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January 2008 Collector's Corner |
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Priscilla
Murr, Ph.D. In the summer of 1968, when all the rest of the young people of America were going to Chicago, two friends and I got in our VW van to drive to Mexico City and Oaxaca from Los Angeles. The first four days were total misery crossing the Sonoran Desert with no air conditioning, but then we reached Tepic. I awakened to the sound of a marimba in the zocalo, water making music in the fountain and the scent of flowers in the air. I wasn’t sure where I was but I rushed to the window only to see dozens of Huichol Indians dressed in their beautifully embroidered traditional clothing. I rushed to the restaurant under the arcades of the zocalo as quickly as I could. I bought Huichol items that day: a man’s belt which is hanging today on my living room wall, an embroidered quechquemitl, a yarn drawing and I can’t remember now what more. But from that moment on our trip was following the flowers (we stopped almost every 20 minutes to look at the lush vegetation alongside the road), the pyramids, the Spanish colonial towns and the markets, the incredible markets. I was blown away by the beauty and complexity of the Mexican imagination, the wild flights of fancy with color and shapes, the defiance of academic rules of art and the free flowing individuality. Continued at the bottom of the page |
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This is a bulto carved by a santero. A bulto is a religious statue, in this case the Virgin of Guadalupe. The santero is a man by the name of Alfredo Rodriguez. We are more accustomed in the U.S. to find santeros (men who carve saints) in New Mexico but they are men who are usually exemplified by their spiritual, religious life. To carve a spiritual figure, the artist must also be a spiritual person. This statue is unique in its very boxy style of carving. The artist is not a academically trained artist and he prides himself in the simplicity of his carving. |
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This is a photograph of my mantel piece with the bulto of Guadalupe in
the pride of center place. On either side of the mantel in the back are
two Navajo dance wands. They are of arrow heads (white, blue and brown)
leading down into a face. The dancer would have held the wands below
the head and the ribbons would have floated out as he danced. They
conduct supernatural energy. In front of the wand on the left are my newest folk art additions, three large and four smaller dolls made by Ndebele women in South Africa. They depict the traditional way that Ndebele women dressed. The first doll on the left is an unmarried woman with an beaded apron. Next to her is a woman with a blanket, and neck and leg rings. |
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To the left of these figures is an early
Casas Grandes pot by Antonio. He had been very interested in finding a
book on ancient Casas Grandes pottery and tried to copy an ancient
figure. This is from Mata Ortiz, a village made famous by Juan Quezada.
In front of the black and white pot, is a small Zuni pot.
To the right of the African women is a
tall Ecuadorian statue of Saint Mary standing on a serpent and on either
side of her are two smaller Mexican anima figures. They are called
anima figures as they represent souls burning in purgatory. There are two Frida Kahlo’s by Josephina Aguilar, a Crow Mother kachina, a 19th Century Mexican virgin, a strange Navajo black and white figure. There’s a lot to see on that mantel piece. |
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This is a photo of a wall in my living room with most of my retablos
grouped around a painting by an Apache artist: Oliver Engady. The
painting was inspired by an event on a retreat of the mountain spirits
(Apache spiritual beings danced by the men of the tribe) in the Davis
Mountains. Oliver said that he had left the tent and as he returned he
saw the men who depicted the mountain spirits but above the ceremonial
tepee (Apaches didn’t live in Tepees) he saw the mountain spirits
themselves entering and leaving the men. Hanging around the painting is a Huichol men’s belt. To the very right edge of the painting is a belt from Jemez Pueblo. Above the belt is a kachina figure. The retablos: from top left is Maria de la luz, a depiction of the Virgin holding the baby Jesus and saving a soul from the jaws of a monster. |
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Below her is the Coronation of the virgin,
with the Trinity depicted behind her: three identical men, a depiction
which had been outlawed by the Church at the Council of Trent as it
gives the impression that the Trinity is three men and not one. It was a
beloved depiction and continued to be made by the painters who were
usually not educated and had probably not read the decrees of the
Council of Trent. Below that is a very small Don Camilo de Lilas, a wonderful retablo with the good angels and the devils struggling over the soul of a dying man. Next to it is a small San Isidro which can’t be seen. Next to that is another Trinity in the forbidden form. To the top right is perhaps my favorite retablo: La Divina Mystica or the Divine Mystery with Christ kneeling in a vat of grapes which are blood, a vine growing out of his body and seven spouts of blood feeding the seven sheep gathered around him symbolizing the people of Christ, the seven sacraments, etc. There are two Huichol yarn drawings on the table, a San Jose which Josephina Aguilar gave me, saying: San Jose protects single women. There are two new market ladies by Josephina Aguilar, holding alebrijes, the monster figures invented by Pedro Linares. In the glass dome is an 18th Century Spanish Colonial San Jose from the Sierra de Oaxaca. It has ivory hands and head, and silver embroidery on the silk gown. |
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This
is one of my favorite folk art pieces, it is so traditionally “folky”:
From Ocumichu, a village famous for its ceramics. It is a picture of
Christ and the 12 Apostles and exemplifies how the folk artist works
within a strict tradition while taking great liberties with the
tradition. It depicts a ship (symbolic of the church, a ship or nave from the Latin word navis, ship). Christ is at the helm The mast is covered with angels and at the time Father Sun smiles down. But they are all eating watermelon. Just a small little touch. |
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There are two Huichol yarn drawings on the table, a San Jose which
Josephina Aguilar gave me, saying: San Jose protects single women.
