who were active in Mexico City in the mid twentieth century as a whole, including their social and political significance as such. The research question is as follows: How did the network of befriended female Surrealist artists function in relation to the native Mexican art scene in the 1940s? This relation will be explored by looking at the development of European rooted Surrealism in Mexico City. How was Surrealism perceived by the Mexicans? Through this historical approach, the second aim is to find out how female Surrealist artists are represented in the art scene of Mexico City today. Is the problem of gender inequity as well present in the Mexican art scene or are there differences retraceable in relation to Europe? It is important to note that in this research I do not focus on the art historical interpretation and explanation of the individual artworks of female artists associated with Surrealism. The main aim of this research is to expose the power structures in the formation of the canon of Surrealism in the context of female artists and the Mexican art scene of the 1930s and 1940s, and in the art scene of Mexico City today. One of the few publications dedicated to female Surrealist artists in Mexico as a group is the exhibition catalogue Surreal Friends: Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, and Kati Horna (2010) edited by Moorhead, Curator Stefan van Raay and Art Historian and Curator Tere Arcq. This book solely focuses on the three mentioned artists, and therefore lacks information on the group production of these befriended female surrealists working in Mexico City. Surreal Friends additionally overlooks the relation of European women and the indigenous Mexican artists and does not offer an overview of the Mexican art scene of the 1940s. Another important reference work is the exhibition catalogue In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States (2012), edited by Art Historian Ilene Susan Fort and Tere Arcq. In this catalogue many ‘new,’ forgotten, female artists are introduced into the story of Surrealism – some of them even unknown to many art historians – and hereby expands the Surrealist canon. In Artists of Modern Mexico: Frida’s Contemporaries (2007) an overview is provided of the female artists (26 in total) who were active during the mid-twentieth century in Mexico City, with short biographies on each artist. This publication also offers an important, 20-page essay, written by writer and friend of Carrington, , titled “Forgotten Women

18 Comisarenco Mirkin, D. (2008) “To Paint the Unspeakable: Mexican Female Artists' Iconography of the 1930s and Early 1940s ” in Art Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Spring - Summer, 2008), p. 21

8 Artists Brought To Light by The National Museum of Mexican Art.” Poniatowska elaborates on the social situation in Mexico City during the 1930s and 1940s and the way female artists developed themselves in this environment. A current study on the representation of female artists in the art scene of Mexico City today in relation to Europe is still lacking in the literature on this subject. Art Historian Rosalind Krauss devoted her book Bachelors (1999) to the lives and works of several female artists in the theoretical context of semiotics. Krauss pointed to the fact that have often been described in comparison to their male contemporaries. These women were sometimes romantically involved with famous male artists, Krauss indicates that this might be among the reasons why women were often seen as if they just repeated male Surrealists.19 Even though Krauss mentioned that women are often compared to male artists, the author introduced Surrealist photographer (France, 1907-1997) in comparison to male contemporaries as (United States, 1890-1976) and (Poland, 1902-1975). She also created parallels between Maar and in the context of exploring identities. Krauss concluded with an important statement, namely that “art made by women needs no special pleading”, it should be considered ‘normal’ to write about female artists. These are among the writings that have further raised my interest on the topic of female artists associated with Surrealism, specifically in Mexico City. As Krauss mentioned, art made by women should not need special pleading, but in my opinion this special treatment is inescapable in order to achieve an inclusive art history. Pollock and Parker pointed out that it is not enough to simply add forgotten artists to the existing art historical canon, a statement that has been introduced many times on different levels.20 The problem of the gender imbalance and the exclusion of women in the art world have been acknowledged, however the structural shift is still missing. To me, one of the ways to deal with the problem of gender inequity is the need of art historical attention for the works and lives of female artists that are forgotten today. It is necessary to shine a light on these artists so that in the following decades people will know female equivalents for artists as Man Ray, , and Salvador Dalí, so that people will be able to name five female artists as easily as they can mention male artists. The fact that we do not see women as an essential part of the Surrealist movement as artists is a product of the canonization

19 Krauss, R. (1999) Bachelors, October, The MIT Press, p. 18 20 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/06/how-the-art-world-airbrushed- female-artists-from-history

9 process of Surrealism. Even though a lot of research has been done and more exhibitions arise, specifically on female photographers in Surrealism,21 female Surrealist artists remain relatively unknown because they have not been recorded in the history of art as essential artists. With this research I attempt to balance the current gender inequity in art historical literature on female artists in relation to the Surrealist movement and to create more visibility on the issue of exclusion in art history in order to establish a broader acknowledgement of this problem.

Chapter 1 is dedicated to the theoretical foundation of this research. Here I discuss the way that art historical scholars have dealt with the problem of excluding female artists in relation to the issues of inclusion, feminism and the canon. I explain the geographical shift of female émigré women from Europe to Mexico during the late 1930s and 1940s to define the relation between these women and the Surrealist movement. This chapter further examines recent literature on female artists and Surrealism in Mexico in the context of the problems of categorizing the works of female artists. In Chapter 2 I explore the art scene of Mexico City during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Defining the decade of the 1920s in the light of women’s artistic activities is necessary to examine the art scene of the 1930s and 1940s when the European Surrealist émigré artists arrived to the country. The duality between these female émigré artists and the native Mexican artists is the focus point of this chapter in order to define the disputable relationship of Mexicans towards French Surrealism. Chapter 3 examines how the discussed female artists associated with Surrealism are represented in the art scene of Mexico City today. I make a comparison between the two most important art museums and examine their recent exhibition programs. This chapter further discusses the gallery scene in relation to the visibility of female artists associated with Surrealism in the Mexican art scene to retrace the popularity of these artists from the perspective of art dealing. Lastly I explain the art market in relation to the institutional recognition of female artists and canon of Surrealism.

21 Kati Horna’s photographic works were honored with the solo show Kati Horna at Museo Amparo in Puebla, Mexico in 2014. The works of (United States, 1907-1977) were recently exhibited in a solo exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London (2016) and the influence of Dora Maar on Picasso’s work is currently presented in the exhibition Guernica at the Musée Picasso in Paris (March-June, 2018).

10 Chapter 1 Feminism and Art History: Towards Inclusion

This first chapter functions as the theoretical background of this thesis. I discuss the problem of the exclusion of female artists by ‘art history’ in relation to the establishment of the art historical canon. I explain the necessity of an inclusive art history in relation to the incorporation of feminism in the history of art by the theories of Griselda Pollock and Rozsika Parker. This chapter explores the question ‘how have scholars dealt with the problem of gender inequity in writing art history?’ by introducing two opposing positions in the art historical field respectively represented by Pollock and Art Historian James Elkins. Following it is important to define the relation between women and the Surrealist movement. Why were so many female artists involved with this particular movement? How can this relation be described from the perspective of these female artists? I pose these questions to define the position of women in the social context of the 1940s and in regard to the geographical shift from Europe to Mexico. This chapter further discusses the dangers of categorizing the works of female artists in relation to the problems that appear in the current literature of Surrealist female artists in Mexico. I place critical notes in relation to this literature and introduce examples of important publications that are elaborated and questioned.

1.1 Defining and explaining

The result of an art history that has excluded women as initiators from any historical movement can be traced back to the formation of the different stories of art that are represented in the canon of art history. The concept of the canon can be defined as a ‘standard’ or a ‘rule’ and has been translated from the Greek term ‘kanon.’22 In art history ‘the canon’ refers specifically to Western art23 and is known as ‘the universal standard of quality.’ It consists of the collection of writings, artists and object that have been selected through this so-called quality standard. These coexisting stories of art have been established through history in different social, geographical and political contexts.24 The

22 Locher, H. (2012) “The Idea of the Canon and Canon Formation in Art History” in Art History and Visual Studies in Europe, Vol. 212/4, p. 30 23 Brzyski, A. (2007) Partisan Canons, London: Duke University Press, p. 1 24 Ibid., p. 7-8

11 ideological and political motifs in the formation of the canon have been widely discussed in the form of canonical critique since the 1980s. There has been a structural demand for a reformation of the canon by many of these critics in order to be able to establish an inclusive art history. The canon of Western art has systematically excluded ‘minority’ groups from the history of art, an oppressing mechanism that can be traced back to antiquity.25 Even though the problem of the exclusion of women in relation to the canon has been exposed by different scholars;26 the underlying structure of sexism in the social context can be seen as one of the foundations of this still existing problem. The deep-rooted and structural problem of the exclusion of women can be traced back to the social structure that Pollock explained as “putting men and women asymmetrically in relation to language, to social and economic power, and to meaning.”27 The relation between female artists and the English language is perhaps the most obvious example of this asymmetrical relation. Parker and Pollock pointed out that this phenomenon indicates that politics of gender are already encoded in language.28 The seemingly unbiased term ‘artist’ appears not to be neutral; if the term ‘artist’ is not further specified by the terms ‘female’ or ‘woman,’ it refers only to men. This has resulted in the establishment of the phenomenon of the ‘women artist’ next to the ‘artist,’ a division that seems to indicate that art made by women needs to be categorized as a separate category because a new term was invented to refer to art made by women. This example illustrates that the seemingly neutral term ‘artist’ is partial and shows us that without realizing it, the daily used language has been established by a construction of gender politics. Pollock stated in this regard: “the deep structures of patriarchal or phallocentric systems have reigned so long that they have come to appear as a fact of nature,”29 a thesis that has been proven by the use of the English language. Parker and Pollock defined that the main effect of this language sexism is that it leads to “the disqualification of the woman artist from

25 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/tools-understanding- art/a/a-brief-history-of-women-in-art 26 The publications by Pollock and Parker (Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, 2013) and Pollock (Differencing the Canon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Art’ s Histories, 1999) have been emblematic in exposing the power structures in relation to the exclusion of women in art history. 27 Pollock, G. (2002) Vision and Difference: Feminism, Femininity and the Histories of Art, London: Routledge, p, 56 28 Parker, R. and Pollock, G. (2013) Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, p. xix 29 Pollock, G. (1999) Differencing the Canon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Art’ s Histories, London: Routledge, p. 28

12 being treated as a real artist.”30 In consolidation with the research that was done by Theorist Theresa de Lauretis, Parker, Pollock and De Lauretis defined that art history can be seen as a “technology of gender.”31 The fact that art history should not be seen apart from gender politics has been explained by many scholars in the field of gender, feminism, and art history. This leads to the current problematic relation between the conception of feminism and the field of art history. The term ‘feminism’ has been subjected to debate in the last decades and is known to have different definitions. The definition of feminism, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is the following: “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.”32 The concept of ‘the sexes’ can be traced back to the technology of gender. Pollock has defined gender as “a construction of social, economic and cultural power, and relations between the sexes as relations of dominations and oppression.”33 She proposed that in order to achieve an inclusive art history, it is necessary to go beyond the notions of gender since gender is the result of ideological constructions. This issue has further been deconstructed and exposed by Feminist Scholar Judith Butler in Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1999). There Butler additionally pointed out that gender is a social constructed category. Although I would like to go beyond the notion of gender in this thesis, I consider it necessary to define gender here by using the terms ‘female’ and ‘male’ in order to specify the reference to the female artists that are the subject of this research. To go deeper into the complicated field of the issues of gender as a social construction would be the subject for a separate research. Feminism and art history are often perceived as two separate entities where feminist writings in relation to art history are dismissed as ‘interventions’ in the traditional art history. Yet in the move towards an inclusive art history it is problematic to define the structure of gender politics and art history as separate from one another. In relation to the gender politics encoded in language, Pollock has defined the canon of art history in the context of feminism as “a discursive formation which constitutes the objects/text it selects as the products of artistic mastery and, thereby contributes to the legitimation of white masculinity’s exclusive identification with creativity and with Culture.”34 It is important to

