LOS ANGELES FESTIVAL : HISTORIC MEXICAN ART EXHIBIT IS ALL HEART

The heart may be a universal symbol of life, but to stereotypical Americans it only indicates sentiment--usually expressed by members of the “weaker” sex. Real men don’t send Valentines. To people of Mexican descent, however, the heart signifies passion and strength, the source and continuance of life itself.

Or at least that’s the message of “Lo del Corazon: Heartbeat of a Culture,” a Fringe Festival event at USC’s Fisher Gallery (to Oct. 17). In the largely didactic exhibition, organized by the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, hearts are throbbing, bleeding, mystically charged organs capable of sustaining an entire race--or fueling a car.

Among the contemporary Chicano works in the show is Gilbert Lujan’s wonderfully spirited sculpture, “Powered by the Heart.” This vividly painted cardboard piece depicts a ferocious lion-like car driven by an elegant dog, loaded with exotic plants and oversized food, and run by a heart-shaped engine that spews a bouquet of smoke.

In a different context, this sculpture might be thought a whimsical concoction; at USC its meaning is heightened by understanding that the heart’s symbolism can be traced back to pre-Hispanic myths. According to legends that entwine life with death, gods who gave their lives to generate the universe required a diet of deified human hearts supplied by sacrifice.

When Christian saints replaced ancient deities in Mexico, the heart became the sacred heart of Jesus or his suffering mother. Wrapped in thorns, pierced with nails or severed by a dagger, it nonetheless retained a central place in the culture. As we see in assorted examples of art from Mexico’s colonial period, hearts proliferated on carved wooden crosses, retablos and metal amulets commemorating “miracles.”

These historical works, along with panels of explanatory text, provide solid grounding for a varied array of contemporary art: a primitive-style narrative by Alex Maldonado, Patricia Rodriguez’s wistful assemblage that packs a lifetime of memories into a miniature chest of drawers, and Jose Antonio Burciaga’s propagandistic painting, called “Undocumented Love.” In Judith Baca’s authoritative drawing, hearts emerge on the chest and upraised palms of a monumental goddess. Maria Pinedo’s poignant photo-collage recounts the story of a young man who literally gave his heart to his love--through a transplant after his sudden death.

In style, tone and expertise, “Heartbeat” is all over the map, but it hangs together thematically as it tracks a symbol of Mexican history to contemporary expression. Fisher Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m.