There are two new market ladies by Josephina Aguilar, holding alebrijes,
the monster figures invented by Pedro Linares. In the glass dome is an 18th Century Spanish Colonial San Jose from the Sierra de Oaxaca. It has ivory hands and head, and silver embroidery on the silk gown. |
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There are two depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe. On the left is a
wooden figure and I don’t know the artist, on the right is a figure by
Josephina Aguilar. Equally, I do not know the artist who made that
wildly colored pot in the middle but Pat McCambridge, a president of
Austin Friends of Folk Art, made my buy it. I just love it. On the second shelf of the book shelf is another Casas Grandes pot from Mata Ortiz. |
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On the
right, there
is a large Virgin either by Teodora Blanco (or a copy of her work).
Next to her is a wild tin figure: with grapes, angels holding candles,
in the center is a heart, a mirror, a cross, and two stars with a sun
and a moon to either side. The entire thing is being held up by a finger
of a hand with a skull and devil’s head hanging from the bottom. This is from the masterful Valdez family of Oaxaca. What you have depicted in lively colors and tin is a remonstrance, usually a very ornate in gold or silver chalice/urn-like figure which carried and showed the relics of a saint. They were often paraded through the streets on the saint’s Day and people could see the relic. This is another example of how the folk artist remains within a certain tradition but takes enormous liberties. |
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This is a scene with a table with saints on it and a huge embroidery
from South Africa. I bought the embroidery in Pretoria from a woman who
works with this cooperative run by the women of the Winter Township near
Pretoria. They have begun embroidering these large panels on many
different topics. My panel is about life in a traditional African/Zulu
village. Most of the people in the Winter Township are displaced and
feel very uprooted from their traditional homelands. Oprah bought a
similar embroidery for her school in South Africa. On the back wall is a painting by Isaac Smith, a Dallas “outsider” artist By that term, I guess we mean that he doesn’t belong to a larger tradition within his community. Mr. Smith is most known for his animal statues but he has painted a series of paintings and I own two of them. This one is of a early stone age family which has been trapped in a tree by a pack of ravaging wild cats. The clouds in the painting all represent helpful animals. |
| The first statue is from Ecuador (brought here by Dagmar Grieder) and is up the Archangel who accompanied Tobias with a fish from the Book of Tobit. Behind him is the infant Christ from Bolivia. There are two molas from Panama lying on the table and across them is an enormous hand carved stirring spoon from Mexico. Difficult to see on the orange mola is a Navajo shamans rattle made from the hooves of deer. | |
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This is a close up of the archangel along with the infant Christ, a Mexican virgin in yellow with milagros pinned to her skirt, a pueblo Indian small pot. There are also two wooden bultos from New Mexico: a tall and slender Christ and behind the green votive candle is a San Francisco. |
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The entry way to my home is decorated with some Mexican fiesta decorations: guamuchilis (woven palm decorations) from the state of Guerrerro. |
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Another view of my mantel piece... |
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This is a view of my fireplace with two large clay Mexican candle holders on either side and in the middle is a pot by Sharon Smith, a local Austin artist. |
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This is in my dining room. On the wall hangs a picture of a New Mexican
Church nestled in amongst New Mexican mountains. It is a print made by a
well-known Taos Artist, Robert Daughters. Beneath it is a wooden statue of the crucifixion which is from Mexico City. It dates from the 17th Century and is from India, probably from the Portuguese colony of Goa. The Christ is of ivory. In front of that is a bulto of Saint Patrick from Bolivia. To the right and behind is a painted cowboy hat with an arc made of wood and sporting several feathers. It was danced in Easter festivities in Cuetzalan, Puebla. To the left of the chest is a candle stick holder from Ecuador, made of tin. There is also a small papier mache dancing figure from a Houston artist by the name of Patrick.....and to the right is a Christ on Palm Sunday by Josephina Aguilar. |
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This corner of my dining room contains two of my favorite pieces. Above
is a painting which I picked up off the ground in a market in Puebla: it
is a very old and careful painting of the vision of an Indian of the
Virgin of Ocotlan, in Tlaxcala. There are angels singing in the heavens
and angels holding up the Virgin. On the wall hanging to the right is a headdress from the Orinoco/Amazon basin. It is a headdress made of cassowary feathers and would have been worn for a funeral. I find it very moving in its simplicity. |
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There is an interesting crucifix by
Josephina Aguilar of the Virgin de la Soledad (The virgin of solitude)
in Oaxaca. She is handing on the cross above a skull altar, which you
might have seen in Tenochtitlan at the foot of the main pyramids in what
is called the Templo Mayor today, off the Zocalo in Mexico City. It is
a provocative crucifix. The Virgin de la Soledad stands alone in front
of the empty dross, but this one is hanging on the cross. What should
we make of that? There is a small bulto to the left of Saint Anne, Mary’s mother. |
