The Conlon Nancarrow & Juan O’Gorman house and studio in dialogue with artist Amor Muñoz. By Adriana Sandoval
Notes and Folds by Amor Muñoz
The house and studio of Mexican-American musician Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997) is located in the southwest of Mexico City. The Nancarrow house shelters the laboratory in which Conlon Nancarrow produced a large portion of his compositions. The flow of the space represents what is known as the “organic constructions” of architect Juan O’Gorman (1905-1982).
Conlon Nancarrow is considered one the most exceptional composers of the 20th century at the same time Juan O’Gorman is without doubt a prominent representative of Latin-American architecture in that same time period.
The Conlon Nancarrow house and studio is an architectural structure-manifest that testifies, foot by foot and in an irreplaceable way an everlasting geniality on conceiving architectural spaces considering the materialization of particular solutions put in place by Juan O’Groman who designed the studio for a man that he considered one of his most beloved friends.
From the point of view of Art History and Architecture, the Conlon-Nancarrow house represents what O’Gorman believe to be the definition of a residential alternative in contrast to the domestic vertical architecture that boomed in Latin American after WWII. For O’Gorman the organic nature of architecture is represented by an environment that integrates elements of landscape, put together with the materials sourced locally and organized with a clear intention of confronting the industrial world; organic buildings that could bond men and nature.
Letting the senses to be triggered by the atmosphere of the Nancarrow space is a chance to relate with the day-by-day of almost fifty years of the composer’s life. Between the studio chamber and the terrace, library and kitchen, and the relationship between bedroom and garden, one can only imagine silence, light, and wind keeping company to the composer, a combination of elements that comforted him and became part of his creative process. The development that O’Gorman built for the Nancarrow is particular at a level that its core is not possible to neither be transferred nor replaced.
Espacio Nancarrow O'Groman | Photo by Daniel Orozco
Amor Muñoz at Espacio Nancarrow – O’Gorman
Mexican born artist Amor Muñoz is the first artist in residency at Conlon Nancarrow house and studio a project sponsored by the Espacio Nancarrow – O’Gorman Foundation. The outcome of her project has become of significant value for the non-profit organization and for the artist who after her months of research at the space established the project Notes & Folds in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.
In interview with Amor Muñoz, the artist highlighted the perception she has on the relevance that the texture of light in the architecture of Juan O’Gorman had for Conlon Nancarrow. Now, further down the road in her artist residency Muñoz refers to this element as a resource to decode the gesture that the house and studio have for her.
Muñoz has become influenced by the intellectual character of the production of Conlon Nancarow and his own practice as maker, as a reference to the Maker Culture that is a essential on the technology-based production of the artist, an element that linked Nancarrow and Muñoz’ dialogue.
Amor Muñoz artist residency at Conlon Nancarrow house and studio comes to extend the perception of music from vibration to a tactile body of work, carrying the structure of player piano scores of paper rolls to pleaded coded textiles.
Clandestina presented a solo booth by artist Amor Muñoz at Untitled, Art San Francisco on January 2020 in collaboration with Espacio Nancarrow-O’Gorman, and the show PATTERNS at its space in Miami in February 2020. PATTERNS as well as RHYTHMIC MANUFACTURE an online special based on the drawings made by the artist for the homonym performance.
www.clandestina.art
About Adriana Sandoval
Adriana is an Academic, Curator and Researcher specialized in the work of Juan O’Gorman. She is also a co-founder of the non-for profit organization Espacio Nancarrow-O’Gorman.
Notes and Folds by Amor Muñoz