Seriously. We walked on the river yesterday morning into downtown, along the River Extension, into the Convention Center Lagoon with its stunning 1968 mosaic murals by Juan O’Gorman and Carlos Merida and then turned left into the actual Convention Center itself.
A convention center seems an unlikely destination for locals, but we wanted to explore the City of San Antonio’s exhibition combining some things old and many new works in celebration of our Tricentennial, “Confluence: Art in the Convention Center.”
We wandered around the myriad of halls and multiple levels of the expansive center on a scavenger hunt for art, a hunt enhanced by the fact we had no clues where we would find the pieces. This added an entertaining touch of serendipity to our quest, but the Department of Arts & Culture does have a cheat sheet online locating the artworks for those who prefer to spend less time lost in the amazing maze of meeting spaces.
“Season of Color,” Naomi Wanjiku, 2014, textured and dyed sheet metal
from exhibition commemorating 50th anniversary of HemisFair ’68
“The Story of Civilization,” Gary Sweeney, 2003, mixed media, found signs
“Reunion,” Angel Rodriguez-Diaz, 2008, oil and acrylic
“Si la Tierra Pudiera Hablar (If the Earth Could Speak),” Jenelle Esparza, 2017, archival print on wallpaper
carpet
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Carlos Merida, 1968, glass tile mosaic
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Juan O’Gorman, 1968, stone mosaic
“Paso de la Muerta,” Rick Hunter, 2010, digital print on aluminum
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Juan O’Gorman, 1968, detail of stone mosaic
“Humanscape 118 (Texas Fantasy),” Mel Casas, 1962, acrylic
“The Best of the Eastside,” Jacinto Guevara, 2001, acrylic on panel
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Juan O’Gorman, 1968, detail of stone mosaic
“The Glorious Saga of Spain,” Margaret Putnam, 1968, oil
“Liquid Crystal,” Jason Bruges Studio, 2016
from exhibition commemorating 50th anniversary of HemisFair ’68
“The Earth Mother of the Americas,” Veronica Castillo Hernandez, 2017, ceramic sculpture
“Mi Vida,” Jesse Trevino, 1972, cut from the wall of his former bedroom
“Humanscape 117 (Texano),” Mel Casas, 1962, acrylic
“Desert Landscape,” Angel Rodriguez-Diaz, 2014, digital print
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Carlos Merida, 1968, detail of glass tile mosaic
“Forgive Me Pretty Darlin’,” Ricky Armendariz, 2017, oil on carved plywood
“In Real Life,” Kelly O’Connor, 2015, digital print on vinyl
“Autumn in West Texas,” Porfirio Salinas, 1957, oil
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Juan O’Gorman, 1968, detail of stone mosaic
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Carlos Merida, 1968, detail of glass tile mosaic
“Confluence of Civilizations,” Juan O’Gorman, 1968, detail of stone mosaic
While we went for the art, the architectural design of the center itself, reconfigured in 2017 to eliminate its dated frumpiness, is worth meandering through. MarmonMok has created an award-winning facility that gives San Antonians one more reason to be proud to call this home.
Let me know if you spot Ken Little’s cast-iron pair of shoes, “Victory and Defeat.” We missed them completely. We saw Little last night fronting Rodeo Ho Ho at the Liberty Bar, and he said he was not sure he could find his way back to them either. He did offer a clue; they are parked in front of a window.
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Did you find those statues of heroes that I think used to be at Fiesta Texas?
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SeaWorld, I think. Clumped in a line on two sides of a hallway, their lens appeal is lacking. The heroes appear yearning to be set free to roam outdoors somewhere in an otherwise artless park. Or maybe spread throughout SAISD elementary school campuses. All the rest of the art seems to compliment the architecture; the heroes appear plopped down arbitrarily out of their element. I purposefully overlooked their presence to keep the review positive….
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