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Two pieces which I love: on the chair is a huipil from Chichicastenango - a very ornate, intricate beautiful piece of weaving. Stunning, in fact. Next to it is a huge Tree of Life, from Izucar de Matamoros by master folk artist Francisco Flores. Very colorful Trees of Life are very interesting pieces as they combine the native sensibility with a pre-Columbian tradition and Christianity as introduced by the Spaniards. |
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The cabinet is filled with lots and lots of little pieces, Josephina Aguilar market ladies, pots from all over: San Ildefonso Pueblo, Casas Grandes, etc. A tree of life from Alfonso Camilo, etc. The painting is by Demitrio Aguilar, Josephina’s son and depicts the Birth of the New Sun. The “nun” standing in front of it is a bulto again of Santa Rosa de Lima who had vision of Christ. It is from Guerrero. |
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A
close up of the corner cabinet in my dining room. On the upper shelf in
front of the Skeleton woman is a silver mass chalice fro Bolivia. I
particularly like this piece as it is so simple, has an Indian holding
up the chalice and the two little side handles are llamas. The church is very influenced by the Mexican artist Candelario Medramo from the famous ceramic town of Tonala outside of Guadalajara. The virgins are all by Josephina Aguilar, the crucifix is from New Mexico. Hidden behind the virgin in red is a small Papago (Tohono O'dam) basket. Behind the black pot from San Ildefonso Pueblo is the Tree of Life by Alfonso Camilo. |
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La Virgin de San Juan de los Lagos is by Josephina Aguilar. |
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There is a nice tin picture of the apparition of the virgin to San Juan
Diego. Framed by the doorway is a mask from Michoacan of the dance of the Energetics. |
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My dining room with more huipils. |
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The
painting is Guatemalan by Salvador Reando. He and his brother are
self-taught artists who painted the people of their village. I love this
woman with her lined face, she has very loving eyes. Below are many things from New Mexico: a San Francisco, a Papago (Tohono O'dam) basket, a pot from Jemez, a small pot from Zuni, a Kachina from zuni and a Oaxacan lizard from an artist Marcia brought to Austin and whose name I forget!! |
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The
shelf contains two pots by my favorite Acoma potter and friend Lily
Salvador. The pot below the Mexican black figure is called a Story
Teller and tells the story of her people’s migrations. Below it is a
very small white pot which is a very delicate and lovely pot, and is a
copy of Anasazi cooking bowls: they were corrugated and this is a
moodier copy. The Alebrijes, the monster in papier mache is by Felipe Linares. He came to Austin Friends of Folk Art and gave an amazing demonstration of how he makes his art: starting with a clothes hanger, a pile of newspapers and a pot of home made corn paste he created this figure in front of us. I bought it from him an picked it up several years later in Mexico City after a fascinating visit to his studio and an amazingly creative effort to make a box to fit this figure. The mask on the wall is called El Rey and is from Gibbs Milliken who used to do great and wild events in the early days of Friends of Folk Art. He bought this in the Orinoco Basin of the Amazon which he used to visit regularly. He passed away this Christmas Holiday and is a great loss to the community. |
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This is a monkey mask from Gibbs and from the Orinoco and was worn as
part of the same ritual where El Wray was worn. The books are just more books. Jumbled together. There is never enough room for books. |
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My
kitchen: the plate on the wall I bought in Cholula, they were seconds
and from Puebla. It is talavera, named after the Spanish town Talavera
de la Reina which was the center of ceramic production in Spain, as
Puebla is in Mexico. Talavera is ceramic with a high glaze: the use of
glazes was introduced into Spain by the Arabs. It was handed on to the
Mexicans by the Spaniards. Traditional pre-Columbian pottery had no
glaze. Beneath the blue and white platter is a kitchen utensil holder from a market in Puebla. It contains all the wooden spoons a Mexican housewife would need in her kitchen. It still smells of the smoke from her fire and it contains a chocolate maker which has been well-used. |
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Another view of my kitchen. On the wall above the doorway is a piece of pottery from Tonala, Jalisco and is an example of the pre-columbian pottery without a glaze. It has been stone burnished but has no glaze. Next to it is a small plate from Andalucia in Southern Spain, the most Arab part of Spain where you find talavera everywhere for sale. |
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My
cat is not folk art, she is God’s art. Spitfire is her name and she
loves heat, thus she sits quietly near any lamp she can find. The lamp
is a mission lamp, converted to electricity from the original gas lamp. In front of my cat is a very small Guadalupe and a skull/talavera with insects on it. Both were made by Alfonso Camilo of Izucar de Matamoros, on Popocateptl. The cloth on the table is from Tenaja in Chiapas. It is a very beautiful piece of Mayan weaving I particularly like it because, although a very poor student, I studied weaving with a woman from Tenaja many, many years ago. The snake is from a New Mexican artist whose name I can’t remember but he makes lots and lots of brightly colored snakes which are very fun. The wooden pot filled with objects is from Bolivia, it was used to drink chichi. |
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I had studied art history, in particular
Early Christian art, and had been to Europe before I went to Mexico.
