La Tallera. Fábrica en movimiento
David Alfaro Siqueiros
20 Septiembre de 2012 - 12 Mayo de 2013
Espacio de exhibición: Sala principal y bodega de transición
Curaduría: Mónica Montes y Natalia de la Rosa
With his release from the Lecumberri prison in 1964, David Alfaro Siqueiros started the project called Siqueiros Chapel. It was conceived as a mural of great dimensions, destined to present the History of humanity in the Convention Center of the Hotel Casino de la Selva. The comission was made by Manuel Suárez y Suárez, owner of the famous hotel. The interior of the building would be covered by sculpting boards made with asbestos-cement. In order for this work to be carried out, Suárez offered Siqueiros the construction of a workshop dedicated to mass production, which began operating in 1965. For its construction it was essential to work with the architects that regularly collaborated with Suárez, directed by Guillermo Rossell de la Lama.
In 1966 it was decided to extend the project and build a tourist and cultural complex that would accompany the Hotel de Mexico in the Parque de la Lama, named Polyforum México 2000. This exhibition shows the production process that was executed in La Tallera, named by Siqueiros as a reference to women being creators of life, action and art. Another use of the female pronoun, was the differentiation of this great factory from the traditional painter's workshop. Siqueiros, who had been in charge of organizing many workshops in the past, would now have the opportunity to include in an industrial space all the technological elements that could be adapted for the artistic production on a large scale.
The dimensions and structure of the building allow to establish a direct relationship between architecture, technique and artistic creation. The design also included a tower from which there could be a constant and controlling gaze over the working processes. This is how two determinant concepts are present for the making of the mural March of Humanity on Earth and towards the Cosmos: the organization of the collective and specialized work done by Siqueiros and the control of the production required by the patron.
- Mónica Montes y Natalia de la Rosa