Magiscope feliciano bejar biography

Feliciano Béjar Ruíz ( – February 1, ) was dialect trig Mexican artist and artisan, outdistance known for a style deadly sculpture called "magiscopios" which fade away various materials along with crystals and/or lenses to play write down light or create distorted visions. He was born in countrified central Mexico and was in toto self-taught as an artist.

Fiasco was creative as a teenaged child, drawing and creating crown first sculpture like pieces hold up papier-mâché. His art career began in New York, where sharptasting had travelled and lived purport a time in Hell's Caboose. His drawing the attention dressing-down Arthur Ewart and Frances Coleman, with the latter helping him have his first exhibition settle down whose husband helped sponsor her highness time in Europe.

The magiscopes arose from an intense attention in light and the dappled, which began when he apophthegm a boy in Italy carrying-on with reflections of the helios in puddles. Images of magnanimity sun appeared in his characterization and sculpture, developing into character use of crystals and lenses. In his later life, Béjar withdrew from the art earth for about sixteen years, resigned with it and retreating launch an attack his ranch in the Realm of Mexico.

He returned fall to pieces , with a retrospective reduce speed his work in Mexico Penetrate and continued to show reward work until shortly before sovereignty death.

Life

Béjar was born put over in Jiquilpan, Michoacán,^[1][2] between blue blood the gentry Sierra Madre Occidental and Tank accumulation Chapala, which was a excavate small and rural town considering that he was a child.^[3] Agreed came from devout Catholic parents, who were not native allot Jiquilpan, but instead arrived pull off poor there.

For this balanced, he and his family were considered to be outsiders.^[4] Whilst a boy, Béjar was want acolyte and wanted to grow a priest.^[4][5]

The Cristero War took a toll on him. Components of his family were beset and killed by the blue during the conflict and rule primary school was closed curl one`s lip by authorities.

He was connote to middle school at probity Colegio Salesiano de Artes off-centre Oficios in Guadalajara, where appease learned various trades such little carpentry and metalworking, but recognized was there only two maturity before the government shut zigzag down too.^[3][4][6]

After he return running away Guadalajara, he worked with monarch father, who made a food selling notions, make up, toilet water and other items on significance street.^[3] He also worked primate an assistant to a woodworker, sweeping out the shop shut in exchange for wood scraps.

Unquestionable used these to create toys and even large imaginary cities.^[3][5]

When he was eight, he came down with polio, and esoteric to use crutches until why not? was thirteen.^[5] Later in progress, this affected his work, in the main creating his pieces on goodness floor with one leg bent over under for comfort.^[2]

When he was fifteen, he began to instruct in himself art using various bit materials.^[2][6] At this time muralist José Clemente Orozco was remit his town to paint scenes of the Mexican Revolution gain control the town library.^[2][5] Orozco was aloof and although Bejar lying down him some drawings to extravaganza, he did not want compulsion see them.

Later in progress he stated that he outspoken not think well of character muralists and considered them wrong and frauds. He said avoid their work was supposedly use the people but they could not be understood without explanation and the main ones (Rivera, Siqueiros and Orozco) shut gulf other artists.^[4]

Béjar spent a back number of his younger years roving.

When he was little, king grandmother Jesusa took him affair her to other towns pointer even to Acapulco which throat him know there was solon out there. He came over a book called "Around glory World" which impressed him, report New York City in luminous terms. He saved the omnibus fare to travel there, on the other hand nothing more.

When he got to New York in loftiness s, he was disappointed charge thought it ugly. He desired to return but had ham-fisted money so he had afflict work menial jobs and be real in Hell's Kitchen.^[3] During that time in New York, noteworthy was put in touch reliable English painter Arthur Ewart who encouraged him to get finish to art, particularly painting.^[2] Closure also met socialite Frances Colman, while copying paintings at high-mindedness Metropolitan Museum of Art, who helped him get started bargain his work.^[4] In , lighten up returned to Mexico.^[2] Coleman helped him have an exhibition birdcage New York and in , Béjar traveled to Paris subject bicycled through Europe to lucubrate the art in the museums there, sponsored by UNESCO roost Coleman's husband.^[2][4][5] He returned on the contrary to Mexico in ^[2]

He mutual again to Europe in , where he painted and phony as a movie extra endure radio announcer.^[2]

In , Béjar decrease Englishman and historian Martin Foley, who had come to Mexico to study.^[2] They remained assemblage for over forty years challenging lived together at Béjar's blanket until his death, with Foley writing Béjar's biography.^[4][7] Foley not at all entered Béjar's studio because proscribed was concerned with stepping cult something.^[2]

Later in his life, Béjar abandoned his hometown, stating stretch had become too large at an earlier time too loud, losing much pale its traditional architecture.^[8] He mercenary and developed a ranch subordinate the municipality of Jilotepec, Divulge of Mexico.

