The history of the theater, as an architectural typology, is more than 2,500 years old. The modern auditorium, including concert halls and
today's political chambers, has its spatial beginnings in the Greek theater and the amphitheater's architecture.
What we know today as "amphitheaters" was called "θέατρον" (theatron) in ancient Greece, which they understood as the "place where
you look" or "what is looked at." This building technique was developed just before Athens' golden age when the first theatrical
performances took place arch; architects took advantage of the land's natural topography and constructed following the hills' slopes. This
structure aimed to perfect acoustics and functionality for both the audience and the performers, it was then developed in to the Greek
theater and centuries later into the amphitheater by the Roman empire.

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The concept of Democracy, as we know it, was conceived in the 5th century B.C., becoming the political structure of Athens for
approximately two hundred years. However, many trace back the roots of this concept to the theatrical gatherings in Ancient Greece.
Every year, the Greeks would gather to celebrate the Festival of Dionysus, known as the god of fruitfulness, wine, and ecstasy. This
Festival was the theatrical event of the year. The most relevant poetry would be performed in the Theater of Dionysus on the southern
slope of the Acropolis of Athens. Most of the classical Greek theater preserved today was written by three prominent poets: Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides. These poets wrote heroic stories and tragedies and never imagined the impact that their words would have on
social order. Their stories awakened for the first time a universal feeling of solidarity and empathy amongst the citizens, who, when
laughing and crying at the same scenes, discovered that they were not alone. They lived in a community with shared goals and values.
It was there where Democracy was born. In the southern slope of the Acropolis, where they realized that the power belonged to the
people, it was there that citizens noticed they had agency on the laws that shaped their nation and that they were capable of creating a
free and sovereign community.

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From the beginning of his career, Jorge Méndez Blake has explored the possible relations between literature and fine arts, and has
developed a large body of work with drawings, sound works, sculptures and videos, always referring to the great masters of universal
literature, such as William Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges, among many others. In his work, literature
becomes a tool that articulates situations, places and objects where each piece is full of theoretical meanings related to one another. The
visual results from a dialogue with literature, and create complex works that provide a specific form that occurs only in the realm of
imagination and desire. Méndez Blake’s work has been exhibited in many museums and galleries, including: MUAC, Mexico City, Mexico;
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, USA; Kunsthalle Mulhouse, France; Museum of Latin American Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA;
among many others. His work is held in many permanent collections throughout Mexico, including: National Gallery of Victoria,
Melbourne, Australia; Pérez Collection, Miami, USA and Philara Collection, Düsseldorf, Germany.

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