30 Parker, R. and Pollock, G. (2013) Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, p. xix 31 Ibid., p. xix 32 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism 33 Pollock, G. (2012) “Muscular Defenses” in Journal of Visual Culture, p. 127 34 Pollock, G. (1999) Differencing the Canon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Art’ s Histories, p.9

13 realize that in order to create an inclusive art history more is needed than simply inserting ‘forgotten’ artists in the already existing traditional notion of the history of art. Professor in Art History Nanette Salomon has additionally defined that a shifting of paradigms is necessary to achieve an inclusive art history. Salomon pointed out that “the uncritical insertion of women artists into the pre-existing structure of art history as a discipline tends to confirm rather than challenge the prejudicial tropes through which women’s creativity is dismissed.”35 This was further affirmed by Pollock who stated that in order to make a structural shift possible, art history needs to go beyond the notions of gender and to engage with difference. 36 In the art historical field two main positions can be located in relation to the ‘proper’ functions of art history that make a shifting of paradigms challenging. The debate on the boundaries of art history has been discussed by Art Historians in the field of canon criticism Derek Conrad Murray and Soraya Murray in the context of the reform of the canon. 37 While Pollock has argued that feminism should be seen as an integral part of art history, Art Historian James Elkins represents the approach of keeping the field as pure as possible.38 These two positions are exemplary for the current state of the art historical discipline in relation to feminist practices. In his publication Stories of Art (2002) Elkins stated that selectivity in relation to the canon is inescapable since personal value judgment decisions are being made on a daily basis, especially by art historians. According to Elkins the different ‘shapes’ of art history, including feminism, can be seen as a guide to find the shape of art history that “makes most sense to you.”39 It is problematic that Elkins dismissed feminism as one of the many frameworks in art history that help art historians interpret what they see. Feminism “in one of its half- dozen varieties” is thus dismissed as another movement, or as a tool to understand art. In this way Elkins denied the underlying structure of art history as sexist. By dismissing feminism as just another ‘–ism’ in the story of art the acknowledgement of the practice of

35 Salomon, N. (1991) “The Art Historical Canon: Sins of Omission” in The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology, Oxford University Press, p. 349-350 36 Pollock, G. (2008) “What is it that feminist interventions do? Feminism and difference in retrospect and prospect” in Feminism Reframed: Reflections on Art and Difference, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 251, and Salomon, N. (1991) “The Art Historical Canon: Sins of Omission”, p. 349-351 37 Murray, D. and Murray, S. (2006) "Uneasy Bedfellows: Canonical Art Theory and the Politics of Identity” in Art Journal, Vol. 65, No. 1 (Spring), College Art Association, pp. 22-39. 38 Ibid., p. 24 39 Elkins, J. (2002) Stories of Art, New York: Routledge, p. xiv-xv

14 gender politics in relation to the formation of the canon is simultaneously denied. The seeming indifference towards the politics of gender from art historians like Elkins has resulted in the fact that the problem of gender inequity in the arts has been widely acknowledged, but that a structural shift is still missing. While Nochlin initially defined the exclusion of women from the history of art in relation to institutional prejudices and practical obstacles due to sexism in “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” (1971)40, art historians in the following years have contradicted this assumption. Art Historian and Curator Paulina Bravo Villarreal stated in 2017 that the indifference of art historians, critics, curators and theorists can be defined as one of the most important sources why we simply don’t know as much about female artists today.41 Reilly affirmed this thesis by introducing the necessity of ‘Curatorial Activism’ in 2018.42 Additionally, Parker and Pollock earlier exposed that female artists did participate in the avant-garde art scene, but that they were deliberately removed from the writings on art history in the period when modern art was written and promoted mainly by men who maintained the patriarchal ideology with their intellectual authority. 43 The professionals in the fields of art history, feminism, gender studies and the museum world that have been quoted have all pointed to the same concepts to make an inclusive art history happen; namely the concepts of acknowledgement and visibility. By acknowledging that art history is an ideological and political construction that has been established through gender politics, the exclusion of women from the master narrative of art can be understood. Through this acknowledgement and by making these concepts widely visible in the art world, a broader realization can be established which is necessary in the movement towards a structural change of inclusiveness in the field of art history.

1.2 Female artists and the Surrealist movement

In the late 1930s and early 1940s many artist had to flee Europe because of the and the Second World War. The majority of these artists chose New York City

40 Hatt, M. & Klonk, C. (2006) Art History: A critical introduction to its methods, UK: Manchester University Press, p. 150 41 Bravo Villarreal, P. (2017) “Artists Who Are Women; Women Who Are Strong”, in México 1900 – 1950: , Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde. Mexico: Museo Nacional de Arte, p. 169 42 http://www.maurareilly.com/pdf/essays/CIAFessay.pdf 43 Pollock, G. (2002) Vision and Difference: Feminism, Femininity and the Histories of Art, p. 50

15 as their new destination, but next to New York, Mexico was the most interesting place for many European émigré Surrealists. The presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940) in Mexico played an important role in this matter. Cárdenas opened the borders to refugees from Europe and especially from Spain, and gave them automatic citizenship and a place in the society of Mexico. People who had been on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War, which were mostly Socialists and Communists that could not enter the United States due to the strict immigration policy, made Mexico their new home.44 In Mexico there was a certain peace and artistic liberty for women, being away from the war, Paris and the Surrealist circle that was dominated by men.45 A group of female Surrealist artists from Europe settled down in Mexico City in the early 1940s and became close friends. Among them were Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Kati Horna, and Alice Rahon. On the other hand there was the native Mexican art scene that included many female, later labeled as Surrealist, artists such as Frida Kahlo, María Izquierdo (Mexico, 1902-1955) and Nahui Olin (Mexico, 1893-1978). It is remarkable that until now only a few books have been published on the lives and works of these artists, some of them even remain unknown in the international art world of today. The connection between women and the Surrealist movement has been researched through the years in many different publications yet it is a relation that remains puzzling. While Surrealism has often been defined as one of the first movements that included an extensive number of female artists, this celebration should be questioned. As Art Historian Whitney Chadwick pointed out in Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement (1985), in French Surrealism the role of women wandered between muse and mistress. Women functioned as sources of inspiration and desire instead of being respected as independent artists. Not many female artists have been recorded in the history of art as “essential to the Surrealist movement” because of their role as subjects of the male desire, while simultaneously many of these artists produced works of high artistic quality and originality.46 According to the statements of the female artists associated with the Surrealist movement themselves, the ambiguous character of them existing to inspire the men of Surrealism in their role between muse and mistress is confirmed. While many of these women who would later work in Mexico have expressed their gratefulness towards these

44 Van Raay, S. (eds.) (2010) Surreal Friends, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna, UK: Lund Humphries, p. 14 45 Fort, I.S. and Arcq, T. (2012) “Introduction”, p. 20 46 Chadwick, W. (1985) Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement, UK: Thames and Hudson, p. 8

16 men for giving them intellectual input and accepting them in their circle, most of the women have commented on the sexist attitudes and patriarchal structure of the movement. Remedios Varo expressed her admiration for her male Surrealist contemporaries in 1957. Varo had been in close social contact with the French Surrealists in Paris and later in Mexico: “I attended those meetings where they talked a lot and one learned various things; sometimes I participated with works in their exhibitions; my position was one of a timid and humble listener; I was not old enough nor did I have the aplomb to face up to them. I was with an open mouth within this group of brilliant and gifted people.”47 Jacqueline Lamba had been an integral part of the Surrealist movement since 1934 when she got married to Breton and remained his wife for almost ten years.48 Lamba has commented on her position as an artist in this circle that she described as a difficult position for a woman: “women were still undervalued, over and over I heard the same ‘but you are not really a Surrealist, or, she was a very good painter but of course she wasn’t really a Surrealist.’”49 Lamba further pointed out that she disliked being beautiful and that if she had not been beautiful, she would have probably been more successful as an independent artist.50 Leonora Carrington has further expressed strong opinions on the functioning of the French Surrealist movement. As a dedicated feminist, Carrington pointed out that “the women Surrealists were considered secondary to the male Surrealists. The women were considered... people there to inspire, aside from doing the washing, cooking, cleaning, and feeding... I never thought of myself as a muse.”51 She further mentioned that as soon as women reach the age of 25, the Surrealist men lost their interest in them and moved on to the next femme-enfant.52 The opinions of Frida Kahlo on the French Surrealists came from different grounds. Kahlo, as a “Surrealist discovery” was insulted by Breton’s appropriation of her art and culture. A topic that will be further discussed in Chapter 2. After these European women distanced themselves from Bretonian Surrealism, the careers of many of them developed outside of Europe. For these women, Surrealism was a way to construct new identities that enabled independence, individuality and freedom. While this was difficult to establish in the patriarchal circle of male Surrealists in Paris, women

47 Chadwick, W. (1985) Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement, p. 11 48 Grimberg, S. (2001) “Jacqueline Lamba: From Darkness, with Light” in Woman's Art Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 1+5-13, Published by: Woman's Art Inc., p. 5 49 Chadwick, W. (1985) Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement, p. 11 50 Grimberg, S. (2001) “Jacqueline Lamba: From Darkness, with Light”, p. 5 51 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p. 37 52 Ibid., p. 38

17 experienced a complete new and different cultural and social context when they arrived in Mexico.

1.3 Dangers of categorizing ‘female Surrealism’

The geographical shift of these women from Europe to Mexico has resulted in different exhibitions and publications on this subject in Mexico as well as in the United States and Europe. What is mainly interesting about the current state of literature on female artists associated with Surrealism in Mexico is the difference in the perception from the European and Mexican perspectives. Where most of these artists remain in obscurity in Europe, these artists seem to be fully integrated in the canon of Mexican art. The literary work of Historian Ida Rodriguez Prampolini El Arte Surrealismo y el Arte Fantástico de México was published in 1969 and has been functioning as a source of inspiration for the majority of the publications on Surrealism in Mexico. In Prampolini’s definition of the story of Surrealism in relation to Mexico, all the female artists that are forgotten in Europe were already included as important artists. Alice Rahon, Jacqueline Lamba and Remedios Varo all have a grand status in the Mexican art scene today. While these artists are celebrated in Mexico’s art scene, the current literature that has been written on them all has a specific categorization in common. I propose that this specific categorization is dangerous for the future development of the writings and the conception of female artists in relation to Surrealism. The works of these women are repeatedly divided into a few themes, as the occult, alchemy, portraiture and motherhood – the latter two are often appointed to female artists in general. The problematic categorization of the works of female artists already started in Chadwick’s iconic publication Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement in 1985. Initially, Chadwick uses as “Search for a Muse” and “The Muse as Artist,” which did not put these women in the context of independent artists. It is unfortunate that one specific chapter in this book, which is still used as an important reference work, examined so-called ‘feminine topics’ and is titled: “The Female Earth: Nature and the Imagination.”53 In this chapter, which is illustrated with different stylistic depictions of the female nude by male and female artists, Chadwick stated that women “intuitively identify themselves with the forces of nature” and links several works of female artists to already existing works of

