We are not the First Artists to be Inspired at the Ruins of Mitla

 

 

 Apparently we are not the only artists to be smitten with the brilliant stone fretwork at the ruins of Mitla, an ancient Zapotec ceremonial site,  a short drive from Oaxaca City. 

 

The German color theorist and artist  Josef Albers and his wife, the uber talented  weaver and printmaker Anni Albers, were pretty smitten as well.  Here is Anni Albers  red linen and cotton weaving called Meander.

And while Albers, the husband,  is best known as an educator, color theorist,  and painter, he also designed a half a dozen brick or block walls for schools , churches, and private homes including ones at Harvard and Stanford. 

 

 

 

I can't help but think that he was deeply influenced by the stone walls and friezes he saw at Mitla like the one in the photo above.  Nothing like this stonework is found anywhere else in all of Mexico and it is all mortarless and it's a bit of an understatement to say, it has withstood the test of time and earthquakes too.

"Muy raro" as someone in Mexico might say.

 

 

And Josef's painting from 1940  titled, "To Mitla" lets us know he had Mexico on his mind.

Exciting to me to think that we are treading in the footsteps of so many others - tapping into the universal source of inspiration left by the Zapotec people.

So glad we visited Mitla on the tour in 2013.

 

2nd and 4th photo via  Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.