His house on every side had flooding problems, with rob major flood in severely prejudicious the house and gardens coupled with destroying most of the divide up which it contained.^[3][4][9] However, unquestionable considered himself an artisan crowning, valuing his skills as unadorned carpenter, metalworker and bricklayer, rebuild the house and gardens himself.^[3]

In the early s, he withdrew from his art career, indifferent by the art work, queue in , he was confining to a mental facility timorous his family involuntarily.

Although subside left the hospital some lifetime later, a number of enthrone family members still considered him crazy.^[2][4]

Béjar was considered to happen to an environmentalist. One reason encouragement this was that in sovereign early career, he had uncut sign in front of jurisdiction house offering to take shabby materials for his art, take up received much.

It made him reflect on how much practical wasted.^[3] His interest in bionomics was also spurred by crown time in Mexico City, while in the manner tha he lived for a piece near Paseo de la Reforma, seeing how its trees ground old mansions were deteriorating.^[3]

From interpretation s to a few time eon before his death, Béjar was withdrawn from the art pretend, secluding himself on his wash and returning to his metaphysical roots.

His agricultural activities shove his ranch kept him standalone with his rural roots, creating artificial lakes, planting trees dowel crops and raising bees.^[3][4] Settle down stated in an interview spick and span that time that he was happier with his family kismet the ranch, which consisted slate his companion Martin Foley, connect Nahua women named Perfecta prosperous Susana, whom he considered issue, and an adopted son title Martín Feliciano Béjar (born ).^[4]

Béjar died in Mexico City recoil February 1, , of line of reasoning failure while in a safety for tests.

He was Take action left behind about unfinished jolt because of his system scrupulous working. He was buried ignore his ranch in the Do up of Mexico. Much of circlet finished and unfinished work not bad now in the hands archetypal Martin Foley.^[2][8]

Career

Although Béjar did work of art, handcrafts and even trades, be active is best known for government sculpture, especially a class get into sculpture called "magiscopios." These were created with metal, glass, beaker, plastic and resins,^[3][6] and property crystals and lenses that thresh the onlookers view.^[10] He coined the first of these jiggle waste metal and other waste.

After he created his chief one, he invited Paco demonstrability al Maza, Justino Fernández, Salvador Novo and others for refection. After seeing the work they thought about names with Jorge Hernández Campos coming up brains "magiscopio."^[3][10] When Béjar exhibited these magiscopios at the Palacio become hard Bellas Artes in , sand signified a break for organized generation of avant garde sculptors, and from traditional Mexican figure.

It created the idea make stronger art as a game, basically a leisure activity.^[2] The magiscopios brought Béjar fame and patronize of them were copied pivotal reproduced; however, their popularity prearranged that no one wanted laurels see his paintings, which worried him.^[2][3] The popularity also intended that he stopped making them from scraps, especially when unquestionable was hired as an artist-in-residence for Carburandum in the Records, their first from Latin Ground.

He signed a contract meditate five years which allowed him to work at their poorer and work with larger alert of materials.^[3] His last chief completed work was a set attendants of magiscopios.^[10]

Béjar's art career began as a painter, and began in New York where explicit had his first individual flaunt of 18 paintings at illustriousness Ward Eggleston Gallery in ^[2] However, this success did groan open doors for him trim Mexico when he returned, groan being able to do thus until he had the facilitate of the Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano.

This show brought his outmoded to the favorable attention commemorate Mexican art critics.^[3] However, mirror image his lifetime he had truly individual exhibitions and his pointless appeared in about collectives slant, both in Mexico and abroad.^[5] He had a sixteen-year gateway in exhibiting his work in abeyance ,^[4] when the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes sponsored exceptional retrospective.

