Déjàlà: Art Meets the Outdoors – San Luis Potosi, Xilitla

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.

Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,

it’s a way of looking at life through

the wrong end of a telescope.

Dr. Seuss

Not every day is sunny!

Making the best of a downpour in the colorful town of Xilitla

Good thing it’s the end of the day, I am drenched to the bones

On the bus between Queretaro and San Luis Potosi, I sat next to an elderly lady who oversaw the school system in that state. Our conversation slowly led to the loss of loved ones. In her case, her daughter, in my case, my partner for over half my life. She made a valid point, that I had subconsciously sensed, but had not put into words.

‘If you keep asking why something has happened, you continue living in the past. You are not moving forward.’ She then added: ‘It’s not about being flawless but about being present.’

Messages of wisdom spontaneously flow to those who are ready. I don’t think I would have understood these messages two years ago. Now I do. Insights that I now carry with me. On my bucket list therefore is To Be Awake! To Be Present!

I came to Xilitla (place of snails) to experience the dramatic effects of a lush and highly dynamic jungle interwoven with motionless art… An outdoor art museum in a dense humid wilderness.

Three-Story House that Might be Five

Initially we managed to get a bit of sunshine

If you fit through that middle door without your shoulders

touching the sides, you have not committed sins

and won’t need to go to purgatory

Much narrower than it appears

You must come from the other side of that door

Bamboo Palace

Scottish Edward James was friend with many well-known and influential people from Salvador Dali to Coco Chanel and Aldous Huxley. He was also a great supporter of all surrealist artists. He said that this garden, his Shangri-La, wouldn’t be complete until all the organically designed non-utilitarian structures would be entirely engulfed by the jungle. I’d say we are between 1/3 and 1/2 way there… Some structures are hardly visible, others have become supports for heavy vines, and some are starting to break apart. Mosses and ferns are adding dimension, texture and colors. Supplementary layers for the senses.

Edward James was one of the most eccentric and interesting twentieth century poet and collector of surrealist art, thanks to family fortune. He was described by Salvador Dali as ‘crazier than all the Surrealists together.’

He started building the garden in 1940.

Said to represent his nannies (he had 7 of them) and his mother

He loved to play with the cycles of nature. He was guided to choose this piece of land by an attractive butterfly landing on his shoulder. He stated that these abstract structures were ‘follies’ for amusement and surprise, not necessarily meant for practical purposes.

Stars represent continents

There are several five-star doors

If you could jump from unfinished bridge to flower pad

The place would be yours – much farther and higher than it appears

Photo from their website

As a child he wanted a castle as seen in his favorite medieval paintings. Xilitla was where he finally built his ‘castle’. The garden is called Las Pozas (the pools) as there are several natural pools to enjoy around this large property.

Gothic windows

The place is filled with dragons, hands, wedding ring, tutus, elephants, musical instruments, bamboo, orchids, diamond, fleur-de-lis, umbrellas, mushrooms, dogs, dolphins, flamingos, snakes (as seven deadly sins), avocado, waves, doorway to heaven, nannies, mother, stars, eyes, Egyptian, medieval or indigenous influences, aviary, ocelot cage, boa den, you name it – it’s here if you know how or where to look.

Totem poles, hidden rooms, niches, teetering towers, buttresses pushing up against nothing, beams supporting no weight, corridors, doors, gothic windows everywhere – dams, bridges, stairs, most, apparently, going nowhere. Library without books and cinema without seat or screen (nature your show).

Hands

The famous Leonora Carrington (more about her below) is said to have influenced Mr. James – many think we have her to thank for the show of colors in the garden.

Edward James was fond of blue

Fading colors mixed with mosses or lichens(?)

I felt like I was losing my balance and sense of direction among this gratuitous, disorderly, and irrational architecture built, it was said, without preparation, seeking liberation, free association, and beauty. It was like being in the center of a conversation between culture and nature, the organic and the artificial. It’s as if I could hear the sound of green against the unbending gray. (After writing this I found a poem by Edward James and he used the exact same words, the sound of green…)

I have seen such beauty as one man has seldom seen;

therefore will I be grateful to die in this little room,
surrounded by the forests, the great green gloom
of trees my only gloom – and the sound, the sound of green.

Waves?

With names like the Summer Palace, the Three-Story House that Might be Five, the Deer House, the Cinematographer, the Flamingo House, the Bamboo Palace, the Parrot House, the Path of the Seven Sins, or Edward’s Cabin, let your imagination go wild.

Some of these columns are so delicate

More than 60 local workers (at the height of construction, 140) took 30-40 years to create this outer-worldly garden mingling surrealist art with nature. He, thankfully, had access to three large sequential fortunes to keep this project going. Barefoot, he roamed the garden with a guacayama (green bird) on his shoulder.

Mingling with the jungle, wall supports

Our guide didn’t know what type of flower

My guess is orchid since it is what Edward loved

First a site for tens of thousands of beautiful orchids later destroyed by a frigid freak winter, it is an incredible testament to love. Love of nature, Love of form, Love of pushing limits, Love of poetry. Love of fantasy. Love of the imaginary. Mr. James then decided to replace the orchids with something the weather could not possibly destroy. These exotic structures are sometimes called ‘expressions of his soul’ or ‘his petrified dreams’. You feel like you are sleepwalking in his dream, coming across an unexpected sight at each corner.

One of his relatives had been to Zambia to hunt elephants

He had a fascination for these animals. Here an elephant foot

From their website – I certainly don’t have a drone

Street view at arrival

We lucked out as it didn’t rain while we were in the garden

It rained again when we returned to town

My first encounter with the works of Leonora Carrington was in 2011 at the San Jose del Cabo Marina in Baja Sur when we were sailing down the coast before entering the Sea of Cortez. Several life size bronze sculptures were found around the marina. Anyone could touch them, enjoy their beauty, etc. At the time, I had no idea of the fame and works of this talented artist. She was a friend of the family who had the marina, we were told. These works of art today are worth an absolute fortune.

Barco de Grullas (Ship of cranes)

Although she was born in Europe, the war pushed Leonora Carrington to Mexico in 1942. Many think of her as Mexican. She is a surrealist artist of the caliber of Frida Kahlo, Dali, Ernst, and many others. She met Edward James in Acapulco. Her work was mostly based on Celtic mythology, occult symbolism, fiction, animals, autobiography. She was an expert at blending planes of consciousness. You seldom heard of her since she wasn’t kind to reporters.

Patio de Abrazo (hug)

No name

Cat with human hands and snake tail

This time, I saw her impressive body of work in San Luis Potosi (the city) and in the town of Xilitla. These two museums complement each other well. In San Luis Potosi the main pieces are gigantic. They are displayed in what used to be a jail. Rather than being dwarfed by the huge courtyards and massive walls that surround them, these large sculptures add drama and dimension. Escapism seen where freedom no longer existed. Brilliant. The pieces in Xilitla are more intimate and intricate.

The Palmist

La Inventora de Atole, 2011

Patio de Gallo (Rooster)

She was a founding member of the women’s liberation movement in Mexico.

Alto Por Favor (stop please)

If pig could fly, 2011

Her many masks

And, back to reality:

On the way back, we drove by men shoveling sand from the river bank into long canoe-like boats. Ready to sell to constructions companies in town, they too heavily loaded, float downriver.

The fields are crawling with trucks being filled with sugar cane stalks. They are called despeinados (disheveled) when full.