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ACTIVITIES OF OAXACAN ARTISTS
FEATURED IN OUR BOOK DURING THEIR VISITS TO NEW YORK CITY
November, 2002 | December 2002 | March, 2003
NOVEMBER, 2002
 CARLOMAGNO PEDRO – CERAMIST IN BLACK CLAY
“Carlomagno Pedro is a powerful and innovative artistic force. He creates unique sculptural forms and wall sculptures (or reliefs) based on his interpretation of legends, stories and cultural beliefs. In recent years he has gained extraordinary international recognition for his distinctive assemblages of figures and objects treating a range of subjects. These include beliefs associated with the Day of the Dead (such as skeletons and devils with carts), Mexican history (soldiers and other historical figures) and morality (for example, the devil responding to the temptation of a couple making love). Carlomagno’s figures range from ‘nahuales’ (mythical figures pictured as humans with animal faces) to witches, devils and ‘muertos’ (skeletons in human activity). Some are small, while others are collage-like (ceramic forms mounted on large canvases), and still others are major sculptural works of grand proportions.”
“While taking deep pleasure in the acclaim and the commercial success that he has achieved, Carlomagno wishes never to forget his place in a longer history of artistic work. He feels it is especially important that the cultural significance of Mexico folk art as a whole be remembered, along with its pre-Hispanic influences: ‘Popular art is a continuation of the contribution of the artists who worked before.’ He would like his children to realize this and to continue in this tradition, if they so choose (p. 43, Mexican Folk Art from Oaxacan Artist Families).”
Thursday, October 31st, 2002
2:00 p.m. Tour of Great Masters of Folk art for the public
Friday, November 1st, 2002
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Workshop for children
2:00 p.m. Carlomagno will begin setting up the Day of the Dead altar for the museum
5:00 p.m. Carlomagno will help set up the Day of the Dead altar at American Indian Community House, 708 Broadway
Saturday, November 2nd, 2002
12:00 p.m. Carlomagno will participate in a Day of the Dead program
12:45-1:45 p.m. Carlomagno conducts a workshop for visitors
2:45-3:45 p.m. conducts another workshop for visitors
6:00 p.m. Carlomagno will continue the above program at the American Indian Community House, 708 Broadway
ANGÉLICA VÁSQUEZ CRUZ – CERAMIST IN TERRA COTTA
“Angélica Vásquez Cruz is a deeply spiritual and reflective Zapotecan ceramist from the pueblo of Santa María Atzompa. Her work in terra cotta is heavily influenced by indigenous legends and Mexican history. She is an extordinary raconteur who vividly relates her complex and moving history, and proudly explicates her ceramic pieces. She pursues life as ‘a dream, a dance, a fair,’ always alert to its new possibilities. Her beloved maternal grandmother, an intensely spiritual person, confided in Angélica her ‘secrets’ about life: ‘always be ready to find the beauty and intrigue in even the smallest experience or observation.’“
“A staunch advocate of the rights and talents of women, Angelica’s preferred theme is women, their significance and their multiple life roles. She has fought hard to defend her right to be a creative artist in a highly traditional culture which, from her perspective, discourages women’s independent self-expression. One of her pieces, a woman with three personalities, is a vivid statement of this view. One side is a woman and the other a man; in the center stands a devil, signifying the image of women men cannot accept.”
“Angélica regards each piece she creates as special. No two are exactly alike. Nor does she produce a large volume of work. Her creations encompass a wide spectrum: small ethereal but spirited angels, to majestic female figures and large sculptural compositions. Due to their complexity and detail, the latter can take up to four weeks to create. Angélica refers to such pieces as ‘temas completas’ (complete themes), in that they convey her interpretations of historical and contemporary subjects, such as the Mexican Revolution or the Abastos market, the largest market in the city of Oaxaca. Rather than a lot of people milling about, Angélica views the market as an embodiment of the universe. She explores its role in educating and transmitting cultural influences to those who engage in its commerce, and the interactional effects of ‘good” and “bad’ people and produce (pp. 22-23, Mexican Folk Art from Oaxacan Artist Families).”
Tuesday, November 12th, 2002
Demonstrations for students at P.S. 84, New York City.
Wednesday, November 13th, 2002
Demonstrations for students at the Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn.
Thursday, November 14th, 2002
Demonstrations for students at the Dalton School, New York City.
Friday, November 15th, 2002
Demonstrations for students at the Horace Mann School, Riverdale.
Monday and Tuesday, November 18th and 19th
Angélica will conduct demonstrations at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) at 1 Bowling Green in New York City.
Children’s workshop (10:00 a.m.)
Angelica will describe what it is like to live in her pueblo. She will emphasize the ways in which family members collaborate, how she originally learned her art form from her parents as a young child, the influence of her grandmother’s spiritual philosophy, and the ways in which she has developed her own original style. Angélica will then present a few of her pieces as representations of important features of her indigenous Zapotec culture. Since many of her works include miniature figures superimposed upon larger figures, Angélica will lead a workshop in which she teaches children how to create miniatures with clay.
