Mexican Museum (San Francisco)

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Mexican Museum
Mexican Museum (San Francisco) is located in California
Mexican Museum (San Francisco)
Location within California
Former name
El Museo Mexicano
Established1975; 46 years ago (1975)
Location706 Mission Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.
TypeArt museum
FounderPeter Rodríguez
Websitewww.mexicanmuseum.org

El Museo Mexicano or The Mexican Museum is a San Francisco, California, United States museum created to exhibit the aesthetic expression of the Latino, Chicano, Mexican, and Mexican-American people. As of 2020–2021 their exhibition space is permanently closed at Fort Mason Center and Yerba Buena Gardens .

About[]

The museum holds a permanent collection of over 16,000 objects including Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, Popular, Mexican and Latino Modern, and Mexican, Latino, and Chicano Contemporary art.[1][2] It has one of the largest collection of Mexican, Chicano and Latino art in the United States.[3][4]

History[]

The Mexican Museum of San Francisco was founded by San Francisco artist Peter Rodríguez in 1975.[2] He was inspired to created this museum in order to fill a void in the public’s access to Mexican and Chicano art.[3] The museum was originally located in San Francisco's Mission District on Folsom Street in 1975.[5]

In 1995, it was announced that renowned Mexican architect and Pritzker Prize winner Ricardo Legoretta would design the new museum at the projected Yerba Buena Gardens location.[6] But eventually the Legoretta design plans fell by the wayside as the project's economics were scaled down greatly. From 2001 to 2015, the Museum was relocated to the Fort Mason Center, Building D, Marina Boulevard and Buchanan Street, San Francisco.

As of 2015, the museum's new location is planned to be built in the SoMa district on Mission Street across from Yerba Buena Gardens, as part the 53-story Yerba Buena tower, which will consist mostly of luxury condominiums.[7]

The entire relocation project is envisaged to cost $500 million ($30 million of which for the museum), and to open in 2020 (but possibly delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic).[7] The city of San Francisco granted the Mexican Museum a 66-year lease for its future use of the site, renewable for 33 years.[1]

Controversy[]

In 2017, there was a shocking report which revealed that 96% of the museum's 2,000 pre-Colombian artifacts were not authentic and could only be classed as "decorative"; thus only 83 pieces of 2,000, or just over four percent could be certified as “museum-quality.” That was the main finding of a report[8] commissioned by the museum in accordance with a requirement of the Smithsonian Institution before acceptance into the AAM (American Association of Museums). The Mexican Museum was accepted as an affiliate in 2012. The self-commissioned study, which cost $80,000, was conducted by an independent team of museum curators from Mexico City to survey the museum's holdings. The first 2,000 artifacts audited are only part of the museum's 16,500-piece (as of 2020) permanent collection.

A clarification on that study: the archaeologist who wrote the report, Dr. Eduardo Perez De Heredia, said the rest of the pieces are still being studied, and may turn out to be real or not. “This is just the process . . . We have two years to finish examining the collection,” said Dr. Perez De Heredi.[9] He points out that U.S. museums often receive high-end forgeries as donations and the authentication process is meant to sort those out.[9] The Mexican Museum is under heavy scrutiny before it moves to its new location near the SFMOMA. The $33 million location will open in 2019 and is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution. This makes it a national-level museum, and therefore brings with it higher standards. So while the artwork itself can be left to the viewers own interpretation, the quality cannot.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Baker, Kenneth (March 13, 2015). "Cultures entwine in vivid forms in Mexican Museum exhibition". San Francisco Chronicle.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Peter Rodriguez (1926–2016)". Artforum.com. August 5, 2016. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Spotswood, Beth (2015-06-30). "Mexican Museum founder still fighting for art at 89". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  4. ^ "San Francisco museum to have largest US collection of Mexican and Latino art". The Guardian. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  5. ^ Gaura, Maria Alicia (1995-11-20). "Turmoil as Mexican Museum Turns 20". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  6. ^ Hamlin, Jesse (March 13, 1995). "Legorreta Picked to Design S.F. Mexican Museum". SFGate.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Dineen, J.K. (March 10, 2015). "SoMa condos poised to be S.F.'s most expensive ever". San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. ^ Kinsella, Eileen (July 7, 2017). "A Staggering 96% of the Artifacts in San Francisco's Mexican Museum May Be Fake, The report found that only 83 of 2,000—or just over four percent—of the museum's pre-Columbian artifacts could be authenticated". ArtNet.com. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "San Francisco's Mexican Museum Looks To Clarify Recent Study". KPIX-5 CBS. CBS Broadcasting Inc. July 13, 2017.

Further reading[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 37°48′24″N 122°25′51″W / 37.8068°N 122.4308°W / 37.8068; -122.4308

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