6:30 - 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, Boise Art Museum, 670 Julia Davis Drive, $10 general, free for members.
The beauty and character of a culture cannot be understood simply by studying dates and historic events. It can only be captured through art. That's where it lives and breathes, and where its influences can be followed for as long as that art survives.
That's the experience of "Las Artes de Mexico," an exhibit at the Boise Art Museum of Mexican art that spans 3,500 years of Latin culture, from the ancient Olmec civilization to contemporary artists such as Diego Rivera and Miguel Covarrubias.
Through this exhibit you can see the whole history of the American West, says Anne Morand, chief executive officer of the Charles M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Mont. Before that, she was curator of art at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Okla., where this exhibit originated.
"America was built on many cultures. This exhibit tells part of the story of what it is to be American in the larger definition of the Americas," she said. "What we can learn from other cultures makes us better as individuals, and anything we can do that breaks down cultural boundaries is good."
You can celebrate this artistic cultural expression Wednesday at an opening Fiesta Reception. The opening party is the first in a reintroduction of such events at the Boise Art Museum, said executive director Wesley Jessup.
"This is a chance to open our doors to the community and celebrate the art that brings us all together," Jessup said. "Openings compliment our educational program by recognizing that the museum is a social space where we have a great opportunity to connect with the community we serve."
For this opening the museum worked with area Hispanic organizations, including the Hispanic Business Association, Fiesta Guadalajara and KWEI Spanish Radio.
There are several thousand pieces in the exhibit, which is divided into two main sections: the ancient and contemporary worlds. All the works were collected by Thomas Gilcrease, an Oklahoman who made his fortune in oil. With a passion, he collected everything from Pre-Colombian pottery to major works of art by North and South American artists.
What's astounding as you look at the early artifacts is that the pieces are "vaguely familiar and completely foreign at the same time," Morand said. "What you find in the whole rise of culture in human experience is these simultaneous spouts of genius, the coincidental rise of culture and art, around the globe."
At the same time the Olmecs were carving pieces like the small jade figure on exhibit, Chinese artists were pouring life-size bronzes and the Greeks were founding the Olympics.
The contemporary works by Rivera and Covarrubias have a much different feel. Rivera created large paintings and murals in reaction to the rise of fascism in the world and in Mexico in the 1930s. It's an example of what art can express in times of adversity, Morand said.
"Much of the art you see that is beyond decoration tells us something about us as humans and about society," Morand said. "When there is an attempt to suppress culture, almost to extension, you have this rise of creativity by those who are unwilling to give in. Artists are usually the first to react against things that are wrong in society."
Dana Oland: 377-6442
