The de la Torre Brothers: 'Post-Columbian Futurism'

From the KPBS/Arts newsletter:

Arts & Culture

Border artists the de la Torre Brothers celebrated at The Cheech

Julia Dixon Evans

Andrew Bracken

Listen • 7:58

I checked out the de la Torre Brothers' "Post-Columbian Futurism" last weekend at Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego in Balboa Park. I knew what to expect: the massive, immersive lunar lander of "Colonial Atmospheres" (pictured), which had recently been installed at The Cheech in Riverside. To be fair to my expectations, it really is an astonishing piece of art. It's massive in scale, with so many details and so much humor, meaning and history, and it's the first thing you see as you descend the stairs into the museum. The entire exhibit imagines a battle between Aztec gods, anchored by two lenticular pieces of Coatlicue (the mother of the gods) and Mictlantecuhtli (the god of the dead). It's also an imagined future of what would happen if humanity consumed itself to death. My favorite: the dining table installation around the corner. An intricate feast is set at a lavish, antique table, but something is wrong, something is amiss about the whole scene and I could have spent an hour just trying to understand every dish. With tipped over chairs and the weirdest glass food ever, it's ominous and beguiling.

ICA San Diego-Central is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and admission is free.
—Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS

From the museum:
In Post-Columbian Futurism, one of their largest and most ambitious projects to date, brothers Jamex and Einar de la Torre (b.1960 & 1963, Guadalajara; live and work in San Diego/Baja California) transform the ICA’s Central campus into the site of an epic battle for the future of humankind. Through a fusion of Mexican, American, and Indigenous cultural iconographies, the de la Torre brothers engage with our seasonal theme “Limitless Growth, Limited World,” by relaying a cautionary tale about the dangers of overconsumption in all its forms. Post-Columbian Futurism imagines a battle between the Aztec gods Coatlicue, who represents Mother Earth, and Mictlantecuhtli, the god of the dead. In the brothers’ current conceptualization, Coatlicue morphs into “Coatzilla,” a savage creature wreaking destructive havoc on urban infrastructure, while the transformed “Miclantiputin” continually releases new traffic-filled highways in entrail-like ribbons that spill from his rib cage. We humans are caught in the middle…or perhaps we’re on both sides? Much like the brothers’ lenticular paintings, which reveal different images depending on the viewing angle, the resolution of this conflict may depend on one’s perspective.

Post-Columbian Futurism includes newly commissioned work to fill over 6,000 square feet of exhibition space.Two massive lenticular paintings of the gods will confront each other in the gallery, surrounded by a series of projections, floor coverings, and related glass sculpture. “Colonial Atmosphere” (2002), an installation of a lunar lander in the shape of a massive stone Olmec head, will anchor the space, inviting us to consider how far we are willing to go, and how long we are willing to fight, for the juggernaut of humanity.

Related links: