In 1956 the UNAM Campus Biblioteca Central in Mexico City opened. It was designed by Juan O’Gorman, a Mexican architect, painter and sculptor of Irish extraction, and a very good friend of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. O’Gorman was influenced by the various cultural currents crossing the country in the twentieth century. From the very beginning, the building was conceived as a highly symbolic landmark. The book tower, a huge blind parallelepiped, is completely covered with a mu-ral made with a mosaic of stones from all regions of the nation. Considered a masterpiece of modern American architecture, it shows a unity of architecture and art. The recognition of the value, and therefore the importance, of “hybrid cultures” is a relevant theme in Latin American twentieth-century thought. Studying that wealth of thoughts and concrete experiences through architecture and the arts is useful today, at this time of comparisons, juxtapositions and clashes between the different cultures of the planet.
Un monumento alle culture ibride. Juan O'Gorman e la Biblioteca Central de la UNAM a Ciudad de Mexico
Raffaele Marone
2020
Abstract
In 1956 the UNAM Campus Biblioteca Central in Mexico City opened. It was designed by Juan O’Gorman, a Mexican architect, painter and sculptor of Irish extraction, and a very good friend of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. O’Gorman was influenced by the various cultural currents crossing the country in the twentieth century. From the very beginning, the building was conceived as a highly symbolic landmark. The book tower, a huge blind parallelepiped, is completely covered with a mu-ral made with a mosaic of stones from all regions of the nation. Considered a masterpiece of modern American architecture, it shows a unity of architecture and art. The recognition of the value, and therefore the importance, of “hybrid cultures” is a relevant theme in Latin American twentieth-century thought. Studying that wealth of thoughts and concrete experiences through architecture and the arts is useful today, at this time of comparisons, juxtapositions and clashes between the different cultures of the planet.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
