FIRST QUARTER – SECOND ISSUE
February 2012

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February President’s Message 

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What does Los Amigos mean to you? To me, it means friendships, knowledge, travel opportunities to share with Amigos, and a chance to “pay back” and “pay forward” all the past achievements of the organization to promote folk art of Mexico and to support the efforts of artisans in various beneficial venues. The organization is only as important as its members. So, plan to stick around with us, to be tempted to become more involved, write articles, share folk art news, open your home or lead an activity to increase our experiences and knowledge about different cities, collections, while meeting in person the artisans, curators of museums and making more Amigos. You will be glad you did.I know I have sincerely appreciated the friendship, the constant learning and the traveling with like minded Amigos. Being an active member of Los Amigos del Arte Popular has provided stimulation, social interaction and mental challenges that guarantee us to have healthy and happy lives. So, send in your membership and recruit more Amigos so that every region has a group of enthusiastic Amigos to share the joy while promoting and supporting Mexican folk art.

Membership is nominal, while providing you with many activities and friendships of people interested in Mexican art, traditions and travel.

Our newsletter is filled with articles showcasing artisans, Amigo members who have contributed in our mission to spread the word about the richness of the history and traditions of folk art and of the talented people that create the treasures that we enjoy and collect in addition to featuring profiles of our members so that once a member, always an Amigo in the truest sense of the word.

Membership fees are due this month, easy to do via PayPal or you can print out the membership application on-line via our web page, then follow the directions for mailing it in.  Make it for two or three years so you won’t have to worry about it for awhile. If you let your membership lapse, this may be your last newsletter. Now, that would be a shame.

Since this is February, Happy Valentines Day to you and your families. May each day be filled with happiness, good health and friendships.

Alma Pirazzini

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SPOTLIGHTING ARTISANS OF TONALA

by Chuck Plosky

Interview of JESUS DELGADO NAVARRO  

Chuck Plosky, Professor in Art at New Jersey City University and a member of Los Amigos, received a 2011 Fulbright Fellowship to document the life and work of Tonala ceramic artisans.  He is currently in Tonala interviewing artisans and sharing his work with Los Amigos.  Many thanks to you, Chuck, your interviews are the next best thing to being there.

To watch the video, click on the arrow below:

OBRAS por ARTESANOS DE TONALÁ y 7 minutos con JESÚS DELGADO NAVARRO from CHUCK PLOSKY on Vimeo.

According to the study by the Secretary of Tourism of the Government of México “Profile and Degree of Satisfaction of Tourists” from the fourth trimester of 2006, the quality of the work of craftsmen was rated second in the index of satisfaction of international tourists who travel by cruise, with a rating of 8.7 when the global index was 8.1. And for international tourists who travel by airplane the rating of satisfaction of quality of craftwork was 8.6 when the global index was 8.3. The creation and sales of the art and the craft works is a strategic link in the economic tourist chain in Mexico.

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JORGE WILMOT 

We received word of the death of Jorge Wilmot just hours after the last newsletter was emailed.  Chuck Plosky furnished us with the following report.

“Here in Tonala we had an emotional service for Jorge Wilmot.  We met in the center section of the house he built. There was an altar with a bronze bust and a large painting of him, many photos and lots of flowers and candles.

Terry Duran read the following piece. She translated to Spanish as she read.  Many people were very grateful to hear it.  I think it encapsulates the feelings many people have for Jorge.”

KARL GAGNON on JORGE WILMOT, translated and redacted by MELVYN DRAG from a recording of an October 9, 2011 interview with CHUCK PLOSKY

Jorge Wilmot and Ken Edwards are essentially responsible for all of the fame Tonalá has achieved recently for its art.

Jorge Wilmot as a young man, was a frequent traveler and he picked up influences from all over the world during his travels. As a young boy, he studied art inSan Carlos, and then later blended everything that he learned there to the knowledge he received during his frequent trips.

The only trouble with working with this experienced man, many would confess, is that he has 20 new ideas a day and each and every one of them are fantastic! It is never clear exactly where or when to start working, with such a surplus of potential. Still, when his work is done, it sells. The man’s art is so wonderful, his shop is always full – and when he is closed, there is a long line outside!

