Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca

El Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) es un museo-biblioteca, creado por el pintor Francisco Toledo, a través de la Asociación Civil "José F. Gómez". Es una hermosa casa del siglo XVIII situada frente al convento de Santo Domingo y a un costado de la Plazuela del Carmen, sobre la calle de Macedonio Alcalá. La casa fue donada al Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) por la familia Toledo, con el propósito de crear un espacio idóneo para difundir el arte y exhibir la colección gráfica que el Maestro Francisco Toledo comenzaba a formar.  El proyecto se hizo en conjunto entre el INBA, la Asociación Civil José F. Gómez - presidida por el Mtro. Toledo y el Gobierno del Estado de Oaxaca.

El Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) se inauguró en noviembre de 1988. Los principales temas que abarca la Biblioteca del IAGO son pintura, gráfica, dibujo, arquitectura, escultura, arqueología, diseño, bibliofilia, textiles, cerámica, arte popular, fotografía, cinematografía y literatura. Comprende los espacios geográficos e históricos más importantes y mantiene un desarrollo orientado al arte contemporáneo.

The Institute of Graphic Arts of Oaxaca (IAGO) is a museum, library, created by the painter Francisco Toledo, through the "José F. Gómez" Civil Association. It is a beautiful eighteenth century house opposite the convent of Santo Domingo and next to the Plaza del Carmen, on Macedonio Alcala Street.  The house was donated to the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA) by the Toledo family, in order to create an ideal space to promote art and display the graphics collection the Maestro Francisco Toledo started to form.  The project was made jointly by the INBA, Civil Association José F. Gomez - chaired by Maestro. Toledo and the Government of the State of Oaxaca.

The Institute of Graphic Arts of Oaxaca (IAGO) opened in November 1988.  The main topics that the Library of the IAGO includes are painting, graph, drawing, architecture, sculpture, archaeology, design, bibliophily, textiles, ceramics, folk art, photo, cinematography and literature.  It includes the most important geographical and historical areas and maintains a contemporary art-oriented development.

La colección sobre Arte Mexicano es una de las más grandes, ordenada cronológicamente, desde el arte rupestre, arte prehispánico, colonial, moderno y contemporáneo; es importante su colección de cerca de treinta facsímiles de códices, que continúa acrecentándose. Cubre un amplio espectro de países, artistas, técnicas, estilos y movimientos artísticos. Los materiales que maneja son libros, catálogos, revistas, folletos y películas, en español principalmente, pero también en inglés, francés, alemán e italiano. Los fondos bibliográficos se adquieren con recursos otorgados por Francisco Toledo, gran número de amigos, lectores, galerías, museos e instituciones aportan donativos de publicaciones.  La Biblioteca sostiene, también, convenios de canje con otras bibliotecas e instituciones del país y del extranjero.

The collection of Mexican art is one of the largest, ordered chronologically, from the rock art, pre-Hispanic, colonial, modern and contemporary art. It has an important collection of about thirty facsimiles of codices that continues to grow.  It covers a wide range of countries, artists, techniques, styles and artistic movements. The materials that they maintain are books, catalogs, magazines, brochures and films, mainly Spanish but also in English, French, German and Italian.  The collections are acquired with funds granted by Francisco Toledo, a large number of friends, readership, galleries, museums and institutions provide donations of publications. The Library also maintains exchange agreements with other libraries and institutions of the country and abroad.

SERVICIOS:

- El IAGO, contiene una Biblioteca especializada en arte, con más de doce mil volúmenes que abarcan temas de pintura, escultura, arquitectura, bibliofilia, poesía, narrativa, ensayo, literatura infantil y juvenil, diseño industrial y gráfico, arqueología, fotografía, cinematografía, textiles, cerámica, arte popular.

- La Biblioteca , que se actualiza constantemente, alberga obras sobre música, danza y teatro, y cuenta con veinticinco suscripciones a revistas especializadas en arte y literatura. La Biblioteca tiene tres salas de lectura, y ofrece los servicios de préstamo interno y a domicilio, estantería abierta, consulta, banco de datos, hemeroteca, fotocopias y cineclub.

- El público puede seleccionar y tomar los materiales por ellos mismos y en caso de requerirlo, recibe atención individualizada de los bibliotecarios, quienes propician la comunicación personal para establecer un perfil de intereses de cada lector y estar en condiciones de satisfacer sus necesidades de información, recreación o simple curiosidad; de tal modo que la atención se da desde una orientación sobre las colecciones y los servicios de la Biblioteca y los museos, hasta la ayuda por temas de interés, la elaboración de bibliografías y la documentación, pasando por la referencia a las otras bibliotecas de la ciudad.

SERVICES:

- The IAGO contains a library specializing in art, with more than twelve thousand volumes covering topics of painting, sculpture, architecture, bibliophile, poetry, fiction, essays, children's literature, industrial and graphic design, archeology, photography, filmmaking, textiles, ceramics, folk art.