53 Chadwick, W. (1985) Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement, p. 141

18 male contemporaries.54 The female body functions, according to Chadwick, as one of the most important subjects for female artists. This indicates that women including Chadwick have been influenced by a male orientated view on the world. Art Historian Karen Rosenberg discussed Chadwick’s so-called ‘over-reading’ of art works in relation to women’s art in 1986. She pointed out that Chadwick identified the women in this publication as “foremothers of the current attempt to build a feminist mythology.”55 The creation of this “feminist mythology” would lead to the loss of the individual identity of female artists and their art works. This tendency can additionally be found in the context of the dangers of categorizing ‘female Surrealism.’ Another subject that Chadwick introduced as ‘a major source of inspiration for female artists’ was the hermetic tradition. This practice can be defined by the use of magic, the occult, alchemy and mysticism. While it has been examined that indeed artists as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo were highly interested in topics as such, the dedication of a full chapter in a general publication that focuses on women and the Surrealist movement shows that all the women related to Surrealism were suddenly linked to specific topics as the hermetic tradition. This has further lead to the problematic conception of ‘the hermetic tradition’ as a feminine subject in the general field of art history. While Chadwick’s publication dates from 1985, more recent publications tend to do the same type of categorizing of the works of female artist to subjects that are supposedly associated with femininity. In the exhibition catalogue Surreal Friends (2010) the lives and works of Carrington, Varo and Horna are the point of focus. Joanna Moorhead pointed out that after the arrival in Mexico, “domestic sanctuaries”56 can be defined as the most important spaces for these women. As the cousin of Leonora Carrington, Moorhead had been in close contact with Carrington in the last years of her life in Mexico City. Moorhead defined ‘the domestic’ as being liberating for these women. 57 While this type of categorization might be accurate for these three specific artists, the idea of the domestic space as an important factor to all women associated with Surrealism has further been used

54 Chadwick, W. (1985) Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement, p. 146 55 Rosenberg, K. (1986) “Review: Their Hearts Belonged to , Reviewed Work(s): Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement by Whitney Chadwick”, The Women's Review of Books, Vol. 3, No. 6 (Mar.), p. 4 56 Moorhead, J. (2010) “Surreal Friends in Mexico” in Surreal Friends, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna, UK: Lund Humphries, p. 75 57 Ibid., p. 76

19 by specialized scholars in this field. The exhibition catalogue In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States (2012) is an important reference work in the field of women and Surrealism. The exhibition functioned as a radical rethinking of French Surrealism by including and exposing former ‘unknown’ female artists in relation to Surrealism and was hosted in Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Mexico City (). While this publication additionally functioned as the starting point for this research, there are certain categorizations made that can be questioned in relation to still life and ‘the domestic space.’ Leonora Carrington always questioned the work of art historians in relation to the interpretation of her . She considered this ‘over-analyzing’ completely unnecessary and stated that ‘the eye’ was sufficient to enjoy her work.58 The tendency of this over-analyzing in relation to the dangers of categorization can be found in the way that Art Historian and Curator Tere Arcq positioned the works of women in the context of still life painting. While Arcq mentioned that the still life paintings of these female artists associated with Surrealism “represent the continuity of a traditional genre of painting in which woman artists have played an important role throughout history,” she further explained that these women used the still life genre to “transform this mode into a strategy for tackling gender issues.”59 Arcq concludes this section of still life painting by stating that women continued to work in the still life genre as a way to “address the spaces of femininity.”60 Even though Arcq did put this category in the context of “tackling gender issues,” the fact that women and still life painting are still linked together is problematic and keeps the idea of still life painting being a feminine subject alive. Another category that is repeatedly used by several scholars in relation to female artists associated with Surrealism is ‘the domestic space’ and more specifically ‘the kitchen.’ Arcq stated that the domestic space is an important part of the imagery of the women associated with surrealism. While these specific categories have often been linked to the works of Varo and Carrington, it is questionable if the topics of domestic space and the kitchen were important to all the women associated with Surrealism. It has been proven by American scholar and Carrington specialist Susan L. Alberth that Carrington, as well as

58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBa5Uy9Yl0I 59 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico” in In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States, Los Angeles: DelMonico Books, p. 78 60 Ibid.

20 Varo, were deeply involved with topics of the domestic space and the kitchen; “these spaces were transformed from sites of feminine drudgery and oppression into sites of contestation of power.”61 This interest can also clearly be detected in the paintings by Varo and Carrington and can be retraced in their interest in recipes, alchemy and cooking. Yet it has not been proven and it is highly unlikely that artists as Jacqueline Lamba or Alice Rahon have been occupied with the idea of the domestic space as highly important. By stating that these topics have been of great importance for the women associated with Surrealism all the artists are lumped together under the same heading. This has resulted in the fact that the works of female Surrealists as a group are now generally linked to topics as nature, the domestic space and the hermetic tradition. While certain artists were involved with these topics, others were working outside of these categories. Art Historian Dina Comisarenco Mirkin has defined the art of female Mexican artists during the 1930s and 1940s, using ‘feminine’ categories as “unhappy brides, frustrated motherhood, miscarriage and infant deaths.” 62 She linked the topic of the unhappy bride to the works of (, 1913-1993), María Izquierdo, Frida Kahlo, and the social experiences of Jacqueline Lamba. By linking this subject to three individual artworks and to four artists in total, the statement that the art of female Mexican artists during this period can be related to the topic of ‘the unhappy bride’ seems unjustified. Also Pollock has commented on the topic of motherhood, defining the maternal as “the site of creativity.”63 Additionally, Comisarenco Mirkin linked the concept of motherhood to two individual art works by Kahlo and (United States, 1895-1970), therefore stating that also this topic defines the art of female Mexican artists. The tendency of specific categories that can be linked to one of two artists, which are further extended by scholars to link all the women associated with Surrealism to these topics is legitimately inappropriate and undesirable. It will result in the fact that in the next decades these women will be to be mainly known for these specific themes; that just because they were women, they all cared about nature, the domestic space, motherhood, and still life painting. It is dangerous to consistently link the works of women to categorizations as such because it establishes and affirms the idea of ‘feminine’ categories, and the difference between the works of the ‘artists’ and the separate category of ‘women

61 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p. 9 62 Comisarenco Mirkin, D. (2008) “To Paint the Unspeakable: Mexican Female Artists' Iconography of the 1930s and Early 1940s ”, p. 21 63 Pollock, G. (2010) “Moments and Temporalities of the Avant-Garde “in, of, and from the feminine””, New Literary History, Volume 41, Number 4, Autumn, p. 797

21 artists.’ In order to make an inclusive art history happen, we need to go beyond the notions of gender; yet by this systematic way of categorizing the works of female artists associated with Surrealism, the opposite seems to be established.

22 Chapter 2 Surrealism in Mexico

This chapter provides a clearer picture of female artists in relation to the artistic scene in Mexico City in the 1940s. Why and how was Surrealism as a Parisian movement, specifically important in Mexico City in relation to female artists? First the Mexican art scene of the 1920s and 1930s is discussed before the arrival of the Surrealists, this is mainly important because of the presence of Mexican coexisting tendencies that were similar to French Surrealism. The conception of Surrealism by the Mexicans is further examined in relation to the duality between the émigré artists and the native Mexican art scene. I explain the existence and development of female émigré artists in relation to the opposing character of the Mexican art scene. How could female artists develop themselves in the masculine Mexican society? An answer on this question is formulated through the exploration of the Mexican art scene of the 1930s and 1940s.

2.1 Fantastic art in Mexico: before the arrival of the Surrealists

The beginning of the story of Surrealism in Mexico is often exemplified by the arrival of André Breton and Jacqueline Lamba in 1938. It was during this visit that Breton labeled Mexico as the surreal country ‘par excellence.’64 Yet it would be deficient to assume that Breton and Lamba introduced the Surrealist idea to the Mexican society with their visit. While the Surrealist movement and its main ideas were already known in Mexico since the 1920s, there were coexisting tendencies where Mexican artists drew inspiration from Mexican myths, rituals, magic, and their rich pre-Hispanic past outside of the idea of Surrealism. French Surrealism was skeptically received by Mexican critics during this time. The movement was known in Mexico since March 1925 when reviews and translations of the French articles and writings by the Surrealists were regularly published in Mexican newspapers. 65 The conception of the European movement by Mexican critics was dismissive; “various critics, including some of Mexico’s best-known writers, accused the Surrealist movement of being derivative and unoriginal, a mere escapist fantasy, simply

64 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, Mexico: Museo de Arte Moderno, p. 51 65 Nicholson, M. (2013) “Surrealism’s ‘found object’: The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton” in Journal of European Studies 43(1), p. 29

23 another ‘ism’ without consequence.”66 An example of this criticism was that of Mexican writer and art critic Jaime Torres Bodet in October 1928.67 Torres Bodet published a review on Breton’s story Nadja in the Mexican avant-garde magazine Contemporáneos (1928-1931).68 He stated that the story lacked a clear plot and “failed to organize the liberty that is its primary focus.”69 This review indicates how Mexicans were familiar with the idea of fantastic art and the liberation of the unconscious, also known as ‘automatic thinking,’ a so-called Surrealist invention. The Mexicans had their own perception of the idea of fantastic art and criticized Breton and the Surrealists for not applying this idea correctly. Torres Bodet’s conception is emblematic for the opposing positions in the Mexican art scene that would develop between the European émigré artists and native Mexican artists. Since both groups had their own idea of fantastic art, a hostile relation developed between the two artistic groups. The belief of the unoriginality of the Surrealist movement from the Mexican stance can be traced back to the existence of the co-existing movements with conceptual characteristics similar to Surrealism. One of these movements that enhanced the idea of a reality incorporating magical elements was known as ‘la escuela fantástica mexicana,’70 which was active in the early 1930s.71 Whereas the Surrealist movement consisted of a hierarchic structure and a close circle of artists, the idea of Mexican fantastic art was widespread and liberating. Mexican culture already included a certain level of fantastic imaginary in itself because of the traditions of magic, witchcraft and the occult.72 This intrinsic quality of Mexican culture would inspire a wide variety of artists in different ways. Curator Gonzalo Ortega labeled this intrinsic tendency as ‘magic realism’ in 2013 and further defined this tendency: “what is understood as ‘magic realism’, at least in Mexico, is defined as the sum total of many individualities, which, once brought together, evince the

66 Nicholson, M. (2013) “Surrealism’s ‘found object’: The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton”, p. 29 67 Ibid. 68 http://www.elem.mx/institucion/datos/1801 69 Nicholson, M. (2013) “Surrealism’s ‘found object’: The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton”, p. 29 70 ‘La escuela fantástica Mexicana,’ translated as ‘fantastic Mexican art’ has also been defined as ‘magic realism’ (by Gonzalo Ortega), yet both terms refer to the same tendency. 71 Rodríguez Prampolini, I. (1969) El Surrealismo y el Arte Fantástico de México, Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, p. 43 72 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 24

24 vital and intellectual beat of a specific place and time.”73 It is therefore difficult to grasp the tendency of fantastic art under one stylistic or conceptual characteristic. Ortega retraced the term of magic realism back to the German historian and art critic Franz Roh who coined the term “Magischer Realismus” in relation to the visual arts in 1925.74 Roh defined magic realism as a ‘third reality of a fantastic nature,’ which could be found between the reality and the dream. Even though the label magic realism is now mainly used to refer to literary movements in Latin America and Europe, it is additionally used for artistic movements in the visual arts similar to French Surrealism. Yet there is a crucial difference between the Mexican and French tendency that should be defined. For many Latin Americans magical realism had nothing to do with French Surrealism. The “magical” is in the context of Surrealism seen as an artificial construction, while in Latin America it was a “natural manifestation.”75 This, as Ortega called it, disputable point of view was further explained by Mexican scholar and specialist on Surrealism in Latin America Luis-Martín Lozano. He discussed the duality between the Mexican art scene and European Surrealism in 2014: “It is true that Mexico was considered to be a country that was inclined naturally towards Surrealism, as visualized by Breton, but it is just as true that this premise became a cliché on which many ‘wonders’ of 20th century Mexican art hung their hat.”76 Lozano stated that many Mexican artists would later ‘use’ Surrealism to gain more interest in the art world, which indicates the prestigious position that French Surrealism would later develop in Mexico. The coexisting of the tendency of fantastic art in relation to Surrealism has been further researched by Ortega. He stated that the Mexican movement had initially been inspired by European artistic tendencies; describing them as “delicately interrelated movements,” Ortega pointed out that the diffusion of these movements might be the result of the Contemporáneos (Contemporaries). This group of Mexican artists and writers drew inspiration from European avant-garde artists during the 1920s and 1930s, which they would publish in their magazine Contemporáneos.77 The main idea of the Contemporáneos was to integrate writings and visual arts by bringing Mexican poetry into the Western