But apart from being a great artist, he was a great man. As an example, he would give great gifts to his workers when they retired or decided to move on to another job. Though he never had money and thus, little to give in the way of severance, he would always give some recipes for clay or other ceramic materials, along with some molds; this way, the departee could continue his work wherever he might go after his stay in the Wilmot business. And of course, surrendering his recipes and molds was never a great disservice to him – he was such an innovator, he would always have a new mold, or a new recipe that he wanted to try.

Jorge Wilmot is a name that will be linked to “Tonalá” for many years to come.

KARL GAGNON is a Canadian who arrived in Tonalá in 1978. He worked for Jorge Wilmot for 11 months during which he learned to use the potters’ wheel, to calculate glazes and run a ceramic business. After leaving Jorge Wilmot Karl opened his own shop. After a very difficult year he found regular international buyers for his work. Karl Gagnon continues to live in Tonalá where he runs a blown-glass factory.

The following article from Facebook was sent to us by several Amigos:

Jorge Wilmot died Thursday, January 12, 2012 around 4:00 am.  The well-known ceramicist, who among other recognitions has been awarded the National Prize of Arts and Sciences in 1995, in the category of popular art.

Multi-disciplinary designer, assiduous lecturer and extraordinary conversationalist.  His legacy includes the National Museum of Ceramics and the “Casa Wilmot,” in which he carried out the architectural design.  In addition, are countless pieces in various public and private collections.  The quality of his work and the importance of it was recognized in “Arts and Crafts of Jorge Wilmot,” an exhibition curated and coordinated by the Museum of Popular Art (MAP), travelling between 2009 and 2010 in Mexico City, Oaxaca and Guadalajara. Wilmot also appears as a protagonist of the creative work in various publications, which include: “Arts de Mexico” dedicated to ceramics of Tonalá in 1991. “Nagual in the Garden” written by Leonore Hoag Mulryan, published in the year of 1996, and “Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art,” Fomento Cultural Banamex A.C. in 1998. Born inMonterrey, he lived in Tonalá since his arrival in 1958.

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Librería Madero

Avenida Madero 12

Tel 011-52-55-10-20-68 / Fax 55-21-01-91

(On Madero down same block, same side as Sanborn’s House of Tiles towards Zócalo.)

Librería Gandhi

Several locations but easiest is on Juárez diagonally across from Sanborn’s and across from Bellas Artes.

Bookshop at Bellas Artes

Victor Aguila

Rio Danubio 69

Col. Cuauhtemoc.

Mexico D.F. C.P. 06500

Tel. 011-52-55-55-33-26-45  – vaguila@avantel.net

Private dealer specializing in Mexican art books with important Mexican art book library.  Please call in advance for an appointment to either use the library or to purchase books.

Ceramica de Tlaquepaque 1920-1945

Artes de Mexico – Vol 87, 2007

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the glazed earthenware of Tlaquepaque underwent a revival thanks in part to the presence of artists like Roberto Montenegro, Doctor Atl, Ixca Farías and Adolfo Best Maugard. The ceramicists of Tlaquepaque invented a decorative style that reaffirmed the legacy of their past while becoming a precursor to the movement to re-evaluate Mexican folk art. This issue was published in cooperation with Los Amigos del Arte Popular and Artes de Mexico & is available for purchase within the USA in our on-line gift shop and through Artes de Mexico in Mexico.

Arte en Barro: Tlaquepaque, Jalisco – Bancentro 1994 (Spanish)

Homenaje a Fernando Gamboa. Great photos from famed collection of Fernando Gamboa

Cerámica: Mexican Pottery of the 20th Century

Amanda Thompson, Schiffer Books, 2001.ISBN-0764312480

Excellent overview of major areas of pottery production.

Beautifully illustrated with many fine examples.

Ceraminic Museum Dolores Olmedo Patiño, 1994. (Spanish) ISBN 968-7516-01-1

Ten pages 4 with text on her collection of Mexican popular art.

Book is for Diego & Frida fans.

Nagual in the Garden: Fantastic Animals in Mexican Ceramics

Lenore Hoag Mulryan, Fowler Museum, 1996.

Deals with the socio-cultural implications of imagery depicted on Mexican pottery.

Loza Blanca y Azulejo de Puebla (2 Vol.)

Enrique Cervantes, 1939.

Best book on classical talavera pottery.