- The Library, which is constantly updated, houses works of music, dance and theater, and has twenty-five subscriptions to journals in art and literature. The library has three reading rooms, and offers home loans, open shelving, consulting, database, newspaper, copy and a film club.

- The public can select and take the materials themselves and in case of need, receive individual attention from librarians who foster personal communication to establish a profile of interests of each reader and be able to satisfy their information needs, recreation or simple curiosity, so that attention is given from an orientation to the collections and services of the library and museums, to aid topics of interest, development of bibliographies and documentation, through reference to other libraries in the city.

Francisco Toledo

Francisco Toledo at an inauguration for his ceramic tiles at Tienda Q

Many consider Francisco Toledo the greatest living artist of Mexico. He has come to be synonymous with Mexico's soul or at least the soul of his beloved state, Oaxaca.  Through him the heritage of his people has been refined and through him has poured into an astonishing array of work. To feel Mexico, immerse yourself in the work of Toledo. 

One of his designs on a kite at the paper factory in San Agustín Etla

Francisco Toledo was born to Zapotec parents in Juchitan, Oaxaca on July 17, 1940. He comes from the same state and indigenous background as Rufino Tamayo, another great painter from Oaxaca.  Both Toledo and Tamayo carry a unique energy in their work identified with the mystical beauty of Oaxaca. Both men borrowed from European and American movements and techniques, but remain firmly independent in their vision shunning the artistic dictates influencing Mexico following the revolution.

In 1950 Toledo began his career in the printing studio of Arturo Garcia Bustos and then went on to study at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Oaxaca. He went to Mexico City in 1957 where he studied graphic arts under Guillermo Silva Santamaria.  In 1959 Toledo exhibited his work for the first time at the Antonio Souza Gallery.  By the time he was 20, he had taken residence in Europe remaining for five years settling in Paris. By the time he returned to Mexico in 1965, he was already a recognized artist celebrated for his development of the mythic and his sacred sense of life. He integrated himself into the artistic community of Oaxaca, mastering an incredible array of media including lithography, engraving, sculpture, ceramics and painting. He designed tapestries with the weavers of Teotitlan de Valle executing his designs.

A mobile figure laser cut from x-ray film

His reputation spread quickly in the 1970’s. A lot of what we think of as representative of Toledo - cats, dogs, bats, insects  - came out of this period. During this period, he also started to experiment with semi-erotic male figures, often with faces that were like sketches in geometric form similar to ancient masks.  By 1980 his work was so significant that the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City had a retrospective of his painting.

The world was seduced by the power of his creations bordering on the fantastic fused with the real that resides in nature, and takes on the fantastic when inspired art raises it to the highest degree.  Toledo is a visual poet who looks at the world and notices strange analogies. His art suggests shapes within shapes, and actions have actions within actions. Though Oaxaca is always present beneath the surfaces of his images, he is able to take his surroundings and imbue it with the universal. Through his work we feel unconsciously his own heritage, yet he touches that connecting cord in all of us, that root from which we all sprang.

Toledo designed paper jewelry in San Agustín Etla

His work shows an innate, natural feeling for diverse material through which he expresses complex ideas. His graphic imagination shapes visual thoughts, more than simply being a storyteller.  Since the 1990s he has included more geometric forms in his art.  His fascination with the myths of his people and the nature that appears in their stories shows in the images transformed by his magical imagination into an art in which man is inclusive in the universe.

CASA, San Agustín Etla

In the cargo system characteristic of indigenous pueblo leadership, members of the pueblo have obligations to fulfill for the good of the community. Toledo has given back to the community by being a catalyst and a guardian of the arts. He created the Instituto de Artes Graficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) which has a collection of more than 12,000 volumes dealing with painting, graphics, drawing, sculpture, archeology, design, library science, popular art, textile, ceramics, photography, film, literature, and Mexican art, and a collection of over 6,000 works by Mexican and foreign artists. The IAGO also hosts exhibitions and conferences.  He was also involved in the founding of the Museum de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca (MACO), and the Patronato Pro-Defense y Conservacion del Patrimonio Cultural de Oaxaca which sponsors the Jorge Luis Borges library for the blind, the Alvarez Bravo Center for photography, and the Eduardo Mata music library. In 2006 the Centro de Artes de San Agustín (CASA) in San Agustín Etla opened by his initiative.  At CASA one can study photography, digital graphics, textile design, preservation of heritage, art conservation, and man’s interaction with his environment.  

In Oaxaca it is common to see Toledo on the street especially near the IAGO.  He also is present at some art openings, a frequent occurrence in Oaxaca.  His art is distinctive, easily recognizable, with a certain element that carries over from one media to another as well as from one period to the next.  More of my photos are available on my picasa web album.  For more of his painting I suggest you search the internet under his name for images.