Mexico City, the newest location in our Topological Studies program, was a phenomenal success!
Plaza del Zócalo
During the week-long residency, students presented papers from their fall coursework, and visited cultural sites around the city. In the classroom, paper topics ranged from Beauty (Modern and Postmodern) to Hyperobjects in Ecology, Black Feminism, and Levitation (religious and aesthetic).
Carmen Boullosa. Image Source.
A special lecture from Carmen Boullosa was a highlight of the week. The famed Mexican poet, novelist, and playwright, gave us a beautiful glimpse of the Mexico City that shaped her childhood.
Museo Anahuacalli
Museo Anahuacalli was conceived and created by the muralist Diego Rivera, built from black volcanic rock in the shape of a pyramid. It displays Rivera's collection of nearly 50,000 pre-Hispanic objects, collected from almost every indigenous civilization in Mexico's history.
Museo Tamayo
A private, mid-installation-visit to the Museo Tamayo with the museum director, Magalí Arriola, was a unique experience.
Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky
A visit to the Trotsky House Museum, where he was assassinated in 1940, gave a concrete link back to Trotsky's 1932 essay on literature and revolution in Art in Theory.
Templo Mayor and the Metropolitan Cathedral
The Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Mexica peoples in their capital city of Tenochtitlan. The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 to make way for the new Metropolitan Cathedral. The site was fully excavated beginning in 1978, and the museum on site preserves more than 7000 objects (mostly offerings) from the excavations.
Iñaki Bonillas. Image courtesy of Sam Kochansky
Students took a gallery walk through the Roma neighborhood, and visited the studio of Mexican artist Iñaki Bonillas.
El Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso. Image courtesy of Andrew Fierberg
The week ended with the 2020 Commencement Ceremony at the stunning el Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, a Jesuit college built in 1588, and considered to be the birthplace of Mexican muralism.
Giuliana Bruno. Image courtesy of Andrew Fierberg
Giuliana Bruno, this year's Honorary Degree recipient, gave a provocative and compelling lecture entitled "Surface Matters in the Visual Arts."
Image courtesy of Christina Barber
IDSVA's Amy Curtis and George Smith with the newly minted Dr. Christina Barber.
Upcoming admissions deadlines
May 2020: Rolling admissions until seats are filled
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