Sculptural space
Introduction
The Center of the Sculptural Space is one of the most important works of public art in Latin America. It is a space that is part of the heritage of the National Autonomous University of Mexico located in the University Cultural Center (CCU), in Ciudad Universitaria, "University City (National Autonomous University of Mexico)") south of Mexico City. The Sculptural Space is a circular sculpture 120 meters in diameter, composed of 64 modules or triangular prisms, on a circular stone ring that contains a sea of lava without features of land or vegetation. Its purpose, according to the artists who created it, is the contemplation of the beautiful, both inside the place and outside. According to the sculptor Manuel Felguérez, this type of contemplation "will enrich the aesthetic vision of both the detail and the whole, and will at the same time change the traditional concept of culture to that of Sculptural Space."[1].
This space is a collective monumental work by the artists Federico Silva, Helen Escobedo, Hersúa, Manuel Felguérez, Mathias Goeritz and Sebastián, all of them constant collaborators in the development of culture and teaching at UNAM and influenced by two sculptural currents: minimal art, which is reflected in its circular stone structure that supports the 64 serial prisms, and land art, since it was created with the aim of combining ecology and art to reproduce the cosmic image of the pre-Hispanic world.[2].
According to its creators, the Sculptural Space "seeks to make art a great event for everyone and forever, overcoming, at least in this experience, self-sufficient and outdated individualistic voluntarism."[3].
History
The construction of the University Cultural Center "Centro Cultural Universitario (UNAM)") (CCU), of which the Sculptural Space is a part, took place under the rectorship of Guillermo Soberón between 1976 and 1981. It was located near Avenida de los Insurgentes and Anillo Periférico, within the territories that today make up the Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve.
On November 4, 1977, the rector announced the start of the Sculptural Space Center project by Federico Silva, Helen Escobedo, Hersúa, Manuel Felguérez, Mathias Goeritz and Sebastián, artists who shared the tendency towards Geometrism and the use of materials such as concrete and metal structures. In addition, biologists, geologists, botanists, ecologists, engineers and architects joined the team, organized through a coordinating group, a technical support group and an administrative support group. The sculpture project had to be "the result of a conception of art as research, as an extension of culture and as a commitment to social reality," in the words of Felguérez.