Oaxacan Ceramics – Traditional Folk Art by Oaxacan Women

Lois Wasserspring, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2000

ISBN: 0-8118-2358-X (softcover)

Showcases the lives and art of six Oaxacan women:

4 from Ocotlan de Morelos (the Aguilar sisters: Josefina, Guillermina,Irene,Concepcion) and 2 from Santa Maria Atzompa (Dolores Porras and Angelica Vasquez)

The Pottery of Acatlan. A Changing Mexican Tradition

Louana M. Lackey, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1978

ISBN: 0-8061-2301-X (softcover)

The story of a potter, Mario Martinez Espinosa, and his family and how they make and market the wares they produce. It is also the story of a town and its pottery tradition.

Tonalá: Sol de Barro

Sifia Urrutia & Julia de la Fuente (eds.), Banca Cremi. ISBN 968-6410-02-3

Fine study of Tonalá pottery, starting from prehistoric up to contemporary.

Artífices y Artesanías de Chiapas – CONACULTURA, 2000

(In Spanish) ISBN 970-0697-003-7

Big beautiful book on the artisans and the folk art of Chiapas. Expensive but important because except for its textiles there is so little info on the crafts of Chiapas.

Days of the Dead in Mexico

The series by Mary J. Andrade: Large format, softcover, beautifully photographed, done by region. One book is on Michoacán, another on Oaxaca and another on Mexico City, Mixquic & Morelos. The latest one is basically a children’s book but has excellent photos for all ages.  See www.dayofthedead.com for English or see www.diademuertos.com for Spanish

The Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos

Photographs by Denis Defibaugh, professor of Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and text by Ward S. Albro, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and a member of Los Amigos.  Defibaugh’s photography catches the essence of the people of Oaxaca and their celebration, while Albro’s text supplies background understanding of the beliefs and practices of the observance.

Arte Popular Mexicano: Cinco Siglos (2 Vol.),

Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, 1996 and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1997.  Two volumes covering the interpretation and adaptation of art forms in folk culture. Filled with excellent illustrations.

Arts and Crafts of Mexico by Chloe Sayer.

Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1990, ISBN: O-87701-781-6 (hardcover) 0-87701-791-3 (softcover)

Overview of the wide variety of Mexican popular art, including the historical development of each category.

Casa Mañana: The Morrow Collection of Mexican Popular Arts,

Susan Danly, Editor

Rocky Behr recommends this one.

Folk Art in Latin America/Visiones del Pueblo

Marion Oettinger, Dutton Studio Books, 1992.

Good survey of folk related items with emphasis on the role of craft expressions in the daily life of people.

Folk Art of Spain and the Americas/Alma del Pueblo

Marion Oettinger, San Antonio Museum of Art, Abbeville Press, 1997

Attempts to show the transposition onto the new world of Spanish religious beliefs and reasons for making art and how they are reinterpreted in the new world.

Folk Treasures of Mexico: The Nelson Rockefeller Collection

Marion Oettinger, Harry N. Abrams, 1990. ISBN-0810911825

Select group of objects collected by Nelson Rockefeller over several decades.

A wide-ranging collection with many fine examples.

Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art

Fomento Cultural Banamex, 1998.  Gives recognition to the finest craftsmen of the major forms of Mexican folk art.

Living Traditions. Mexican Popular Arts

Text and essay by Annie O’Neill.1992, ISBN: 0-910763-07-0 (softcover)

Exhibit organized by the University Art Museum, University at Albany, State University of New York. September 15 through November 22, 1991.

A well-documented journey through the many facets of Mexican popular art.

Las Manos Mexicanas: Maestros del Arte Popular

Carlos Romero Giordano PULSAR 1996 (in Spanish) ISBN 968-6520-20-1

Only has 22 artists most are contemporary like Gabriel Olay Olay & Francisco Coronel with a few of the greats of the past like Hernón Martínez & Mónico Soteno. Great photos but book is expensive.

Manos Michoacanas

Verónica Oikión Solano, Editor. El Colegio de Michoacán, 1997. (Spanish) ISBN 968-6959-71-8  Contemporary artists with excellent articles on the pre-Hispanic origins of many of the crafts

Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bullfinch Press, 1990, ISBN-0821217976

Starting point to show the history of arts and crafts in Mexico.  Foundation from which folk art stems. Exhibits the best of all areas.

Mexican Folk Art from Oaxacan Artist Families

by Arden & Anaya Rothstein, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN: 0764315986 $39.95.  Good to see so many familes getting recognition. The book is choc-full of good info but unfortunately includes prices

Museum Dolores Olmedo Patiño, 1994. (Spanish) ISBN 968-7516-01-1

Ten pages 4 with text on her collection of Mexican popular art.  Book is for Diego & Frida fans.