73 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 25 74 Ibid., p. 26 75 Ibid. 76 Lozano, L.M. (eds.) (2014) Laboratorio de Sueños: la diáspora del Surrealismo en México, Mexico: Pablo Goebel Fine Arts, p. 15-16 77 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 52

25 tradition. 78 Among the European influences were Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, the metaphysical paintings by and German magic realism paintings.79 This leads to the conclusion that according to Ortega, the Mexican artistic movements might not have been inspired by the Surrealists after their arrival in the late 1930s, but that since the 1920s Mexican art already had been inspired by European avant-garde art. It is important to realize that in the decade before the arrival of many female émigré artists, the 1920s were an essential decade for the development of women in the Mexican art scene. During this time many important female artists were experimenting with tendencies that were similar to the later established French Surrealism. These women would pave the way for the development of female artists in the 1930s and 1940s. Among the most emblematic women who were active in this decade were (Mexico, 1897-1978), Tina Modotti (Italy, 1896-1942), Frida Kahlo and Nahui Olin.80 The decade of the 1920s has been labeled as “pre-feminist” by Academic Jean Franco in her book Plotting Women: Gender and Representation in Mexico (1989). Because of the activity of these female artists, she explained the “pre-” due to the fact that women were not yet active participants in the social “sphere of debate.”81 While the cultural and political movements in the 1920s remained strongly sexist and dominated by men, the Italian photographer who was actively drawn to politics Tina Modotti and Mexican artist Lola Cueto both succeeded to join Estridentismo (Stridentism, 1922-1927): a Mexican multidisciplinary avant-garde movement that included literature, art and strong political dedication. Modotti had also joined the in 1927 and was close friends with fellow communists and artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (Mexico, 1886-1957).82 Modotti often photographed the murals of Rivera that she used for her photo collages. Cueto would become one of the most important visual artists of the movement, she is best known for her embroidery, tapestry and puppet making. The Mexican artist Nahui Olin was one of the most remarkable women of 1920s Mexico. Born as María del Carmen Mondragón Valseca in 1893 she later changed her

78 Nicholson, M. (2013) “Surrealism’s ‘found object’: The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton”, p. 28 79 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 52 and Nicholson, M. (2013) “Surrealism’s ‘found object’: The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton”, p. 28 80 Flores, T. (2008) “Strategic Modernists: Women Artists in Post-Revolutionary Mexico” in Woman's Art Journal, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Fall - Winter), p. 12 81 Ibid., p. 14 82 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/reasons-to-love-tina-modotti-606902

26 name to Nahui Olin and became active as a painter and poet. 83 Olin had studied in Paris from 1897 until 1905 and was part of the intellectual circle of Mexican artists and writers in the 1920s and 1930s.84 She travelled back to Paris in the 1920s when she got in touch with European avant-garde artists and the Surrealists. Women’s rights were of crucial importance to her; her liberated and feminist ideology can be found in her way of dress, she started wearing dresses and skirts above the knee in the 1920s, and she was repeatedly photographed naked by the American photographer Edward Weston. Olin’s visual style of painting can be characterized by the use of vibrant colors, big almond shaped eyes, defined by a ‘naive’ style of painting. Assistant Professor of Art History Tatiana Flores pointed out that “Olin paved the way for women artists of the next generation, such as Frida Kahlo and María Izquierdo, who did not always feel compelled to integrate the social or the political into their work.”85 Economist and Director of the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico in 1992 Gerardo Estrada Rodríguez further stated that artists including Olin, Modotti and Weston were of crucial importance in offering a bridge between the authentic Mexican expressions of traditions and folklore, and the urban popular culture that was rapidly developing during the 1920s in Mexico City.86 It is noteworthy that in the exhibition catalogue Nahui Olin: Una Mujer de los Tiempos Modernos (1992) Olin’s influence is explained in the context of her male lovers. Art Historian Blanca Garduño discussed Diego Rivera as ‘one of the men in her life.’ Olin’s influence on Rivera is illustrated through the inclusion of Olin’s portraits in several murals of Rivera.87 What is remarkable is that this same approach can be found in the current exhibition on Nahui Olin at the National Museum of Art in Mexico City that opened on June 14, 2018. In this first major retrospective of her work titled Nahui Olin. La mirada infinita (The Infinite Gaze) Olin is additionally introduced in the context of her role in the lives of male artists. The first sentence of the introductory wall text explains that “Much has been said about the role of Carmen Mondrágon played in the life of some male artists, about her beauty being a source of inspiration for those who painted, photographed

83 Estrada Rodríguez, G. (eds.) (1992) Nahui Olin: Una Mujer de los Tiempos Modernos. Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Museo Estudio Diego Rivera, p. 15 84 Estrada Rodríguez, G. (eds.) Nahui Olin: Una Mujer de los Tiempos Modernos, p. 46-47 85 Flores, T. (2008) “Strategic Modernists: Women Artists in Post-Revolutionary Mexico”, p. 20 86 Estrada Rodríguez, G. (eds.) (1992) Nahui Olin: Una Mujer de los Tiempos Modernos, p. 21- 22 87 Garduño, B. (1992) “Al encuentro de Nahui Olin” in Nahui Olin: Una Mujer de los Tiempos Modernos, p. 27-31

27 and displayed her in many ways.” This can partly be explained as a result of Olin’s oeuvre in which men are continuously depicted as the subjects of her works. [fig. 1, 2 and 3] Yet for an exhibition of this extent in one of the most important art institutions of Mexico it seems inadequate to introduce Olin in relation to her male contemporaries, and to discuss her beauty as ‘a source of inspiration.’ However, a further explanation follows through the end of the introductory text where is stated that “Olin was not a satellite that orbited other artists: she was the protagonist of her own story, maker of her own art.” In reviews on the exhibition the idea of Olin as a muse in a men’s world is additionally highlighted. Journalist Sonía Ávila reviewed the show for the Mexican newspaper Excelsior with the title “Nahui Olin, una musa con pinsel” (Nahui Olin, a muse with a brush) and discussed Olin’s work in the context of her ‘effect’ on male artists.88 This exposes the still existing problem of the representation of female artists as muses who ‘surprisingly’ had artistic qualities of their own and the fact that they are compared or discussed in relation to their male contemporaries.

2.2 The duality of the Mexican art scene and the establishment of female émigré artists in Mexico during the 1930s and 1940s

The ambiguous relation between the fantastic art tendency in Mexico and European Surrealism can be characterized by two main opinions that continue to exist on this subject in the Mexican art world. The positions in this divided art scene have been traced back to the 1930s by Art Historians Dafne Cruz Porchini and Adriana Ortega Orozco in 2017. They defined these two groups as participants of the “Mexican School” next to the group of “non-nationalists.”89 Mexico has been labeled as a Surreal place because of Breton’s fascination with the “purity of the primitive Mexican world.”90 Due to the fact that I was doing this research as a European in Mexico, it is important to introduce the different personal orientations I encountered on this subject. Through conversations with Mexican artists, gallerists, curators and other art world professionals I became aware of the European outlook and of the Mexican perspective on this story. There are Mexicans who celebrate the influence of Europe in their country, e.g. the French architecture in Mexico City and the major exhibitions of

88 https://www.excelsior.com.mx/expresiones/nahui-olin-una-musa-con-pincel/1245363 89 Cruz Porchini, D. and Ortega Orozco, A. (2017) “The 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism: A Cosmopolitan Art Dialogue in Mexico City” in Dada/Surrealism 21, p. 2 90 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico”, p. 67

28 European avant-garde artists in Mexican museums. It is interesting in this regard that Ortega mentioned that “in order to discuss magic realism (as a Mexican movement) one should always consider the influence of Surrealism brought to Latin America by European émigré artists [...] or by some Mexican artists who had enjoyed the opportunity to travel or study in Europe.”91 Non-Mexicans tend to speak of the influence of Surrealism in Mexico and of Frida Kahlo as a Surrealist painter, mainly because Breton had labeled the whole country as Surrealist. These assumptions indicate that the European Surrealists could appropriate a country like Mexico and make it part of the Surrealist movement without incorporating the voice of the Mexicans. Professor of Spanish Studies and specialist in 20th-century Latin American literature Melanie Nicholson explained this tendency in 2013. The story of the European Surrealists visiting Mexico posits Mexico as a “surrealist object trouvé or a site of potential marvellous encounters; it is a narrative created by non-Mexicans who discover surrealist images in the country’s history, geography, colors and people.”92 This problem was additionally explained by writer Ayoola Solarin in relation to the current exhibition of Kahlo at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In the article “Frida Kahlo is Not Your Symbol,”93 published on Dazed & Confused magazine’s online platform dazeddigital.com (June, 2018), Solarin stated that while male idolized artists are known for their innovation skills, Kahlo is stuck with being praised for her bold way of dress and for “not shaving.” She mentioned the “brutal commodification” of Kahlo by the United States and Europe as highly problematic; this indicates that the issue of the appropriation of the Mexican culture by non-Mexicans is still a current topic of discussion in the art world. The appropriation of the Mexican culture by Europeans has created a considerably adverse ambiance in the Mexican culture towards the Surrealist movement that still lives on today. A term as ‘Mexican Surrealism’ is by Mexicans conceived as non- existing. Mexico had its own movements and tendencies in the arts where a similar idea of Surrealism was practiced, before the establishment of Surrealism as a movement. From this perspective, the Surrealist émigré artists that arrived in Mexico are conceived as an isolated and separate group in the Mexican art scene.

91 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 25 92 Nicholson, M. (2013) “Surrealism’s ‘found object’: The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton”, p. 28 93 http://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/40259/1/frida-kahlo-is-not-your- symbol

29 This position can be traced back to 1935 when Mexican art patron Carolina Amor founded the Galería de Arte Mexicano as a response to the non-existing spaces where modern art could be developed and exhibited. Carolina Amor’s sister Inés Amor would take over the gallery shortly after the opening. As the director of the gallery Amor stated that after the arrival of European émigré artists, Diego Rivera, known for his nationalist attitude, strongly tried to prevent her from exhibiting the works of the émigré artists. Rivera even insisted that the gallery should have been titled “Galería de Arte Mexicano” instead of the initial “Galería de Arte.”94 It is remarkable in this respect that while Rivera was so actively against the inclusion of émigré artists, he was a close friend and admirer of the Italian photographer Tina Modotti since a decade before. Even though Amor did listen to Rivera in relation to the name of the gallery she did not follow his opinion on excluding émigrés from the exhibition program. Amor would exhibit émigré works on a scale that had never occurred in Mexico before; especially the works of female artists were often exhibited. In relation to the Galería de Arte Mexicano, Tere Arcq pointed out that “women played an important role in shaping a commercial system for the artworks, one that also offered a space for women artists, who has been excluded from official venues.”95 The exclusion of women from official venues can be illustrated by the practices of the Muralist movement that dominated the 1930s art scene in Mexico. This decade was defined by a process of modernization where nationalist values were celebrated through the Muralist movement that was funded by the Mexican government. The three men who are still known as the initiators of this movement are the Mexican artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) and (1896-1974). They completely ruled the Mexican art scene during the 1930s. It was not easy to enter the masculine environment of the Muralist movement for female artists. The Muralist movement can be explained as a result of the (1910-1920) that would bring modernity in relation to the social space for women. Yet women were still completely excluded from the field of culture; the mural projects were, as Arcq stated, “the exclusive projects of men, national identity was essentially a masculine identity.”96

94 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico” , p. 67 95 Ibid. 96 Ibid.