2 p.m. presentation (primarily for adults)
Angélica will speak about the many influences that shape her work: the perspectives of her indigenous Zapotec culture, Mexican history, and her staunch belief in the rights and talents of women. She will present several of her best known pieces to illustrate the unique blend of these elements in her ceramic work. Angélica is an inspiring raconteur who pursues life as “a dream, a dance, a fair,” always alert to its new possibilities. Raised in a highly traditional culture, she has defended her right to be an independent creative artist who is both a traditionally devout Zapotec and an independent voice for self-expression.
DECEMBER, 2002 back to top
JACOBO ÁNGELES OJEDA - WOODCARVER
Jacobo Ángeles Ojeda is a talented and reflective Zapotec woodcarver from the pueblo of San Martín Tilcajete in Oaxaca. With his wife he has introduced a distinctive type of brushwork decoration reminiscent of the style of Native American ceramists.
Monday and Tuesday, December 2 and 3, 2002
Demonstrations at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) at 1 Bowling Green in New York City.
Children’s workshop (10:00 a.m.)
Jacobo will speak about the importance of close family ties in his creative work. He learned to carve from his father who died when Jacobo was quite young; Jacobo, in turn, became a teacher for his own younger brothers. Today all work together, along with their wives and children, at the very table where he originally learned at his father’s side. Jacobo will then demonstrate the stages of his creation of woodcarvings with pieces partially to fully completed. He will highlight the special properties of the wood he uses, and the way in which the natural properties of a piece of wood determine the type of figure to be created. He will also explain their relationship to his indigenous pueblo’s spiritual belief, such as “nahuales,” humans that transform into animal spirits at night. This will be followed by a hands-on workshop on the extraordinarily fine brushwork decorative techniques for which he is renowned. Small carved pieces will be provided for painting.
2 p.m. (primarily for adults)
Jacobo will speak about his process of creation, his receptivity to the inspiration of his imagination, and the interweaving of his pieces with the values and beliefs of his indigenous Zapotec community. Mining his deeply spiritual nature, and his fertile imagination, he believes that a woodcarver’s work is limited only by his imagination. An example is one of his most recent designs: an armadillo with a human face. He will speak about his close collaboration with his extended family members, and their perpetuation of the traditions and techniques of their father in particular, and their indigenous culture as a whole.
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Demonstrations for students at the Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn.
Thursday, December 5, 2002
Demonstrations for students at the Dalton School, New York City.
Friday, December 6, 2002
Demonstrations for students at the Horace Mann School, Riverdale.
MARCH, 2003back to top
GUILLERMINA AGUILAR ALCÁNTARA and IRENE AGUILAR ALCÁNTARA –CERAMISTS IN PAINTED RED CLAY
“Guillermina Aguilar Alcántara, the eldest of the four Aguilar sisters, is an extremely warm, spirited and pious woman. Inspired by her fertile imagination, her ceramic repertoire is rich. It includes female figures (large, medium and small) in highly detailed costumes, down to their dangling earrings. They engage in every facet of daily life, such as selling and carrying their wares and nursing babies. She also creates stunning trees of life standing nearly a yard high, and whimsical water jugs with animal heads; Gullermina clearly adores each figure she creates, caressing it as if alive. She regards the faces of her pieces, which are especially expressive, as her greatest contribution.”
“Guillermina’s sense of connection to her mother permeates her life. It is evident in her work, in the prominently placed display case that preserves four of her mother’s few remaining pieces – forming a kind of cherished shrine – and the altar dedicated to her mother’s memory. The altar stands next to the outdoor wooden table at which Guillermina carries out her creative work for long hours each day. There is nothing somber about this celebration of her mother. Guillermina is a woman deeply involved in her current life with her many beloved children and grandchildren with whom she shares her home. She is extraordinarily proud of them and has encouraged each one to introduce his or her own individual features of style. For example, her daughter Guadalupe specializes in making ‘Fridas’ (female figures based on the very popular artist Frida Kahlo), while her son Julian is known for his ‘ladies of the’ night (pp. 51-52, Mexican Folk Art from Oaxacan Artist Families).”
Irene Aguilar Alcántara has a vivacious and imaginative spirit that is immediately palpable. “Her cheerful, bright, and packed showroom conveys the broad range of her original work. She is known for her individual pieces such as musicians, devils, monks, ‘women of the night,’ ‘catrins,’ (elegantly dressed female figures with skeleton faces for the Day of the Dead) and ‘fruters’ (fruit bowls). Sitting on the lips of these bowls is an array of figures, including lovers, the Three Kings, or ‘muertos’ (skeletal figures engaged in human activities). In addition, Irene creates spectacular sculptural works, such as complex market scenes and an earth mother melded with foliage.
Irene is inspired by the rich customs of Oaxaca. She travels from pueblo to pueblo in search of thematic material, taking photos and mental pictures wherever she goes. She does not reproduce what she sees in its original form. But instead combines images from multiple settings to arrive at her own interpretation. Irene cites the example of her impressive sculpture of fruit vendors. One day, as she drank water in the square in the city of Oaxaca, she noted a woman in modern garb selling fruit. A few moments later she noticed a poor indigenous woman sharing ‘tortillas’ with her little boy who was modestly clad only in underwear. She proceeded.
Monday, March 3, 2003
Demonstrations for students at the Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn.
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Demonstrations for students at a second school.
Wednesday, March 5, 2003
Demonstrations for students at a third school.
Thursday and Friday March 6 and 7, 2003
Demonstrations at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian at 1 Bowling Green in New York City.
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