Popular Arts of Mexico 1850-1950,

Donna McMenamim, Schiffer Books, 1996.

A comprehensive effort to cover a number of key areas of Mexican folk art.  A good starting point for anyone getting involved in Mexican folk art. Includes a useful pricing list.

South of the Border: Mexico in the American Imagination 1914 – 1947

Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993, ISBN 1-56098-294-2, 1-56098-295-0 (pbk)  Catalog for exhibit put together by Yale University, traveled to Phoenix Museum of Art.

The Grandeur of Viceregal Mexico, Treasures from the Museo Franz Mayer

By Hector Rivero Borrell Houston Museum of Art.  This is the catalog for the Franz Mayer Museum.   Amazon has the paperback for only $28.

No basic bibliography on Mexican folk art would be complete without mentioning the Artes de México series. Each volume deals with some aspect of Mexican art, with many focused on folk art. In addition, Fomento Cultural Banamex has published over the years a wonderful series of pretty books on such subjects as wax figures, Tlaquepaque figurines, etc.

Lacas Mexicanas by the Museo Franz Mayer

1997 (English Translation in back) – ISBN 968-6533-56-7

Amazingly there is not any general book on 20th Century Mexican lacquer, a very Mexican tradition.

Abuela’s Weave – Author: Omar S. Castaneda

Description: Paperback 32 pages or Hardcover; 1993 Parent’s Choice Award Honoree; Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly – This story portrays the loving rapport between a child and her weaver grandmother; Reading level: Ages 4-8 – Publisher: Lee & Low Books; Reprint edition (March 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 1880000202 ISBN-13: 978-1880000205

Diego – Author: Jonah Winter, Jeanette Winter, Illustrator

Description: Hardcover 40 pages or Paperback, about Diego Rivera; Reading level: Ages 4-8; Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (January 9, 2007) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0679819878 – ISBN-13: 978-0679819875 – Review From School Library Journal: An accessible picture book about the life and work of Diego Rivera focusing on his early life; the text in Spanish and English captions the paintings. It does a good job of conveying facts in well-condensed sentences; the Spanish translation is clear and easy to follow even for those readers without fluency in the language. Each picture is bordered with Mexican folk-art designs in vivid, tones.

Dream Carver – Author: Amy Cordova and Diana Cohn

Description: Hardcover 40 pages, about Manuel Jimenez of Oaxaca; Reading level: for Grades 1-3 – ISBN-10: 0811812448 – ASIN: B000IOEZ4A – Review From School Library Journal: Inspired by the story of Oaxacan wood-carver Manuel Jimenez, this tale shows how imagination can become a compelling force for change. Cordova’s brilliant paintings bring Mateo’s animals to life; information on Jimenez and his art – a good introduction to a uniquely Mexican art form.

Frida – Author: Jonah Winter

Description: Hardcover 32 pages, about Frida Kahlo; editions in English or Spanish Reading level: Ages 4-8 Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; English edition (February 1, 2002) – ISBN-10: 0590203207 – ISBN-13: 978-0590203203 – From Publishers Weekly: Winter focuses on Frida in this striking picture book-biography – An outstanding introduction to an influential artist.

Josefina – Author: Jeanette Winter

Description: Hardcover 36 pages, about Josefina Aguilar of Oaxaca – Reading level: Ages 4-8 – Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books; 1st edition (October 1, 1996) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0152010912 – ISBN-13: 978-0152010911 – From School Library Journal: simple words and charming pictures; Winter gives an outline of the life of Josefina Aguilar, a maker of pottery figures who lives in Ocotlan, Mexico. The pictures are drenched in the rich colors of Mexican folk art.

The Painted Pig – Author: Elizabeth Morrow

Description: Hardcover 37 pages with illustrations by Rene D”Harnoncourt & afterword by James Griffith; reprinted in 2001; Reading level: Ages 9-12 – Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; Illustrate edition (September 2001) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0826327699 – ISBN-13: 978-0826327697 Book Description: This delightful picture book, first published in 1930, was written for children, but as a beautiful evocation of an era of awakening American interest in Mexican art and culture it will appeal to adults as well. The author, Elizabeth Morrow, first went to Mexico in 1927, when her husband, Dwight Morrow, was appointed American ambassador. The story is about a remarkable painted pig with a savings bank manner and a very stylish rosebud tail. The Painted Pig was inspired by the extraordinary collection of Mexican toys created by the author’s friend René d’Harnoncourt, who illustrated the book. This facsimile of the first edition includes an introduction by Jim Griffith, a folklorist who knew Mrs. Morrow when he was a boy and an afterword by two of her granddaughters.