30 Some women were able to break through these strong masculine structures. María Izquierdo, who was actively involved with women’s rights,97 received an invitation from the government to paint a mural for the Palacio de Gobierno in 1945. When she had almost finished all the preparations, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros made sure that her assignment was cancelled; “they considered a woman incapable of carrying of a project of this magnitude.”98 The response of Rivera and Siqueiros on this event shows how deep the Mexican art scene was structured by patriarchy. However, next to Izquierdo, both Carrington and Varo received invitations from the government for mural projects in the following decades. Due to practical reasons, Varo considered her type of painting unsuitable for the scale of a mural,99 only Carrington’s El mundo mágico de los mayas (The Magic World of the Maya) was established for the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City in 1963.100 The affirmation by Breton of the Mexican culture and the reading that was imposed on the works of Mexican artists was highly unwanted and created a hostile setting between Mexicans and the Surrealists. The Bretonian stamp of Surrealism that he put on several Mexican artists lead to strong resistance. Frida Kahlo has mentioned that she never knew that she was a Surrealist until Breton told her she was. She was extremely angry when Breton appropriated her art and didn’t want her oeuvre to be claimed of any kind of movement.101 Kahlo further had a critical opinion when it came to the Surrealists. She considered the experiments of exhibiting pre-Hispanic sculptures in relation to Surrealist art in Mexico “completely absurd” and referred to the European Surrealists as Breton and (Austria, 1905-1959) as “crazy, rotten intellectuals”102 due to their ‘arrogance’ in appropriating her art and culture in 1940. A year earlier Kahlo got in touch with Paalen and Rahon, 103 they became close friends because of their mutual interest in

97 For more elaborate information on the feminist ideas of Izquierdo see https://mxcity.mx/2016/10/maria-izquierdo-femenina-y-surrealista/ 98 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico”, p. 67 99 Arcq, T. (2010) “Mirrors of the Marvellous: Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo” in Surreal Friends, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna, UK: Lund Humphries, p. 111 100 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico”, p. 67 101 Sawin, M. (1995) Surrealism in Exile and the Beginning of the New York School, Cambridge MIT Press, p. 255 102 Ibid. 103 Cruz Porchini, D. and Ortega Orozco, A. (2017) “The 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism: A Cosmopolitan Art Dialogue in Mexico City”, p. 3

31 Pre-Columbian art and archaeology.104 It is therefore remarkable that in a period of a year, Kahlo’s opinion had changed so rigorously towards these émigré artists. Ortega pointed out the main source of this hostile attitude in relation to Mexico: “Where Europeans saw an extension of their Surrealist imaginary, Mexicans proudly recognized their very own values and traditions. Where the Eurocentric prejudice imposed its interpretation, there was in actuality a legitimate local cultural value.”105 It is in this regard accurate to speak of the influence of Mexico on Surrealism. The Mexican culture and country had a major influence on the Surrealists; especially on the group of female émigré artists that would be working in the art scene of Mexico in the late 1930s and 1940s. Jacqueline Lamba was the first female Surrealist émigré artist to arrive in Mexico together with Breton in 1938. The French painter and poet Alice Rahon, her husband Wolfgang Paalen, and the Swiss born photographer, filmmaker, collector and musician Eva Sulzer (1902-1990) were invited by Breton and arrived to the country in 1939.106 Kahlo was aware of the arrival of the Surrealists and invited Paalen, Rahon and Sulzer later that year to visit her and Rivera in their house. It was then when they all met each other, the artists additionally got in touch with gallery director Inés Amor, these gatherings directly resulted in friendships.107 This was one of the first encounters between the European émigré artists and the most important exponents of the native Mexican art scene. Later in 1939 the Spanish sculptor José Horna (1912-1963) and his wife the Hungarian born photographer Kati Horna arrived in Mexico. They would all first establish themselves in the neighborhood of San Angel in the south of Mexico City. This establishment created an émigré community of Surrealists living in Mexico City. When Remedios Varo arrived in 1941 and Leonora Carrington in 1943 they were both welcomed by this community.108 At the time of the arrival of these European émigrés in the early 1940s the influence of the muralist movement was decreasing. The direct language of Muralism had further resulted in a resistance movement where artists as (1899-1991) and María Izquierdo started experimenting with Mexican folklore, magic and

104 Raay, Van, S. (eds.) (2010) Surreal Friends, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna, p. 14 105 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 29 106 Ibid., p. 60 107 Cruz Porchini, D. and Ortega Orozco, A. (2017) “The 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism: A Cosmopolitan Art Dialogue in Mexico City”, 2017, p. 3 108 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p. 57

32 myths.109 These tendencies would be similar to the working practices of the female émigrés. The arrival of these women resulted in a community of artists who were highly influenced by the Mexican culture. While many artists were creating new avant-garde works during the early 1940s, proper spaces for the exhibition of modern art were still missing in Mexico City’s art scene. Yet there was one gallery that would organize one of the most important exhibitions in relation to Surrealism in the history of Mexico. This exhibition was hosted as the International Exhibition of Surrealism at the Galería de Arte Mexicano in 1940. The show was organized by Breton, Paalen and the Peruvian Surrealist poet César Moro (1903-1956). In relation to the duality of the Mexican art scene the dialogue that this exhibition provided between Mexican and European artists was notable, especially since this duality was physically confirmed with an international and a Mexican section. The balance of works and artists in the exhibition can be questioned since the international selection consisted of 92 works, while the Mexican part only included 16 works – the Mexican part further did not include any works of female artists. It was remarkable that, at Rivera’s request, Rivera himself, Kahlo and Mexican photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902-2002) were included in the international section, which further stirred the debate on the duality. While the source material on the exhibition does not provide much information on the included art works, it is known that in the international section, Remedios Varo’s painting Recuerdo de la Walkyria (Memory of the Valkyrie), 1938, was included. Varo was asked to decide which work she wanted to include in the show. The fact that she decided to take an art work that referred to the Scandinavian legend of the Valkyries; powerful and beautiful women warriors, points to the fact that Varo was involved with the position of women in the art world and that she was not afraid to depict her vision in her paintings.110 The opposing positions of the international and Mexican sections were confirmed by the critical responses on the show. Mexican art critics praised the exhibition because they had been longing for exhibition spaces of modern art. The Galería de Arte Mexicano was the first space for exhibiting modern art in Mexico City; art critic Luis Cardoza y Aragón was impressed by the show and questioned in this regard, “why don’t we [Mexicans] don’t have a museum of modern art yet?”111 Other critics approached the

109 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p. 57 110 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico”, p. 68-69 111 Cruz Porchini, D. and Ortega Orozco, A. (2017) “The 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism: A Cosmopolitan Art Dialogue in Mexico City”, p. 15

33 exhibition more with a negative and critical attitude. Many critics defined Surrealism as dead and dismissed the exhibition of anachronistic and lacking creativity, while at the same time they were highly interested in the works of earlier Surrealists. The stance of these critics was paradoxical, Cruz Porchini and Ortega Orozco defined that “at that time, many critics were interested in the paintings by Dalí, de Chirico, Magritte, and Tanguy, but were at the same time hostile towards more recent surrealist painters including Paalen.”112 This indicates the remaining ambiguous attitude of Mexicans towards the Surrealist movement. The gallery and in particular Inés Amor have been of major importance for the international promotion of Mexican art regarding the establishment of her international relationships. Thanks to Amor’s international scope she organized exhibitions of Mexican modern art in the early 1940s, including the 1943 exhibition Mexican Art Today at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the United States.113 Scholar Rachel Kaplan pointed out that Amor established a clientele of foreign audiences and art-minded tourists that would visit her gallery. Amor would further actively distribute her exhibitions to the United States.114 She can therefore be seen as one of the first art patrons to promote modern Mexican art abroad. Due to the impact of the exhibition Cruz Porchini and Ortega Orozco have defined the show as a catalyst and reference point for the development of modern Mexican art.115 Cruz Porchini and Ortega Orozco explained that after the exhibition was held, the arrival of the new group of European émigré artists including Varo and Carrington created “a new international dialogue.”116 The artists who had already settled in Mexico before 1940, including Rahon, Paalen, Sulzer and Horna, might have been considered too close to the Surrealist movement from the Mexican perspective which has been indicated as one of the reasons for the hostile attitude. After Varo and Carrington settled in Mexico City they would spend an extensive amount of time together from 1943 on. The Surrealist community in Mexico City further consisted of Varo’s partner Benjamin Péret (1899- 1959) a French writer, Carrington’s husband the photojournalist Emérico “Chiki” Weisz

112 Cruz Porchini, D. and Ortega Orozco, A. (2017) “The 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism: A Cosmopolitan Art Dialogue in Mexico City”, p. 15 113 Kaplan, R. (2014) “Mexican Art Today: Inés Amor, Henry Clifford and the Shifting Practices of Exhibiting Modern Mexican” in Art Journal of Curatorial Studies, Volume 3 Numbers 2&3. Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, p. 265 114 Ibid., p. 267 115 Cruz Porchini, D. and Ortega Orozco, A. (2017) “The 1940 International Exhibition of Surrealism: A Cosmopolitan Art Dialogue in Mexico City”, p. 2 116 Ibid., p. 18

34 (Hungary, 1911-2007), Kati and José Horna, and Alice Rahon and Wolfgang Paalen. 117 This shows that Varo and Carrington were not figures that were isolated in the Mexican art scene; they would be incorporated in the community of European émigrés. It is therefore remarkable that specifically these two women have been embraced by the Mexican society for representing this new dialogue in relation to internationalism in the cultural debate. Varo and Carrington developed a new visual language while they inspired each other during their strong friendship. These two women had met occasionally in Paris but became close friends after their arrival in Mexico. This mutual inspiration can be seen in their works in stylistic similarities as well as in the same inspirational sources. [fig. 4 and 5] They were both highly interested in the details and vibrant colors of Renaissance paintings; especially the work of Hieronymus Bosch functioned as a major inspiration for their paintings. Alchemy, magic, witchcraft and the occult are further themes that functioned as important influential sources for these artists.118 Alberth explored the relation of these women to alchemy and witchcraft and explained that Carrington and Varo would spend day and night together talking about life, art, the universe, and the meaning of life. They invented recipes together inspired by ancient alchemy and would regularly organize dinner parties with their community of émigré friends. Several art historians have grouped Varo and Carrington together because of their close friendship and mutual interests.119 Recently an interesting connection has been made by Curator and Art Historian Terri Geis in relation to Carrington’s work, describing Carrington as a “proto ecofeminist.”120 Ecofeminism can be defined as “examining the connections between women and nature,”121 Geis explained the term in relation to Carrington’s utopian world vision where humans, animals and nature would all be equally coexisting entities. Carrington had a great love for animals that she depicted in many of her works in the form of hybrid figures that consist of different creatures. The character of these figures often wanders between human and animal characteristics or consists of the combination of animal bodies with human heads, or the other way around. By combining different human

117 Moorhead, J. (2010) “Surreal Friends in Mexico”, p. 72-73 118 Arcq, T. (2010) “Mirrors of the Marvellous: Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo”, p. 101-102 119 An example of this categorization can be found in “Mirrors of the Marvellous: Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo” by Tere Arcq (2010). 120 Terri Geis discussed this relation at the panel discussion that was organized on April 20 at the Modern Museum of Art in Mexico City in honor of the opening of the exhibition Leonora Carrington. Cuentos mágicos (April-September, 2018). 121 https://www.britannica.com/topic/ecofeminism

