Jardín escultórico
Photo credit: Google Arts & Culture
the garden
The sculpture garden was created by Edward James, an eccentric British poet, artist, and patron of the surrealist movement.
Nestled in the Huasteca Potosina, Edward James found the perfect setting to stage the work of his life. Between waterfalls and pools, natural or created, that prepare the mind for immersion in a dream world, a surreal labyrinth makes its way. Buildings that evoke nonsense, doors that give way to nothing, stairs that lead to heaven and concrete flowers that grow at the same time as the natural ones.
Architecture
The architecture of Las Pozas represents a surreal artistic and sculptural ensemble inspired by both the orchids and the vegetation of the Huasteca Potosina. It combines representative elements of the surrealist movement in which Edward James was immersed.
It is a Shangri-la, a fusion between the organic and the artificial, between the jungle and the concrete, which merges the two worlds into one.
The origin
The origin of Las Pozas dates back to 1947, when Edward James (who lived in a kind of semi-exile in the United States), acquired a coffee plantation near Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, registering it in the name of Plutarco Gastélum, a dear friend who he would become the person in charge of giving follow-up and continuity to the materialization of his ideas. During the early years, Edward James designated the Las Pozas area as a plantation for a fabulous collection of orchids and as a home for different species of exotic animals (deer, ocelots, snakes, flamingos and other birds). In 1962, after an unprecedented frost that destroyed much of the plantation, Edward James began construction of the sculpture garden we know today. More than 150 people collaborated in its construction, including carpenters, masons and gardeners. Construction stopped in 1984, the year in which Edward James passed away. It was not until 1991 that the garden opened its doors to the public.
The sculptural ensemble of Las Pozas is located on a property located in the town called La Conchita, municipality of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí. It occupies an area of almost nine hectares of garden and 37 that correspond to the property where there are 27 buildings, structures and sculptures.
In 2007 the Fundación Pedro y Elena Hernández, A.C, acquired Las Pozas with the purpose of preserving the sculptures and protecting the ecosystem.
The space was declared an artistic monument in 2012 by the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA) for having relevant aesthetic values. The sculptural ensemble guides its management under the regulations of the Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Zones. The regulation focuses on achieving global recognition and access to world programs for the protection of relevant monuments, which helps preserve this artistic heritage of the nation.