Biography of Octavio Paz, poet and essayist (1914–1998)
Octavio Paz Lozano (Mexico City, March 31, 1914 – Coyoacán, Mexico, April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and essayist. Throughout his life, he was driven by the dual flames of passion and critical thought. In 1937, in Spain, he sided with the Republicans. After World War II, in 1945, while living in Paris, he collaborated with the Surrealists. He served a diplomatic career in France until 1951 and took an interest in the project to build the Maison du Mexique, whose donation deed was signed on July 18, 1951. He returned to live in Paris between 1959 and 1962. In 1962, he was appointed Mexican ambassador to India, a position he resigned from six years later in protest against the Mexican government’s repression of the student movement. He received the Cervantes Prize in 1981 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.
Biografía de Octavio Paz, poeta y ensayista (1914-1998)
Octavio Paz Lozano (Ciudad de México, 31 de marzo de 1914 – Coyoacán, México, 19 de abril de 1998). Poeta y ensayista mexicano. A lo largo de su vida, estuvo impulsado por la doble llama de la pasión y la crítica. En 1937, en España, se alineó con los Republicanos. Tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en 1945, instalado en París, colaboró con los surrealistas. Habiendo desempeñado una carrera diplomática en Francia hasta 1951, se interesó en el proyecto de construcción de la Casa de México, cuyo acto de donación fue firmado el 18/07/1951. Volvió a vivir en París entre 1959 y 1962. En 1962, fue nombrado embajador de México en India, cargo del que dimitió seis años después en desacuerdo con la política represiva del gobierno mexicano contra el movimiento estudiantil. Recibió el Premio Cervantes en 1981 y el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1990.
Against silence and clamor, I invent speech, a freedom that invents itself and invents me anew each day.
Contra el silencio y el bullicio invento la Palabra, libertad que se inventa y me inventa cada día.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
The Maison du Mexique stands out from neighboring foundations with its modern architecture, composed of clean volumes arranged around a central garden patio. It was designed by architects Jorge L. Medellin and Roberto L. Medellin.
