HUMBERTO MORÉ: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE AND WORKS - ART - 2024

Humberto Moré (1929 -1984) was an Ecuadorian plastic artist who walked through painting, sculpture and muralism. He was known for creating his own style, which he called Functional Signology.

In Humberto Moré's work, the use of curved and straight lines is very present. Although his strength was plastic, he also ventured into writing, especially as a poet and artistic critic.

Self-portrait of Humberto Moré on the cover of the book «Humberto More and his signology» by Leonardo Rivadeneira. Cover by: Kristel Rivadeneira Sánchez. 2010

He was part of the young Guayaquil artists of the 1950s and 1960s who were in charge of revolutionizing the visual arts in the South American country. Along with Moré were others such as Estuardo Maldonado, Enrique Tábara and Luis Molinari.

He began calling his creations as parts of a different Expressionism, which over time became what he called Functional Signology, Humberto Moré approached geometric figures using elements such as thick lines and primary colors, mostly.

In 1957 he won the “Universidad de Guayaquil” award and it was then that he decided to dedicate himself to art as a full-time job.

Then he promoted the creation of the Municipal Hall "Fundación de Guayaquil" (1959). Since then, Moré had the concern to create spaces that would serve as platforms for artists to exhibit their work.

Humberto Moré's last project, aimed at the US market, was his "Signological Erotic Nudes", in which he posits that the artist's approach to drawing is generated through the line that is multiplied by the work.

Biography

Early years

Humberto Lalot Rivadeneira Plata was born on April 14, 1929 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. He was the second of the four children of Víctor Rivadeneira Ricardelli, a military supporter of General Eloy Alfaro, with María Libia Plata Torres.

Moré's artistic streak woke up early. The Ecuadorian painter assured that everything had started when, even as a child, he discovered the stimulus that the colors of some toys caused in him.

At first he was in the care of his mother along with his brothers Guizot, Guido and Adalgiza. Meanwhile his father was always on a trip due to the campaigns that were being waged at the time.

Humberto Moré was sent by his father to Quito to study as an intern at a religious college. His curiosity, which prompted him to experiment with chemicals, caused him to be quickly expelled. His mother had already died and he went to live in Santa Elena where he stayed until he was 15 years old.

It was during this time of his adolescence that Moré decided to start experimenting with drawing, making copies. He imitated photographs and shapes that he saw in newspapers and magazines.

At the age of 19, Moré tried to start a business making soap, but then forgot about the matter, he started working with his brother Guizot in San Miguel del Milagro.

Artistic beginnings

In 1954, at the age of 25, Humberto Lalot Rivadeneira held his first exhibition of drawings. This exhibition by the young plastic artist was set at a girls' school in El Milagro.

Five years before, he had married Juana Ludgarda Chaw Cotallet. With her he had 7 children who were named Elizabeth, Tony, Leonardo, Jezabel, Dean, Irina and Ilona Rivadeneira Chaw.

At this time he chose Moré as his pseudonym. He mixed the names of various artists he admired: Monet, Manet, and Renoir. Juan Castro y Velázquez said that Enrique Tábara claimed that he invented that nickname for his friend and partner, hoping to sell more works.

After choosing his new nickname, also in 1954, Humberto Moré presented his first individual at the Esmeralda Jewelry, located in the city of Guayaquil.

Moré practiced the craft of drawing with his children and his first wife as models, as he constantly portrayed them. In this way the artist improved his pulse and acquired mastery of the technique. He believed that every painter should master drawing in order to venture into other styles.

In his early years he was drawn to the surrealism of Dalí. However, in the later stages Moré would evolve towards other currents.

Decade of the 50s and 60s

From 1955 Moré established his residence in Guayaquil. In this city he dedicated himself to deepening his artistic knowledge. At the same time he sought the means to create a name for himself in the Ecuadorian cultural sphere.

He tried to review various eras of art. He explained that his attempt was to reproduce portraits such as those of Ingres, Rubens or Rembrandt. Then he came to Impressionism, especially with Cezanne, and from there he went to Expressionism.

Due to his self-taught condition, Moré demanded a lot of himself and immersed himself in a sea of ​​books, trying to consolidate all possible knowledge.

