Dances of Mexico 1939

Curator: Looking at "Dances of Mexico," a mixed-media print crafted by Carlos Mérida in 1939, I immediately get a sense of celebration. Don’t you feel that rhythm jumping off the page? Editor: The flattened perspective gives it almost a playful, decorative quality, a lightheartedness. Yet, simultaneously, the careful construction feels deliberately restrained. Curator: Absolutely, it’s this fantastic tension between flat design and exuberant feeling. Mérida beautifully marries modernist principles with his Guatemalan heritage. He lived in Mexico later on so became fascinated by popular dance... this work is influenced by his studies of these choreographies and theatrical costumes of the time. You can see some echoes of Mexican Muralism there, in its thematic content if not its scale. Editor: Precisely. The geometric shapes—those repeated flower motifs, the angularity of the figures themselves—work in harmony. See how the vibrant pink, teal and orange interlock? The way they almost form patterns against the off-white backdrop...It has something of Pop Art's flatness, decades before that style hit its stride. Curator: And how wonderful those colours and animal images against that backdrop. The more I think about it, it's interesting to call it "Dances of Mexico," I get the sense it could as well reflect moments in his own journey or identity. Mérida was a multifaceted man, to make it reflect that would’ve been in line with how he thinks about Art, and identity. Editor: Perhaps it's Mérida's translation, an artist's rendering rather than replication. Consider that even these stark silhouettes speak of volume through colour choices; their gentle gradations pull them slightly out from the backdrop. This is masterful composition and a really successful rendering of "flat colour," wouldn't you agree? Curator: Yes, I find my eye lingering on their curious, serene expressions beneath the flamboyant headpieces. The colours become more intriguing, more potent, even when I move backwards. What initially presents as just colourful and fun keeps hinting at greater things when I get back in for another look. Editor: Agreed. “Dances of Mexico” offers so much more than initial vibrancy, but an ongoing dance between structure and joy!