Located at 1439 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
At Balboa Park in the Institute of Contemporary Art is an exhibit by Einar and Jamex de la Torre called Post-Columbian Futurism.
The title is a throwback to the Pre-Columbian era of indigenous civilizations like the Aztecs, before Christopher Columbus landed in 1492. The Futurism part is the combination of very
contemporary subjects on both sides of the US-Mexico border merged with the mythology of Mesoamerican cultures that flourished hundreds of years ago.
Einar and Jamex de la Torre are experienced glass blowers since 1978 and are accustomed to the collaborative effort and immediacy it takes to blow glass artistically, safely, and efficiently. They create art in mixed mediums with glass blowing serving as their foundation. They encourage viewers of their art to make up their own stories and interpretations.
This increases an observer's connection with art by discovering their own meanings, making it more personal to themselves and not just what the artist says it should be.
The de la Torre brothers have the talent, drive, and inspiration to create art, yet still remain humble.
They are interested to hear comments and thoughts of others and are open to using these as explanations for creating their art in the way they do.
At the entryway to the underworld, we are greeted by Xolotl, the Aztec mythological being that is half man, half dog. Xolotl is the
twin, but opposite,
of Quetzalcoatl the Feathered Serpent. Instead of standing for arts, knowledge, and learning like his twin,
Xolotl stands for monsters, misfortune, and sickness. He is known as a psychopomp, a guide for souls to navigate from being newly deceased into the afterlife. Xolotl is similar to
Greek mythology's Charon the Boatman who accepts payment of one coin to guide and ferry souls across the River Styx into Hades or the Underworld.
Before descending the stairs to the world below, we see depictions of several realms projected on the walls. The sunlight from the
front doors washes out the images, making them seem like remnants of a dream upon awakening from sleep. This one shows Mesoamerican pyramids with the forest on fire, an indication of the consequences yet to come by actions made by us humans.
The next portal transports us to a world where everything flashes between two different states of existence. One appears to be reality and the familiar, while the other is made up of fantasy and imagination.
This is the final world displayed in the looped animation. Do you recognize it?
If you said The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, you are right. Despite being completed around the year 1500, this triptych continues to be an inspiration to contemporary artists and will most likely be in the minds of future artists as well.
We move toward the left side where another portal has been added. Notice the tall white animal entering the portal. This very same giraffe was featured in the San Diego Review about piñatas at the Mingei International Museum next door.
Search for and view it after this one.
As we look down from the Garden of Earthly Delights, we can see below the lily-covered surface of the water. The water's edge cascades in the circular shape of a cenote, considered by Mayans to be an entrance to the underworld, although this underworld has a moonscape.
This installation is called Colonial Atmosphere with an astronaut, a flag, and a lunar lander on the surface of the moon.
From this vantage point we see the blackness of space with our Earth burning on the horizon because of global warming.
Across the extended moonscape are cacti, standing for migration across a border in a desolate environment. Tires on the floor denote craters.
In the corner of the background is a taco stand, indication that colonization of the moon is truly happening.
On the opposite corner is a hot dog stand, showing the combination of Mexican and American cultures of the artists. You'll also notice below the cart are tortilla chips standing in as small mountain ranges across the moon's surface.
In one of the tire craters is a snake, we'll find out why later. Here's a foot on the lander, made from a Cadillac hubcap.
The lander is in the shape of an Olmec head. The Olmec civilization came before the Mayans and the Aztecs roughly 3,200 years ago. Note the barn owl on top.
As a parallel to the Olmecs, the barn owl is one of the oldest known species of owls, dating back 20 million years. This one, like all the animal specimens on display, is on loan from the Natural History Museum.
If you look through the copper tape and plexiglass, you can barely make out The Last Supper.
Looking down along the side of the lander, we see the bottom portion has crushed beer cans.
The other side has the same design made out of soda cans.
In the adjacent panel is Pakal the Great, the leader of the Mayan city-state of Palenque.
In Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken, Pakal is described as an astronaut piloting a spaceship.