What Is Mexican Folk Art? DRAFT

Is there a line where Mexican folk art begins and ends?

After a few days of traveling with Linda Hanna, the Oaxaca coordinator for the Feria Maestros del Arte, it would seem that there might be a distinction between "folk art" and "not folk art. 

Yesterday we met Brian Gregorio Corres in his workshop. Brian is a clay artist who was a winner of a Friends of Oaxacan Art (FOFA) exhibition in 2013. He won a study scholarship that gave him new insights. In 2015 his work was rejected as “not folk art.” 

Brian Gregorio Corres entry for 2015

I’ve heard similar stories which prompted the question, 

What is Mexican folk art? 

Marianne Carlson, founder of Feria Maestros del Arte provides a starting point:

Folk art is fixed in traditions that come from communities and cultures with shared values and traditions that express and foster cultural identity.

Folk art encompasses a range of utilitarian and decorative media, including cloth, wood, paper, clay, metal and more.

Folk artists are persons skilled in a form of handmade distinctive creations that can be either utilitarian or decorative. They embody the traditions of their culture and artistic techniques and are either taught by family or apprentice with artists. 

Wikipedia offers a general definition: Mexican handcrafts and folk art is a complex collection of items made with various materials and intended for utilitarian, decorative, or other purposes. Some of the items produced by hand in this country include ceramics, wall hangings, vases, furniture, textiles and much more. Interesting, however not very useful for determining the criteria for inclusion in the category of Mexican folk art.

After saying, "First, no one can agree on what it means,” one site goes on to define it as: "Folk art" is mostly utilitarian or decorative art created by an unaffluent social class of peasants, artisans and tradespeople who live in rural areas of civilized but not highly industrialized societies.

The Mexican Folk Art Guide offers this definition: Folk Art is the name given to the artistic creations made by peasants, indigenous people or craftsmen with no formal artistic training. A folk art item is handmade and has a functional purpose opposing an art object that is made for aesthetic purposes only. Most of the folk art creations are made by anonymous people but they can be identified with a region or ethnic group culture.

As Linda and I discussed this question, we came up with possible elements of a useable … and useful … definition: 

• style … useful or decorative, figurative rather than non-objective (abstract) 
• materials … local, natural 
• creator … primarily self-taught, often from a long lineage of artisans and local traditions 
• process … hand-made, small quantities

Another element that comes to mind is … for lack of a better term … connection. Connection to spirit, to the elements (land, water, sky, plants and animals) of the local areas, as well as to traditions of culture and religion.

So here’s the challenge: How would you define Mexican Folk Art? We will update this post with other suggestions.

Gayla Pierce offers thoughts (see comments) and a quote from Japanese philosopher Sōetsu Yanagi:

“It is my belief that while the high level of culture of any country can be found in its fine arts, it is also vital that we should be able to examine and enjoy the proofs of the culture of the great mass of the people, which we call folk art. The former are made by a few for the few, but the latter, made by the many for many, are a truer test. The quality of the life of the people of that country as a whole can best be judged by the folkcrafts.”
– The Unknown Craftsman – A Japanese Insight into Beauty, Sōetsu Yanagi, Kodansha International, New York, 1989

FYI ... here is the FOFA newsletter highlighting the young folk artist winners exhibition. It is a remarkable show if you get a chance to see it.

The new folk art exhibition Mostrando la Fuerza de Mi Pueblo (Showing the Strength of My People) opened on December 8 at the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (MEAPO) in San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca. FOFA President Arden Rothstein, and Treasurer Deborah Huntington represented the organization at the opening celebration. The exhibition's sixty-six art pieces are the winners from FOFA-MEAPO's August 2018 competition. 

I was lucky enough to meet the young palm jewelry artist, Mónica Díaz Martinez. She will be showing her fabulous work at Feria Maestros del Arte 2019 ... November 8-10.