35 and animal features Carrington exposed the equality between humans and animals. Carrington has stated that she considered animals of higher value than people and that she preferred animals to humans. This can be considered as one of the main reasons that animals and hybrid figures appear in almost all of her works. It is remarkable that while the émigré women lived in the same city as the native Mexican women the social contacts between these two groups were so minimal. Professor of Art History and Curatorial Studies Janet A. Kaplan and Susan L. Alberth both defined the segregation of the Surrealists due to the fact that these émigrés all had the same aspects in common, ranging from poverty and cultural isolation due to language barriers, to having experienced the same horrors due to the Second World War in Europe, these factors resulted in an immediate bond of companionship.122 Because of this reason the émigré artists all grouped together and isolated themselves in the Mexican society. It is in this regard important to note that during the 1940s the art scene in Mexico was very different from the international cosmopolitan status that it has today. Art Historian Stefan van Raay described this situation as follows: “Mexico City was a much smaller place in the early 1940s than it is now. The visual-arts scene was dominated by Rivera and his fellow Muralists Orozco and Siqueiros. The influx of foreigners was watched with some reservation to see how macho revolutionary ideology would co-exist with the Parisian Surrealist ‘decadence.’”123 Because of the fact that the city was much smaller it was generally known that the community of European émigré artists were present. Yet for the Mexicans it might have looked like they did not want to make the effort to integrate in the Mexican society. One of the major problems in relation to this segregation can be traced back to the language barrier. While Kahlo had accused the émigrés of being ‘arrogant’ and ‘intellectual,’ these artists were probably struggling to get their lives back on track and to acclimatize in their new country with a new language and culture after experiencing the traumatic events of the Second World War. The status of the female émigré Surrealists was further described by Remedios Varo Specialist Masayo Nonaka as simultaneously diminished and privileged: “As young, white European women in 1940s Mexico these women were marginalised and, at the same time, specially privileged.”124 This double

122 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p. 59-60 123 Van Raay, S. (eds.) (2010) Surreal Friends, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna, p. 14 124 Moorhead, J. (2010) “Surreal Friends in Mexico”, p. 76

36 position can be explained by the fact that these women were dislocated from their own culture, which marginalized them but at the same time gave them an exclusive, or even ‘exotic’ charm as white European women in the native Mexican society. Another source of the hostile attitude from Mexicans towards Surrealism can be traced back to the fact that some Mexican women, including Kahlo and Izquierdo, were labeled as Surrealist by the Surrealist poet (France, 1896-1848) and Breton without having affinities with French Surrealism. Kahlo and Izquierdo were suddenly labeled as “Surreal discoveries” by a group of European men. The readings that were imposed on their works by the Surrealists made them angry since the appropriation of their works by the Surrealist movement was never even discussed. Izquierdo’s work had already earlier been linked to European movements. The Mexican literary movement Los Contemporáneos explained her inspirations from “interiority and imagination” in relation to European avant-gardism. It is noteworthy that while her Mexican peers praised her work for its European influence, Izquierdo’s paintings had become a subject of fascination by Artaud in 1936 because of her use of Mexican indigenous motifs in her works.125 Frida Kahlo in her turn repeatedly expressed her antipathy towards the French Surrealists. Janet A. Kaplan defined this tendency in the cultural context. Due to the fact that Kahlo and Rivera as a couple were “the reigning arbiters of the Mexican artistic community,”126 they felt a strong responsibility towards their country. “Their revolutionary commitment to Mexico’s roots in the indigenous Indian culture, involved rejection of foreign ‘colonializing’ influences, prompting to keep the European émigrés at some distance.”127 Even though Kahlo was friends with Rahon and Paalen and visited Breton and the Surrealists in Paris in 1939, she had an offensive attitude towards the Europeans that would never disappear. In 1939 Kahlo stated the following in a letter to photographer Nickolas Murray (Hungary, 1892-1965): “[The Surrealists] make me vomit. They are so damn ‘intellectual’ and rotten that I can’t stand them anymore… I’d rather sit on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than to have anything to do with those ‘artistic’ bitches of Paris.”128 It is noteworthy that Kahlo had close relationships with émigrés as Lamba and Modotti but never became close to Carrington or Varo. The fact that

125 Ortega, G. (2013) La danza de los espectros: Un proyecto de investigación sobre realismo mágico en México, p. 25 126 Kaplan, J. A. (1988) Unexpected Journeys: The Art and Life of Remedios Varo, New York: Abbeville Press, p. 87 127 Ibid. 128 Ibid., p. 88

37 specifically émigrés as Carrington and Varo were living in a segregated community, together with the hostile attitude of Mexicans that perceived Surrealism as appropriating their art and culture can be defined as the two main factors for the duality in the art scene of 1940s Mexico. While Kahlo strongly insulted the émigré women from Paris she especially became close to Jacqueline Lamba. Lamba considered her marriage with Breton as an unhappy time in her life. Because of this she was widely known for her beauty, as ‘Surrealist wife’ and as a muse, but she was never fully acknowledged as an independent artist, in her belief because she was a woman.129 During her visit in Mexico in 1938, she got in touch with Rivera and Kahlo. Several years later the turbulent marriage between Lamba and Breton ended up in a divorced where Breton destroyed the majority of her works. After their divorce Lamba found shelter with her friend Frida Kahlo. They became involved in a romantic relationship and Lamba dedicated an abstract surreal drawing to her friend and lover, ‘Frida’ in 1944 which she signed “Pour Frida.” [fig. 6] It is interesting to conclude that the majority of the mentioned women in the story of Surrealism in Mexico were active as feminists. This indicates that they were aware of their role as women in the patriarchal society of Mexico. Among the artists that can be defined as pioneers in actively promoting women’s rights were Nahui Olin, María Izquierdo and Leonora Carrington. Izquierdo had commented on the exclusion of women in the arts in 1934. She spoke out on the radio and blamed the exclusion of women on the social and institutional sexism, a thesis that would later be introduced by Linda Nochlin in 1971.130 Carrington was a dedicated feminist in the sense that she repeatedly spoke out on the difficulties that women face when they try to establish careers in the arts, especially in relation to having a family and taking care of children.131 In 1972 she designed a poster that evidently represents her involvement with women’s rights titled Mujeres Consciencia (Women’s Awareness).132 [fig. 7] The majority of the female émigré artists that have been mentioned in this chapter would continue to live in Mexico until their deaths. Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Kati Horna and Alice Rahon considered Mexico as their new home from the late 1930s and 1940s on. They never decided to go back and live in their countries of birth yet

129 Grimberg, S. (2001) “Jacqueline Lamba: From Darkness, with Light”, p. 5 130 Arcq, T. (2012) “In the Land of Convulsive Beauty: Mexico”, p. 72-73 131 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p. 63 132 Ibid.

38 they would spend the rest of their lives in their adoptive country Mexico. It is remarkable that after the decades of Surrealist activity and close friendship the women who were all living in the same city did not remain in contact with each other. Many of these artists remained in Mexico City and would live their lives in solitude. The fact that that relation between the European émigrés and the Mexicans would not be reconciled indicates the remaining deep-structured disputable connection between Europe and Mexico.

39 Chapter 3 Case Study: The Representation of Female Surrealists in the Art Scene of Mexico City

This chapter is dedicated to the question how female artists associated with Surrealism are represented in the art scene of Mexico City today, how visible are the works of these women? It has been established that women have been excluded from major exhibitions and collections in Europe and the United States, in this chapter I explore the status quo on this subject in Mexico. A comparison is made between the two most important art museums in Mexico City; the National Museum of Art and the Modern Museum of Art, and I explore the most important art galleries that are specialized in Mexican modern art. What kind of exhibitions have been hosted on female artists?; how often have they been hosted?; and are female artists included in the permanent exhibition displays of these museums? These questions are answered through my personal conversations with representatives of the curatorial and education departments of the National Museum of Art, and by the collections and recent exhibition programs of both museums. This chapter further looks at the exhibitions organized by modern art galleries and the artists these galleries represent. It is important to include these smaller institutions when it comes to the representation of female surrealist artists in Mexico City since art galleries are usually a step further in their developments of new exhibitions in relation to museums. In this way a broad idea of the visibility of female artists associated with Surrealism in the art scene of Mexico City is provided.

3.1 Mexico City’s tastemakers: the National Museum of Art and the Modern Museum of Art

It has been indicated that the development of a modern art scene in Mexico started in the 1940s with the establishment of the Galería de Arte Mexicano. Since the founding of this gallery the art scene started developing into what is now known as one of the most important cities for . In last few decades the contemporary art scene of Mexico City has developed into a booming scene of international importance. The most important international Latin American art fair Zona Maco México Arte Contemporáneo is yearly held in Mexico City with participants from all over the world. With over 100 museums and contemporary and modern art galleries, Mexico City stands out when it comes to its cultural practice. Art cannot be escaped, in the public spaces of the city; e.g.

40 the metro, parks, and sidewalks, temporary exhibitions are continuously hosted that are funded by the government. The sculptures of Leonora Carrington have been on view on the sidewalk of the most important avenue of the city called . This inclusion of ‘free art’ in the popular public spaces indicates the importance of culture and art for the Mexicans. The two most important museums in Mexico City in relation to modern art are the Museo Nacional de Arte (the National Museum of Art), established in 1982 and the Museo de Arte Moderno (the Modern Museum of Art) that opened in 1964. The question is how female artists associated with Surrealism are represented in these Mexican museums today. For this subject the National Museum of Art and the Modern Museum of Art seem to be the ideal places, after all these museums represent the most important art and artists of the nation. But who decides which are these ‘most important’ artists of the nation? In this context it is significant to note that both the National Museum of Art and the Modern Museum of Art are institutions that are funded and controlled by the Mexican government. There is a crucial difference in this regard between the institute of the museum in Mexico compared to the Netherlands. While in the Netherlands museums funded by the government remain autonomous in their decision-making and policy, the museums in Mexico that are funded by the government are also directed by the government when it comes to decision-making. The political power in Mexico has a major influence on the cultural field. The fact that the state decides on the financial budget of these two museums results therefore in the fact that the state is able to control the museum’s policies. The dependence on the government indicates that not only the museum employees make decisions in these institutions but that the government is always included as an actor in the decision-making process. Besides the government there is another actor that plays an important part in the decisions being made in the museums, namely the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is an individual group of people that consists of dedicated members, most of them with art historical backgrounds. The board also has their own art collection that is used for museum exhibitions on a regular basis. In exchange for their influence on the museum policy, the board financially supports the museums with money for exhibitions, courses for the employees and publications. Because of the fact that museums in today’s society are supposed to fulfill social, political and educational functions, and because these museums are governmental institutions, I state that these museums, as well as the government, both carry a responsibility towards its visitors when it comes to the

41 representation of female artists to be able to reflect on the Mexican history in a balanced way. The main goal of the National Museum of Art is “to make people familiar with a key part of the national artistic tradition from the sixteenth- until the mid-twentieth century.”133 For this research it is important to note that the permanent display of the modern art collection has been subjected to a reclassification change since two years and is therefore not on view until the end of 2018. However, a reflection of the modern art collection can be found in the publication Guide: National Museum of Art (2006). The selection of the works represented here was made by the museum’s curating and research staff. The guide is described as the essential reference source for people who are interested in the history of Mexican art and can be defined as a compact reflection of the cultural history of the country. Following these arguments, the works that are included in the guide can be considered as the most important items in the collection of the museum. It is notable that from the 116 artists that are mentioned in the guide only two of them are female: María Izquierdo and Tina Modotti. It is furthermore remarkable that one of them is not Mexican by origin: Modotti was born in Udine, Italy in 1896 and lived in Mexico for circa twenty years.134 In an overview of the works by female artists from the museum collection it becomes clear that the museum owns approximately 250 works by female artists,135 including photos by Kati Horna and paintings by the Russian artist (1879- 1969), Lola Cueto, María Izquierdo and Rosa Rolanda. Even though the future permanent collection display is still in progress, it can already be stated that more attention will be paid to female artists compared to the former display. The project of the new collection display is led by modern art curator Alivé Piliado Santana. She explained the representation of female artists as a necessity – not because these artists were women but simply because of the quality of their works. Because I have worked briefly at the education department of the National Museum of Art, I discovered that specifically this team is highly involved with the issue of gender inequity in the art world. They exposed their concern in the exhibition Discursos de la piel: Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez (1824-1904) (Discourses of Skin: Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez) in 2017. This exhibition explored the

133 Bermúdez, S. (eds.) (2006) Guide: National Museum of Art, Mexico: Museo Nacional de Arte, p. 1 134 Mercado, D. (2007) Women Artists of Modern Mexico: Frida’s Contemporaries, National Museum of Mexican Art, Mexico: The National Museum of Art, p. 130 135 The museum collection consists of approximately 6000 artworks in total.