In 1957 he won the University of Guayaquil award and decided to dedicate himself to art full time. Also around this time he influenced the creation of the Municipal Hall "Fundación de Guayaquil" two years later.

In that room, Moré was the winner of the first prize in 1962 and four years later he returned, but this time he was placed in second place.

Starting in 1963, the Ecuadorian artist began to experiment with materials, including wood, clay, and paraffin.

By that time Moré had already created the name that he so desired in Ecuador and he met with important politicians and businessmen in order to commercialize his work. In addition, he was highly respected for his art criticisms.

70's

In the 1970s, Moré delved into the conceptualization of his art. In addition, he went on to have a place of honor among Ecuadorian intellectuals and connoisseurs in the field of plastic language thanks to his texts.

His work adorned the parks of the city of Guayaquil since 1973, the year in which he presented the sketches of 4 functional sculptures that he made thanks to the financial support of private companies and the government of Guayas.

Humberto Moré published his theoretical manifesto about Functional Signology in 1974. This was one of his most productive periods in terms of artistic literature, plastic and sculpture production in the artist's life.

Last years

In 1982 Humberto Moré was in the United States and patented The golden body of the Gioconda in Hollywood. That was an idea that the artist had had for years to make his first film.

Then, between 1983 and 1984 he carried out his last project, Erotic Signological Nudes. A group of silkscreens aimed at capturing the American public. The painter had coordinated the marketing of 40,000 copies with a marketing agent.

In June 1984, while in New York, Moré discovered that he had cancer. Then he returned to Guayaquil, there he underwent surgery to remove the malignant tumor that was attacking him. Months later he moved to Havana, Cuba, to get checked.

Death

Humberto Moré died on October 28, 1984 in Havana, where he was taking care of his health, along with his second wife Iris Rendón.

His remains were later transferred by his brother Guizot Rivadeneira to Ecuador.

Work

Style

Humberto Moré was part of a group of young artists who revolutionized the visual arts in Guayaquil during the 1960s and 1970s. They were influenced by the trends that were developing in Europe and sought to create their own language.

Under the influence of this movement, Moré began to search for his own style, which he initially called "Different Expressionism." Starting from there, he experimented with various approaches and progressively managed to find a concept with which he felt comfortable, that of Functional Signology.

It first went through a period of geometrization, influenced mainly by Cubism. Later his work would be characterized by bright colors and stylized lines, although he never abandoned geometric shapes as the basis of creation.

The portraits and the nude were two elements that were always present in the work of Humberto Moré. In the portraits of illustrious people that he made in the 1980s, he took advantage of the space to create a game of shapes, signs and textures that enhanced the work.

With Functional Signology, Moré intended to observe the value of the form from one of its vertices. He considered that the value of the form existed from the union of the sign with the theory, although the methodology was unknown.

Finally, Moré assured that the Functional Signology was aesthetic and utilitarian since the coding found in the work caused a function and an active space.

Publications

One of the great strengths of Humberto Moré's work was his ability to rationalize the concepts that were shown in his art. Some of the texts he published were:

- The forms (1966), book-album of drawings.

- Evaluation of the Isms (1968), about the great masters of art. Rustic paper book with unique handmade covers.

- Actualidad Pictórica Ecuatoriana (1970), analysis of Ecuadorian national art between 1950 and 1970. Art critic book.

- Theoretical Manifesto of Functional Symbology (1974).

- Bolívar, Sol de América (1983), poetry and paintings in honor of the bicentennial of the birth of the Liberator Simón Bolívar.

Outstanding works

- Fishing (1957).

- Freedom (1962).

- Sounds of space (1964).

- Metamorphosis of form (1966).

- Age of reason (1968).

- The man of vernacular architecture (1975).

- Series «Faces of Ecuador» (1980s).

References

1. Avilés Pino, E. (2018). Humberto More - Historical Characters - Encyclopedia Del Ecuador. Encyclopedia Of Ecuador. Available at: encyclopediadelecuador.com.
2. Rivadeneira Chaw, L. (2010). Humberto Moré and his Signology. Editions Moré.
3. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Humberto Moré. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
4. Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property. (2018). Humberto Moré, the father of Functional Sinology. Available at: intellectual property.gob.ec.
5. Cincountpía Community. (2015). The plastic artist creator of Functional Signology. Available at: cincuentpia.com.