Boundaries of Folk Art: Manuel de la Peña

Hand-cut paper art by Manuel de la Peña

Every year the Feria artist selection committee grapples with the definition of folk art as it considers the artisans to be chosen. The broad criteria the selection committee has used for years include:

• First consideration is the merit/quality of the work as well as the artist's ability to continue producing it and to create a lifetime body of work.
• Art that has been in the same family for generations is of particular interest.
• Cooperatives that benefit more than one artist’s family are sought out and invited to participate.
• Folk art using natural materials and ancient traditions are prized.
• Pieces of modern design or intended for tourism will be avoided.

Catrina by Alvaro de la Cruz

Occasionally, however, folk art breaks through its boundaries of indigenous, utilitarian or decorative items of daily life. It has happened before. One example sprouted roots in the ground of the Aztec death goddess, Mictecacihuatl, and blossomed in the early 1900s, when a poor printmaker responded to the political times with an image that eventually launched a thousand faces of Catrina, possibly the most popular image in Mexico, other than that of the Virgen of Guadalupe herself. (More about Jose Guadalupe Posada and the story of Catrina here.)

Alebrije by
Enrique Fabián Ortega

Another more recent example is that of the alebrijes, reportedly evolving from a dream that changed Mexican art forever as these painted fantasy creatures became the most popular form of Mexican folk art. (For more about the story of Pedro Linares and his dream, click here.)

The commitment of the Feria is to bring together in one place, the best artisans of Mexican folk art. Part of the fun of that endeavor is finding exciting young artists who push the boundaries of folk art. 

Hand-cut paper art by Manuel de la Peña

One example of a young, innovative artist who is stretching the boundaries of folk art is Manuel de la Peña, whose intricate, hand cut paper art honors the traditions and imagery of Mexico.

Manuel also recreates a lost art form from the Aztecs: chaneques (masks) inspired by the legendary, sprite-like creatures and elemental forces and guardians of nature from Mexican folklore. These beings would attack intruders, frightening them so that their soul would abandon their body, which the chaneques enclosed in the depth of the land. If the victim did not recover their soul through a specific ritual, he or she would become ill and die soon after.

Manuel de la Peña chaneque (mask)

See more about Manuel and his art here.