Leonora Carrington; Not a Member of the Dynasty TV Clan; but She Could Have Been.

There is something about Mexico that lends itself to surrealism. Maybe it's the air; maybe it's the water, or the heat. My thinking - consider the mezcal, the tequila, the ayahuasca, the peyote. The country has a unique magic in the air, one that draws artists from around the globe; those with a propensity for the unusual in particular. I think of Carlos Casteńeda, a popular author back in my formative years. The Teachings of Don Juan and A Separate Reality were gobbled up by me and my classmates. The novels exposed us to novel thoughts regarding spirituality, magic, alternate universes, and mind altering substances. At the same time Bob Welch, as a member of Fleetwood Mac, sang about "a place down in Mexico where a man can fly over mountains and hills. And he don't need an airplane or some kind of engine and he never will".

No Airplane, No Engine

Which leads to questions surrounding the artistic development here; one that predates '70s enlightenment and goes back thousands of years visualizing the cultivation of tribal beliefs and rituals. All to say, Mexico is fertile territory for unique forms of expressionism. In last week's post I covered Edward James and his unique and very important contribution to the surrealist art form as a financial backer, eager participant and creator of a mesmerizing, unique landscape in the northwest mountains of the country.

Enter Leonora Carrington, OBE. Her background was astonishingly similar to that of Edward James. Both came from heavily monied British aristocracy. James was the only male sibling having four older sisters. Carrington had three brothers. Nurses and nannies raised the two of them, far away from non-caring and otherwise absorbed parents. Both were raised Catholics, each rejecting the cloying restrictions of religion early in life. She, like James, was a rebellious student, expelled from numerous educational institutions, opting for esoterica over conservatism. Given their similarities in terms of outlook and where each found succour, it is not greatly surprising to see how their lives intertwined. 

Carrington, after being consumed by Aldous Huxley's writings and those of other visionaries began to explore surrealism in the 1930's. Edward James recognized of Carrington's talent. He purchased numerous works of her art, introducing her to his circle of friends. Leonora met up with Max Ernst having an earnest relationship to the max with him. She Dalied with Salvador, and was a big adMiróer of Joan. Magritte, Picasso and the other European avant-gardists were part of her coterie. A beautiful, expressive, talented, liberated woman was an uncommon and welcomed presence in pre-war Europe. She was welcomed and treated as an equal by her peers for her wit and her work as a painter and sculptor.

WWII caused Ernst, whose art was judged to be subversive, to be captured by the Gestapo. He fled the continent. Carrington, who had taken up residence and romance with the artist, was devastated. She eventually ended up in New York and, like many other ex-pat artists, ultimately headed to Mexico where she spent the remainder of her life, creating expressive and highly stylized works of art. 

One of her murals

El Mundo Magico de Los Mayas

graces the wall of the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, one of the finest museums in the world; my opinion. And others' too.

In addition to visiting Edward James' Las Pazos surrealistic park in Xilitla the other day, Lori and I spent time at Museo Leonora Carrington which featured, not surprisingly, the works of Leonora Carrington. The sculptures are profoundly expressive, cultivating an ethereal appreciation of the mystical influences that graced this great talent. 

There is another Carrington museum dedicated to her work in Mexico City. If you are in the neighbourhood - go.