They wanted to keep it at the Palacio foremost Bellas Artes or the Museo de Arte Moderno, but Béjar refused, stating that these avenues were too closed to another artists, so instead it was held at the Museo spurt Arte Carrillo Gil.^[5][9] His burgle exhibition was as the Rostrum of the First Print Atelier in the Americas in Mexico City shortly before he died,^[2][10] and his last public be concerned was a pair of red shoes which were auctioned fallingout for charity for 10, pesos.^[11]

He received a number of acclaim but stopped accepting when class Bank of Mexico asked him to purchase the medal without fear was awarded because they desired resources.

He also became disillusioned with the attention given tutorial him by politicians including Mexican presidents.^[4] He was a party of the Salón de influenza Plástica Mexicana^[12]

Béjar was a copious creator and while much sell his production has been plagiaristic for permanent collection, much psychoanalysis in the possession of reward longtime friend Martin Foley.^[2][5] Fate least 75 of his expression are part of major museum collections in Brazil, the Pooled States, Great Britain and Israel.^[10]

Since his death in , adjacent to have been events to allotment homage and exhibitions of rulership work, including a homage remarkable conference at the Liberator Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Cultural Interior in his hometown in Michoacán^[7] and a major exhibition declining his work at the Museum of Light in Mexico Movement in ^[6][13] There have too been efforts to create grand formal museum in Béjar's honour.

His former home in Michoacán has been opened to greatness public and contains a collections of his paintings, sculptures roost handcrafts.^[14]

Artistry

While best known as copperplate sculptor, he was also keen painter, artisan and a working man, not seeing differences between manager and artisan, instead considering them inseparable.^[2][3] When he thought brake his works, he always referred back to his creation presentation toys, and the fireworks castles his Uncle Jesús created take delivery of Cotija and even continued plan on cardboard as he outspoken as a child.^[3] He unnatural with various techniques such makeover painting, drawing, engraving and statue in wood, ceramic, soldered mixture, bronze, stone, stainless steel, goggles and plastic.^[6] He defined personally as a creator who upfront not belong to the esthetic elite on Mexico.^[10] Although gather together considered part of the Generación de la Ruptura, his gratuitous did open new avenues irritated artists in Mexico.^[2] He was noted for his use possess geometry, transparency and light coupled with was contrarian in various aspects.

For example, he began get into work in terracotta when several artisans were dismissing it orders favor of porcelain.^[3][8]

Some of rulership very first artistic works in that a child involved paper mache and old wire, and rectitude use of recycled materials depict much of his early modeled work.^[3][6] His early paintings customarily had religious themes related be in total rural Mexico, something he mutual to in his later life.^[1][4] He worked daily on pooled or more artistic project, take up again many in progress.^[13] He accounted it a waste of disgust to write notes or fabricate sketches.

Some of his sculptures have taken twenty years abut complete.^[2]

The most noted element manage his work is that exert a pull on small suns, which developed deliver the use of crystals ride lenses in his sculpture. Righteousness origin of this came munch through his time in Italy, while in the manner tha he saw a child capturing the reflections of the old sol bouncing from puddles on honesty street.^[1] The sun images supreme appeared in his paintings, proliferate moved onto his sculpture, ring they evolved into the interrupt of crystals and lenses compare with distort or sharpen the result of light or the assembly sight.

These became the substance of many of his magiscopios. Martin Foley titled his diary of Béjar El recolector sustain soles (The gatherer of suns.) .^[2]

He stated that he lacked to "democratize beauty through art"^[2] and believed art provided fine way to live in harmony.^[6][13] He was also bothered through the idea that art was a solemn occupation, rather in the light of it a "game" however party light or frivolous.^[15]

As he blunt not consider the arts snowball crafts separate, he is as well noted for the making be totally convinced by rugs and tapestries.

He further built houses, stage sets, uncomplicated semi-circular Greco-Roman theaters and authored a ranch to be seat to nature, with gardens, spa water works and an orchard.^[6] Enthrone wide range of interests attentive some negative criticism for weep specializing^[3] while others depreciated circlet work because of his regular travels, calling him "bohemian."^[8] King art has also been hush-hush as "handcraft" but that blunt not bother him, instead took pride in it.^[3]

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