42 discourses of showing the human skin in painting through history in portraiture. For this exhibition a wall text in the form of a timeline was applied that depicted exemplary paintings of female nudes from the seventeenth century until today. The timeline ended in 2017 with a work from the Guerrilla Girls, posing the question: do women have to be naked to get into the museum? This indicates that even though the National Museum of Art depends on the strong influence of the Mexican government, the Board of Trustees, and its own employees, they are able to provide an important space for the issue of gender inequity in the art world. It became visible that the earlier mentioned museum guide represents the museum’s most important art works, supposedly according to the museum staff. Yet in my conversations with the museum staff today, different opinions on the inclusion of female artists in the permanent collection displays came to light. Curator of modern art Alivé Piliado Santana, as well as the Coordinator of the education department Claudia Ojeda both consider the representation of female artists an important task for the museum that should continuously be worked on. They pointed out that the dense structure of decision- making in the museum, because the financial dependence on the government, makes changes in the context of racism and gender issues in the exhibition and collecting program difficult. Yet it can be concluded that the museum staff of the National Museum of Art is aware of the issue of gender inequity in the art world and is trying to move towards an inclusive art history with exhibitions solely dedicated to women and by incorporating women into a balanced permanent collection display of modern art. While the National Museum of Art depends on one department that is dedicated to modern art, the Modern Museum of Art in Mexico City is solely dedicated to the works of Mexican modern artists from the twentieth century. The collection of the Modern Museum of Art houses works from the 1920s until the present, with a focus on the mid-twentieth century. The museum has a rich history in exhibitions dedicated to the women associated with Surrealism. Leonora Carrington is currently honored with the major retrospective Leonora Carrington. Cuentos mágicos (Leonora Carrington. Magical Stories), that is on view from April until December 2018. This show includes some of her most important paintings,136 sculptures, writings, drawings, and tapestries from prestigious international collections.

136 Among the most important works is Carrington’s painting Inn of the Dawn Horse (Self- Portrait) c. 1937-38. This work is part of the permanent display of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is currently being exhibited in Mexico.

43 In the current and former permanent exhibition displays, the works of female artists have been included on a regular basis. These displays titled Colección Mam (Collection MAM) and Luz Negra (Black Light) all exhibited the works of Frida Kahlo, Olga Costa, María Izquierdo and Alice Rahon. The works of these artists are of impressive large formats and therefore already stand out in the exhibition as emblematic works. Kahlo’s Las dos Fridas (The Two Fridas), 1939 [fig. 8], Costa’s La Vendedora de Frutas (Frutas mexicanas), (The Fruit Seller, Mexican fruits), 1951, and Alice Rahon’s Piedad por los judas (Mercy for the Judas), 1952, are among the works that are considered as highlights of the permanent collection. In 2016 the museum hosted a retrospective of the work of Remedios Varo titled Remedios Varo. Apuntes y anécdotas de una colección (Remedios Varo. Notes and Anecdotes from a Collection). In 2015 an exhibition was dedicated to the photographs of Lee Miller, titled Lee Miller. Fotógrafa Surrealista (Lee Miller. Surrealist Photographer) and 2014 an important show was hosted on the works of European émigré artists, including Carrington, Varo, Rahon, and Horna. From all the exhibitions that have been hosted by the museum since 2007 at least one per year has been dedicated to a female artist or included a significant amount of works of female artists. In honor of the current exhibition Leonora Carrington. Cuéntos magicos, the museum hosted a panel discussion in April including the authors Joanna Moorhead, Susan L. Alberth, Terri Geis, Gloria Orenstein, the curators of the show Tere Arcq and Stefan van Raay, and Carrington’s son Gabriel Weisz Carrington. There I got the opportunity to speak to some of the most important scholars who are specialized in Carrington’s work. Most of the talks were on the interpretation of Carrington’s visual language, yet one of the most important conclusions of my conversation with Joanna Moorhead was our mutual astonishment on the difference between the canon of Mexican and European art. It is safe to say that anyone who is interested in art in Mexico knows Leonora Carrington. It is remarkable that while Carrington’s work is slowly gaining more interest in Europe, her image has by far not come close to the legendary status of heroic artist that she has in Mexico. The fact that Carrington is still repeatedly presented as ‘the forgotten Surrealist’137 in Europe once again proves this argument. Notable is that Carrington’s situation functions as an example for the conception of many more female artists associated with Surrealism.

137 http://garnetnews.com/2017/04/13/leonora-carrington-forgotten-surrealist/, https://www.npostart.nl/close-up/08-10-2017/AT_2086803 and https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/a3we4a/surrealist-painter-leonora-carrington

44 3.2 The representation of female Surrealist artists in Mexico City’s gallery scene

While museums usually exhibit works of artists that have already been canonized, galleries fulfill a more radical position in the making of art history as discoverers and promoters of emerging artists. The importance of galleries in the process of promoting artists has been analyzed in the social context by Cultural Sociologist Sarah Thornton in 2009. Thornton explained that artists do not arise but that their success is ‘made’ by specific actors in the art world. These actors include art dealers, collectors, curators and critics. Thornton defined the position of the art dealer as the most important in the process of canonization because of their active role in the promotion artists.138 The acknowledgement of the art dealer as a crucial actor in the development of artistic success was additionally pointed out by Cultural Sociologist Howard Becker in 1982. Becker stated that the artist depends on certain actors in the art world to gain success, including art dealers, collectors and patrons.139 Galleries can be defined are important spaces in the art world in relation to setting standards of what is considered ‘in vogue.’ It is additionally important to note that a great amount of works of female artists associated with Surrealism in Mexico have ended up in private collections. Galleries are in close contact with private collectors because of the practice of art dealing but also because of social and networking reasons. When these specific art works are being exhibited, it is primarily in galleries because of economic reasons. A general overview of the most important international galleries of modern art in Mexico City can yearly be found at the Zona Maco México Arte Contemporáneo art fair in the city. The art works that are presented there are considered to be the most important and most representative of Latin American art. Naturally the presented works are selected because they are desired by the public of the art fair. The most important galleries that were established in Mexico City and represented in January 2018 in the modern art section of Zona Maco include the Galería de Arte Mexicano, Galería Enrique Guerrero, Pablo Goebel Fine Arts, Enrique Rivero Lake Fine Arts and Galería Oscar Román. The Galería de Arte Mexicano has been representing artists as Leonora Carrington, María Izquierdo, Olga Costa and the English-Mexican painter Joy Laville (1923-2018) since the mid-twentieth century and continues to do so today. Inés Amor

138 Thornton, S. (2009) Seven Days In The Art World, New York: Norton and Company, p. xii 139 Becker, H.S. (1982) Art Worlds, United States: University of California Press, p. 13

45 became Carrington’s first dealer around 1956 and the gallery never stopped representing her work.140 The Galería de Arte Mexicano does not solely focus on modern art, in their contemporary section the gallery organized an exhibition last year on the problems of gender and racism in the art world in collaboration with the Museo de Arte Sonora titled Patriarchy is a Bitch.141 The gallery further offers contemporary female artists a stage by organizing solo exhibitions of emerging artists. Hereby the gallery continues to fulfill the aim why it was established in 1935, which was to promote emerging Mexican artists. Galería Enrique Guerrero was founded in 1997 to represent contemporary as well as modern artists from Latin America and the United States. Guerrero has displayed and collected important works of Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo.142 Kahlo and Varo are exemplified by Guerrero as ‘Latin American Masters,’143 which indicates the high status of these artists in the Mexican art scene. Since its founding in 1996, Pablo Goebel Fine Arts has been representing artists including Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Jacqueline Lamba, Remedios Varo, Alice Rahon and Tina Modotti. The active promotion of these artists has resulted in various solo and group exhibitions on female artists, including El arte fantástico mexicano: Influencia para Leonora y los surrealistas (Fantastic Mexican Art: Influence for Leonora and the Surrealists) in 2018, a solo show of Carrington in 2016, a group show on the diaspora of Surrealism in Mexico in 2014 titled Laboratorio de Sueños (Laboratory of Dreams) and an exhibition in 2013 dedicated to photographs of Frida Kahlo. Further additional events have been organized including panel discussions with scholars and collectors in the field of art collecting. The gallery hereby focuses on the importance of modern art in today’s society where contemporary art becomes more popular. Gallery owner Pablo Goebel, as well as his daughter Danielle Goebel who is the sub-director of the gallery have mentioned that they consider the representation of women in their exhibitions important. They are not actively promoting the works of these artists because they were women, but because of the quality of their works. The works of Carrington, Varo and Rahon sell because they are an integral part of the Mexican art history. In the exhibitions that were hosted during the last two years, female artists have been included on a regular basis in this gallery.

140 Alberth, S.L. (2010) Surrealism, Alchemy and Art, p.97 141 http://www.galeriadeartemexicano.com/es#!/exposiciones 142 https://www.artsy.net/search?q=enrique+guerrero 143 http://galeriaenriqueguerrero.com/?page_id=19

46 Antiquarian Enrique Rivero Lake deals in art and antique from the eighteenth century until the end of the twentieth century. In his modern art section, Rivero Lake has exhibited the works of female Surrealist artists, including Alice Rahon and Leonora Carrington at Zona Maco 2018. Galería Oscar Román mainly focuses on contemporary Mexican art and additionally represents artists from the mid-twentieth century including Rahon, Carrington, and Lamba.144 The collection houses a great amount of works and the gallery was one of the most important lenders to one of the few exhibitions on female Surrealist artists in Europe, which was Surreal Friends in England in 2010. The idea of in- or excluding female artists because of gender does not seem to be of great importance to these Mexican art world professionals in the sense that women are already included in the history of Mexican art. It is ‘normal’ to collect and promote their works because they are part of any relevant art collection of modern art in Mexico and of the canon of Mexican. In the context of the canonization of female artists it is important to explain the recognition of artists in the art market in relation to institutional recognition. It has been acknowledged by Thornton and Becker that the art dealer is a significant actor in the development of artistic success. Galleries function as tastemakers because of the role of the art dealer in the promotion of emerging artists. Economist and Professor of Business Don Thompson researched the economics of contemporary art and auction houses in 2008. He examined the functioning of the art market in relation to artistic success through his contact with dealers, critics, and auction houses. Thompson stated that the artist first needs to be represented by a mainstream gallery in order to become successful.145 This same tendency has been discussed by Art Historian Alan Bowness in The Conditions of Success: How the Modern Artist Rises to Fame in 1989. Bowness stated that the art dealer is the third most important factor in artistic development. He explained four stages of artistic success; defined as the acknowledgement of peer artists, art critics, art dealers and collectors, and lastly the public.146 After galleries have acknowledged certain artists, they are likely to be included in exhibitions and collections of major museums. Thompson pointed out that branding and

144 https://www.galeriaoscarroman.mx/artistas-de-galeria 145 Thompson, D. (2008) The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art and Auction Houses, Great Britain: Aurum Press Ltd, p. 47 146 Bowness, A. (1989) The Conditions of Success: How the Modern Artist Rises to Fame, United States: Thames and Hudson, p. 11

47 publicity are among the most important factors in the art market:147 “branding adds personality, distinctiveness and value to a product.”148 When major art museums display an artist’s work “it conveys a shared branding, adding to the work of the artist a lustre that the art world calls ‘provenance.’ An art work that was once shown at a major museum or was part of their collection commands a higher price because of its provenance.”149 Thompson explained that it is precisely this branding that drives the costumer to purchase art from a dealer, or to buy art that has been certified by the inclusion of important museums. After artists have been included in a major museum collection or exhibition they have achieved, what Thompson called, “the highest level of branding.”150 This indicates that after the acknowledgement of museums, artists have achieved the highest level of artistic success; this results in the public acclaim of fame and in the inclusion of these artists in the canon of art history. In Mexico this thesis has proven to be true. The most important art dealers in Mexico City all promote the art of female artists associated with Surrealism on a regular basis. As has been shown, these same women have been honored with solo shows in the most important art museums in Mexico City, including Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Nahui Olin, Frida Kahlo, María Izquierdo and Alice Rahon. In this context, the acknowledgement of galleries can de defined as an actor that is of crucial importance for the development of artistic success in the context of museum and institutional recognition.

