Mónica Mayer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mónica Mayer
Mónica Mayer
Born	Mónica Mayer 1954 (age 70–71) Mexico City, Mexico
Education	Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas Goddard College
Occupation	Visual artist activist

Mónica Mayer (born in 1954) is a Mexican artist, activist, and writer. She is known for her unique art that includes performances, digital art, drawings, and photos. Mónica is also an art critic and theorist. She has been part of many art groups and organized workshops and projects with others. For many years, she wrote for a Mexican newspaper and still writes for different blogs.

Mónica Mayer has always challenged what people think art should be. Her art often shows her lively spirit, critical thinking, and sense of humor. She focuses on her performances and drawings, but also on her important work through writing, teaching, and helping the community.

Growing Up and Learning About Art

Mónica Mayer was born in Mexico City in 1954. She studied art at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas there. While in art school, she became very interested in feminism. Feminism is about believing that all people, no matter their gender, should have equal rights and opportunities.

She joined feminist groups in Mexico like Movimiento Feminista and Colectivo de Cine Feminista. Later, she earned a master's degree in the Sociology of Art from Goddard College in the United States. Her master's paper was called Feminist Art: An Effective Political Tool. From 1978 to 1980, Mónica also took part in the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman's Building in Los Angeles, California.

Mónica Mayer's Artistic Journey

Creating Art Through Performance

El Tendedero (The Clothesline) by Mónica Mayer.

In the late 1970s, Mónica Mayer started making art that involved performances. One of her most famous pieces is called "El Tendedero," which means 'the clothesline.' For this artwork, Mónica asked people to write down their experiences with harassment.

She then took these written responses and hung them on a clothesline, just like you would hang clothes to dry. The bright pink cards she used were meant to highlight women's experiences. The clothesline itself was a symbol of the daily chores often done by women at home.

The first time "El Tendedero" was shown was in 1978. It was part of an exhibition called New Tendencies at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City. People really liked it, so a slightly different version was shown in Los Angeles, California, in 1979. This was part of Suzanne Lacy's project, Making it Safe.

Starting Feminist Art Groups

In 1983, Mónica Mayer and Maris Bustamante started the first feminist art group in Mexico. It was called Polvo de Gallina Negra (Black Hen Powder). Mónica and Maris used humor and strong social messages in their art. The group's name, "Black Hen Powder – to protect us from the patriarchal magic which makes women disappear," showed their playful but serious approach.

This group performed in the media and did other public art projects. In the same year, Mónica taught a workshop called "Women and Art." This workshop later led to another feminist art group called Tlacuilas y Retrateras.

Projects and Archives

Mónica Mayer has performed her art alone and with Víctor Lerma in Mexico and Japan. Her work has been shown in many museums. Most of her performances are designed for specific places and involve interacting with society.

In 1989, Mónica and Víctor Lerma started an ongoing project called Pinto Mi Raya. This project is mainly a newspaper archive that focuses on modern art in Mexico. Its goal is to help the art world in Mexico by organizing activities, workshops, and performances with other artists. Pinto mi Raya has also had radio shows and has been active in supporting artists.

In a 1998 book, Lerma and Mayer wrote about Pinto mi Raya. They said this project helped them see problems in the art world. They decided to create art projects to help solve these problems. They wanted to "lubricate the art system so it runs more smoothly."

Awards and Recognition

From 2012 to 2014, Mónica Mayer worked on a project called De Archivos y Redes (From Archives and Networks). This project was part of the National System of Artists for Mexican Culture and Arts. She continued this project from 2015 to 2018.

An exhibition of her work, "Si tiene dudas... pregunte: una exposición retrocolectiva de Mónica Mayer" (When in Doubt... Ask: Mónica Mayer's Artistic Project), opened on February 6, 2016. It was shown at the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City.

In October 2016, the Women's Institute of Mexico City gave Mónica Mayer the Omecíhuatl Medal. She received this award for her "outstanding participation in education, arts, culture, and sports, which have inspired and impacted the development and empowerment of women."

Exhibitions (selection)

• New Tendencies. Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico City, Mexico) 1978.
• Making it Safe. Santa Monica, California (USA) 1979.
• WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution. Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, USA)
• La batalla de los géneros. Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporáneo (Santiago de Compostela, Spain). September to December 2007.
• Novela rosa o me agarró el arquetipo. Museo Carrillo Gil (Mexico City, Mexico), 1987.
• National Gallery in Kingston (Jamaica)
• Candido Mendes Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
• Final&Sigue. Juarez University of Villahermosa (Tabasco, Mexico). June 2009
• Video a la mexicana. De sexo-s, amor y humor. Montehermoso Palace (Vitoria, Spain). May to September 2010
• "El Tendedero/The Clothesline Project." National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, DC). 2017
• "El Tendedero/The Clothesline Project." Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indianapolis, IN). 2022

Publications (selection)

Mónica Mayer has written many articles about art and several books:

• Mayer, Mónica. Rosa chillante: mujeres y performance en México. México: Conaculta/Fonca, 2004. (About women and performance art in Mexico)
• Mayer, Mónica. Una Década Y Pico: Textos De Performance. [México, D.F.]: Ediciones al vapor, 2001. (Texts about performance art)
• Mayer, Mónica. Mónica Mayer: novela rosa o me agarró el arquetipo. México, D.F.: Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, 1987.
• Mayer, Mónica, Víctor Lerma, and Alfredo Ramírez. Arte público en el archivo de Pinto Mi Raya. México: Pinto Mi Raya, 2002. (About public art in the Pinto Mi Raya archive)
• Mayer, Mónica. Escandalario: los artistas y la distribución del arte. [Mexico]: AVJ Ediciones, 2006. (About artists and how art is shared)

See also

In Spanish: Mónica Mayer para niños