The Pot That Juan Built – Author: Nancy Andrews-Goebel

Description: Hardcover 32 pages: about Juan Quezada of Mata Ortiz; won the Pura Belpre Honor Book Award; a wonderful book enjoyed by all ages; Reading level: Ages 4-10 – Publisher: Lee & Low Books; Library Binding edition (May 2002) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 1584300388 – ISBN-13: 978-1584300380 From School Library Journal: Juan Quezada is one of the best-known potters in Mexico. Using only natural materials to form and paint his pots, he is responsible for creating a vibrant folk-art economy in his small town of Mata Ortiz. This unusual book is set up to allow for differing levels of reading expertise, presenting information about Quezada in such a way that it can be read as a story or as an informational book, part biography, part fine-arts discussion. One page contains a catchy cumulative rhyme modeled on “This Is the House That Jack Built,” which outlines the process of making a pot. The facing page offers a clearly written prose presentation, laying out the story of the potter’s life and his method of constructing pots in the classic style of the Casas Grandes Indians. An afterword gives a more in-depth treatment of Quezada’s life and work, and is illustrated with small inset color photographs. This is a must purchase for all collections, and could be used with Diana Cohn’s Dream Carver (Chronicle, 2002) for a look at how both art and economies of scale can work to enrich our lives and to build community.

Behind the Mask in Mexico

Janet Brody Esser, New Mexico Press, 1988. ISBN 0890131880

A great companion to Barbara Maulin’s book which is a good survey for budding collectors. Esser’s book is very scholarly but also very readable in fact it won the Hubert Herring Award in 1988 which is the most prestigious award given to books on Latin American history. However because of not wanting possible unprovenienced pieces contaminating the scholarship there are few “old” masks depicted. The book is out of print and it is now expensive.

Máscaras Tradicionales de México

Ruth Lechuga, Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos, 1991 (in Spanish).

Very complete and scholarly, good photos of masks being danced but book poorly printed and expensive. I paid more than $90 in Mexico when it was first published but it is a must for hardcore collectors of traditional-danced masks.

Máscaras: La Otra Cara de México

Victor José Rubio, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 1978.

Most comprehensive book on masks. Well illustrated with mostly authentic examples.

Masks of Mexico

Barbara Maudlin, Museum of New Mexico Press, 1999.

A comprehensive study of mask making, connecting it to its cultural context.  Beautifully photographed.

Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA – www.fmch.ucla.edu – An ethnographic museum with excellent exhibits, has large holding of Mexican folk art and Precolumbian art. Past exhibits include “Nagual in the Garden” and “Ceramic Trees of Life” both curated, and the catalogs authored, by Amigos member, Lenore Hoag Mulryan.

Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum – www.mfacmchicago.org

1852 W 19th Street, Chicago, IL 60608

Mingei International Museum – www.mingei.org – in San Diego’s Balboa Park and a satellite facility in Escondido, CA. The Mingei is one of the finest folk art museums in the U.S. and from time to time has exhibits on Mexican folk art. They have one of the better collections of Mexican folk art in the country of material of the “Masters” of the 1950’s-1970’s especially of Candelario Medrano and Rosendo Rodríguez material.

Tucson Museum of Art – www.tucsonarts.com

140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85701

Museum of International Folk Art – www.moifa.org

On Museum Hill, Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-2087

San Diego Museum of Man – www.museumofman.org – in Balboa Park frequently has exhibits on Latin America. Has over one thousand pieces of Mexican folk art in collections much of which was donated by the Mexican government in early 1950’s.

Taylor Museum -www.csfineartscenter.org – in Colorado Springs, CO has over 15,000 pieces, one of the largest collections of Latin American art in the U.S. For our interests, it is especially strong in Southwest and Mexican santos.

The Mexican Museum -www.mexicanmuseum.org – in San Francisco, CA. The galleries are closed awaiting the move to new facilities. The museum has 500 pieces of Mexican folk art from the Rockefeller Collection, as well as, the Miguel & Rosa Covarrubias Collection.

Mexic-arte Museum – www.mexic-artemuseum.org

Austin, Texas