For those of us who think we know what to expect from artists here, a current show, “Fenómeno Vital,” at MUSA (Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara), may confound us.
This is true despite the fact that the exhibit consists of work by five pre-eminent Jalisco artists, including Alejandro Colunga, best known locally for his large, public metal statues in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, depicting strange hybrid creatures.
The inclusion of paintings by Colunga, and not sculptures, was part of what surprised me. But another reason was probably linked to a manifesto the five artists came out with in 1977, declaring their opposition to what they considered the shackles of heroic, nationalistic art and other dominant formulas. Calling themselves “The Vitalists,” they embraced poetic experiences, disquieting subject matter, and their individual memories, mythologies and desires. They also tried to resist the pull of marketing.
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