3.3 Conclusion case study

The fact that the two most important museums of Mexican art in Mexico both host shows and include the works of female artists associated with Surrealism, native as well as émigré artists, on a regular basis indicates that these artists are an integral part of the canon of Mexican art. The regular Mexican museum and commercial gallery visitors are all familiar with artists who are originally from Europe but lived in Mexico for a long time. While Alice Rahon, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington and Kati Horna remain in obscurity in Europe, they are well known and respected artists in the Mexican art scene. The Modern Museum of Art, as one of the most established institutes with international value, has

147 Thompson, D. (2008) The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art and Auction Houses, p. 2 148 Ibid., p. 12 149 Ibid., p. 13 150 Ibid., p. 233

48 recently organized solo shows on Alice Rahon (2009), Remedios Varo (2016, 2011, 2009, 2008 and 2007), María Izquierdo (2013), and Leonora Carrington (2018).151 The landmark exhibition In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States from 2012 was organized in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and was exhibited in Los Angeles as well as in Mexico City. In the Mexican gallery field recent museum quality exhibitions have been hosted on Carrington by Pablo Goebel Fine Arts (2018, 2016). This indicates that since 2007 there have been solo exhibitions on female artists associated with Surrealism on a nearly continuous basis in Mexico City. This tendency explains the popularity of female artists in Mexico City; the works of these women have been acknowledged by galleries and museums, they are continuously visible in the most important cultural institutions of the country and are institutionally recognized which can be seen in the canon of Mexican art. In recent years many Mexican exhibitions that have been hosted on Surrealism in relation to the Mexican fantastic art movement have been, and still are, travelling the world. These are exhibitions that include an extensive amount of works by female artists. The show Los Modernos (2016) was organized by the National Museum of Art and offers a dialogue between avant-garde movements from Europe and Mexico, including Surrealism as one of the most important exponents. This exhibition was on show at the National Museum of Art in 2016, and travelled to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in 2017-2018. The exhibition México 1900-1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco and the Avant-garde was also organized by the National Museum of Art and travelled to the Dallas Museum of Art in 2017. This indicates that the tendency of exhibition making in Mexico, where female artists are included in any major art exhibition that is related to Surrealism, is starting to become popular in Europe and the Unites States as well. While the statistics that have been cited in the introduction in relation to major art museums and collections in Europe and the United States seemed disheartening; the results from the representation of female artists in Mexico are encouraging.

151 http://www.museoartemoderno.com/exposiciones-anteriores

49 Conclusion

By exploring the feminist theories of Pollock and Parker, the duality of the Mexican art scene in the 1930s and 1940s, and defining the current art scene in Mexico City in relation to female artists associated with the Surrealist movement, this thesis has aimed to create new understandings in the relation between art history and feminism on the one hand, and European Surrealism and the native Mexican art scene other hand. It has been proven that there is a clear difference between the canonization of female artists in Europe and Mexico. While most of the émigré artists associated with Surrealism were of European origins, they remain in obscurity in their places of birth. In Mexico, their adoptive country, these women rule the art world as well known respected artists and they are represented in the most important cultural institutions of the country on a regular basis. The majority of these women decided to stay in Mexico City until their deaths, which resulted in the fact that they eventually lived longer in Mexico than in their countries of birth. Having worked at the National Museum of Art as a curatorial assistant for six months I have experienced the museum structure and attitudes of the museum staff on the inside. All of the employees in the research and education departments consist of young, and mostly female, driven individuals. All with a strong dedication to keep on improving and reinventing the representation of female artists in Mexico on a daily basis while looking at the future. With the gained results of this research it is important to go back to the research question: How did the network of befriended female Surrealist artists function in relation to the native Mexican art scene in the 1940s? It can be established that the relation between the émigré and native Mexican women cannot singularly be defined. Nor can the conception of the Surrealist movement in Mexico be defined by one tendency. With the arrival of the European émigré women a complex network of coexisting artists was established. While Kahlo became friends with artists as Rahon and Lamba, there simultaneously was a hostile attitude towards the European women who segregated themselves in a community of émigré artists. This hostile attitude from the Mexican stance can be explained through the appropriation of their art and culture by Breton and the readings that were unwillingly imposed on the works of both Kahlo and Izquierdo. A clear difference has been exposed between the European and Mexican attitudes on the subject of the inclusion of women in art history. It can be concluded that Mexican art world professionals are not actively preoccupied with the issue of the inclusion of

50 women because women are already incorporated in their conception of art history. Because of my current function as curator and general gallery assistant I have had the opportunity to speak with important actors in the Mexican art world. Mexican art collectors, dealers, curators, writers and artists all have broadened my perspective on the history of Mexican art and made me aware of my personal European attitude while approaching the field of Surrealism in Mexico. I noticed that the duality that was located in the art scene of Mexico in the 1940s still seems to live on today on a lower scale. Younger Mexican artists tend to see Surrealism as an isolated category in the history of Mexican art as solely a European intervention in the Mexican art world. The Mexican artists I have spoken to do not like to speak of ‘Mexican Surrealism’ because they still conceive Surrealism as an appropriation of their land and culture. The artistic influences from Europe towards Mexico are often turned around; they state that Mexico served as the source of inspiration. As this thesis has proven, this argument is true. Mexico as a country was of major importance for the European Surrealists that came here during the 1930s and 1940s and would continue to inspire them on a daily basis. The dangers in the categorization have been discussed by examining recent publications on female artists associated with Surrealism. While several important authors have repeatedly been linking the works of ‘the women of Surrealism’ to specific topics as motherhood, the domestic space and the kitchen, I would like to express my preference for the research approaches of Art Historians as Susan L. Alberth and Terri Geis. These women researched the works of specific artists and have been linking their works to the specific topics that have been mentioned before. By relating these topics to the works of singular artists, the danger of defining the whole group of female artists through these topics can be escaped and the definition of certain topics as being feminine can be dismissed. Through the exploration of the Mexican gallery scene it became clear that the majority of the most important galleries that are specialized in modern art additionally promote emerging Mexican artists. Galleries as the Galería de Arte Mexicano, Galería Enrique Guerrero, Pablo Goebel Fine Arts and Galería Oscar Román all have a contemporary art section where they give space to these young artists. While the majority of these artists are men, women are also regularly included and promoted by these

51 galleries.152 The contemporary art scene can be seen as an inclusive environment where female Mexican artists are visible.153 Mexico City seems to have moved away from the patriarchal tendency that ruled the art scene during the 1930s and the 1940s. The Mexican art world can be seen as an example for the European art world in relation to the inclusion of female artists in the canon of art history. It has been concluded by many art world professionals that have been cited in this thesis that the most achievable way towards an inclusive art history is to make the works of female artists more visible and to establish acknowledgement on the subject of exclusion. This can be done through education where the acknowledgement of gender politics in art history is an important step. Educational institutions that teach art history should pay more attention to gender politics in relation to art history. Yet by dismissing feminism as a subcategory or ‘intervention’ in the history of art, this acknowledgement cannot be established. I agree with Maura Reilly that her approach of ‘Curatorial Activism’ can be a solution for this problem. The art world should now take the responsibility to make an inclusive art history happen. In the meantime, I encourage other scholars to do further research on groups that have been excluded from the Western master narrative of art history to create more visibility and acknowledgement on the subject of exclusion and gender politics in relation to art history.

Amount of words: 20882

152 https://www.galeriaoscarroman.mx/artistas-de-galeria, http://www.galeriadeartemexicano.com/es#!/contemporaneos and http://galeriaenriqueguerrero.com/?page_id=10 153 http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/zona-maco-2018-women-artists

52 Images

Fig. 1 Nahui Olin, El abrazo (The Embrace), date unknownScanned ,with oil CamScanneron cardboard, 103 x 76.3 cm. Collection Andrés Siegel. Source: this photo was taken during my personal visit to the exhibition Nahui Olin. La mirada infinita at the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City (June 14, 2018).

53

Fig. 2 Nahui Olin, Nahui y Matías Santoyo (Nahui and Matías Santoyo), date unknown, oil on cardboard, 119 x 89 cm. Collection Anna Siegel. Source: this photo was taken during my personal visit to the exhibition Nahui Olin. La mirada infinita at the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City (June 14, 2018).

54

Fig. 3 Nahui Olin, Nahui y el hombre del clavel (Nahui and the Man of Carnations), date unknown, oil on celotex, 60.5 x 60.5 cm. Collection Tomás Zurian Ugarte. Source: this photo was taken during my personal visit to the exhibition Nahui Olin. La mirada infinita at the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City (June 14, 2018). Scanned with CamScanner

55

Left: Fig. 4 Detail from Leonora Carrington, Darvault, c. 1950, oil on canvas, 80 x 65 cm. Collection Miguel S. Escobedo. Source: https://www.apollo-magazine.com/leonora-carrington/ (Retrieved June 2018)

Right: Fig. 5 Remedios Varo, Minotaur, 1959, oil on masonite, 60 x 29 cm. Private collection. Source: https://www.pinterest.com.mx/pin/572660908860557670/?lp=true (Retrieved June 2018)

56

Fig. 6 Jaqueline Lamba, Untitled (Dedicated to Frida), 1944, mixed media on paper, 41.5 x 56.4 cm. Collection Pablo Goebel Fine Arts Source: digital archive Pablo Goebel Fine Arts

57

Fig. 7 Leonora Carrington, Mujeres Consciencia (Women’s Awareness), 1972, offset, 71 x 48.5 cm. Private collection, courtesy of Galerias Grimaldi Source: this photo was taken during my personal visit to the exhibition Leonora Carrington. Cuentos mágicos at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City (April 20, 2018).

58

Fig. 8 View of the permanent collection display at the Museo de Arte Moderno with Frida Kahlo’s, Las dos Fridas (The Two Fridas), 1939, oil on canvas, 173.7 x 173.1 cm. Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City. Source: http://www.revistaescenarios.mx/obras-maestras-se-exhiben-en-el-museo-de-arte- moderno/ (Retrieved June 2018).

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