I’ll never forget seeing my first retablos in a restaurant in Guanajuato:
it looked so Byzantine to me, so exquisitely “primitive” that I couldn’t
by enough of them, and at the time they were very inexpensive!
Unfortunately, my friends talked me out of buying the whole wall of
retablos. If I hadn’t listened I would be able to take early retirement
today!! Anyway, those six weeks were like an eye opener to me. I am reminded as I write of Francisco, an old man who came up to our breakfast table in the zocalo in Oaxaca, laden with wool blankets. He had raised the sheep, shorn them, spun the wool and woven the blankets. Now he was carrying them into town to sell them. I couldn’t bargain over the price with him, I was so moved by his labor in producing this beautiful blanket. At that point, I became less of an effective bargainer than I had been, people need to be paid for their work. Impressed by Mexico, I decided to spend the following summer in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. I stayed with Gertrude Blom in Casa Nabalon and did Spanish every afternoon with a woman in town. The “crafts” in San Cristobal were incredible. There I realized how a traditional society will require huge degrees of conformity in clothing, crafts, in everything. When you saw a Mayan man or woman, you knew exactly which village they came from because of the style of clothing, the type of weave, the colors of the weave, etc. But within that structure, the individual weaver found lots of area for self-expression. It was an incredible experience, flying into the jungle to visit Bonampak and Lacanja, seeing the people actually using the hand made tools, the children playing with the clay toys. Everything I bought felt to me to be very, very precious as it came so directly from the lives, hearts and souls of the creators. What a different experience of production from an assembly line! The following year I moved to Europe where I lived for the next fifteen or sixteen years and so my collecting of Mexican folk art stopped and European folk art is very expensive (I, alas, was a very poor student). I was, however, very aware of folk art after my Mexican experience and brought a more open mind to Swiss “peasant” art than I would perhaps without the Mexican experience: they do beautiful silhouettes, very complicated cut outs on black paper with a white background of the life of a Swiss peasant with their cows. Or, the artists of the Appenzell who paint in oils, but always themes of peasant life. Beyond the sheer pleasure of living with beauty, I found that I loved supporting the life and work of people who lived and expressed from their souls. Many folk artists come from a poor and disenfranchised part of society, especially in Mexico where so many of the artists are Native Americans, and although they may be making a great living from their folk art, they wouldn’t be able to continue a traditional life style without collectors, collectors who are usually Americans!! So, my urge to collect is both to be able to live with the beauty and to help people who might otherwise be forced into a more industrial life style. I am also fascinated with how the unconscious (being a Jungian analyst!!) gets expressed through such simple and psychologically honest and direct work. My ongoing interest in retablos is largely due to the way in which they express very deep religious and psychological truths. Recently, I realized that a lot of my desire to collect folk art was somehow to be able to buy and hold “Mexico”, what the Mexicans call “Mexicanidad”. That essence of whatever it means to be Mexican, to love the land and the life style so much that they can sing of little else. When I realized that, I realized the futility of constantly buying more and more folk art and that I, too , need to put Mexico in my heart and carry her there. I have great sympathy for the simple people who have been forced to be illegal immigrants in our country, because I know that most of them long to return to their homeland. Hunger has driven many immigrants to this country. And I have been pleased to see how some of them have found ways to access their own creative energy while here. I have some wonderful prints about Day of the Dead made by an immigrant who attended a city-sponsored art class in San Francisco and was able to re-create his village’s traditional way of making paper and then created the print technique from his village. Folk art continues. We have great folk art in the US, too, and my experience with Austin Friends of Folk Art: visiting the home of the authors of the American Encyclopedia of Folk Art in Santa Fe, etc. helped me learn a little about American folk art. But my heart remains with the Mexican folk art. Priscilla Murr |
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El Interior |
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