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Art | Most certainly folk art

True folk art is created in distinctive cultures that are defined geographically as well as by language, religion, social organization, and other societal markers. In these cultures, the artists or artisans who make the objects are often anonymous to us. This is because the perpetuation of traditional forms and symbols and the iconic nature of what they produce, rather than artistic individuality, is what matters.

"Roof-top Church," painted earthenware, artist unknown, an example of the proficiency in clay that is displayed by Mexican folk artists. Of the 95 objects in the exhibition, most are from Mexico.
"Roof-top Church," painted earthenware, artist unknown, an example of the proficiency in clay that is displayed by Mexican folk artists. Of the 95 objects in the exhibition, most are from Mexico.Read more

True folk art is created in distinctive cultures that are defined geographically as well as by language, religion, social organization, and other societal markers. In these cultures, the artists or artisans who make the objects are often anonymous to us. This is because the perpetuation of traditional forms and symbols and the iconic nature of what they produce, rather than artistic individuality, is what matters.

By such a definition, much of what has come to be called folk art in today's art market doesn't qualify. Most commonly, paintings and sculptures that can be described as naïve or self-taught are promoted as folk art. Yet, to cite one notable example, Grandma Moses was not a folk artist in the purest sense; she was simply untutored.

By contrast, an exhibition of Latin American folk art at the Reading Public Museum is the genuine article. The museum describes the work as "contemporary," even though much of it was made as far back as the mid-19th century.

The 95 objects, which include paintings, sculptures, pottery, toys, furniture and textiles, are lent by the San Antonio Museum of Art. They're almost entirely Mexican, from various regions, although one of the most charming pieces is a tableau of tiny carved figures from Peru.

Why Mexican folk art in Reading? Because the museum is trying to attract the substantial number of Mexican immigrants who have settled in and near the city in recent years. Yet the show wasn't conceived specifically for that purpose.

It developed as a result of a related project, the redesign of Reading's Latin American gallery, now under way and scheduled to be completed in late August. Marion Oettinger, director of the San Antonio museum and curator of Latin American art there, is consulting on the redesign.

During Oettinger's advisory visit to Reading, he examined that museum's substantial collection of Pennsylvania German art. His enthusiasm for this art resulted in an exchange: San Antonio produced this Latin American show in return for a Pennsylvania German show from Reading that will open in Texas early next year.

The San Antonio museum is an ideal partner because it owns one of the most important collections of Latin American art in the country - more than 7,000 objects, representing a broad range of functions, types and materials. About 2,500 of these objects were donated by one of the children of former Vice President and New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller, an avid collector and namesake of the wing that houses the museum's total Latin American collection.

The Reading exhibition is distinguished in several ways. Many pieces are top-quality, and some represent object types not often encountered.

One, for instance, is a mandolin-type stringed instrument made from an armadillo shell and decorated with a delicately etched mother-of-pearl inlay. Another is a dyed-fiber processional emblem depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe, a popular symbol of the Mexican nation.

The show comprises a broad variety of two- and three-dimensional works organized thematically by use, such as ceremonial, devotional, decorative and functional. The section devoted to religious images - mainly small paintings, often on tin panels, called ex-votos - has been fitted out with a simulated altar to create an appropriate context.

In another section, 11 painted wooden masks, used in ceremonial dances, are displayed across a wall, next to a human-scale jaguar costume. These displays emphasize the importance of ritual in the communities where they were made.

Folk art often appears to be crudely fashioned, but the show includes a few examples of virtuoso craftsmanship. One of the more impressive is a large "yarn painting" - really a type of embroidery - by Elena Carillo and Pablo Cosillo Hernández, who represent the Huichol culture of southern Mexico. The compositional scheme features people, animals and birds displayed across a bright blue background. It's a striking piece.

A Huichol man is the subject of another technical tour de force, a mosaic portrait made from tiny lengths of colored broom straw by Felipe Oláy, whose family is famous for this centuries-old craft.

Death is a familiar preoccupation of Mexican folk expression, and in Reading we find a half-dozen splendid examples of "death art." Members of a family named Aguilar created a tabletop funeral scene of 15 painted ceramic figures, including mourners, angels and the deceased, in a coffin. In another part of the show, a miniature cemetery populated by tiny figures visiting graves is displayed under a "graveyard band" - five earthenware skeletons, all playing instruments, with rainbow-colored ribs. In Mexican folk art, the figure of death often seems to be having a good time.

The most impressive "Day of the Dead" object is an intricate white earthenware sculpture called Tree of Death. Five guitar-strumming skeletons comprise the "tree." All these works affirm the intimacy with death and the importance of remembering ancestors that characterizes life in rural Mexico.

Most of the sculpture is either carved wood - the toys, for instance - or ceramic. Judging by the examples on view, Mexican folk artists have achieved impressive levels of mastery in clay, especially in the small domestic shrines called "rooftop churches" and in the fantasy figures - women with animals - that appear to be modified vessels.

The ultimate fantasy figures are two imposing Judas sculptures of painted papier-mâché, one blue and one red, by David Linares. Standing about 10 feet tall from feet to horns, they bare prominent curving fangs at visitors. They might scare small children, but like most of this delightful show, they communicate raw vitality combined with a resolute devotion to keeping alive community traditions, the hallmark of genuine folk art.

Art | Folk Art Exhibition

The Latin American folk art exhibition continues at the Reading Public Museum, 500 Museum Rd., through July 15. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, except to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $7 general and $5 for students, visitors 60 and older and visitors five through 17. Information: 610-371-5850 or www.readingpublicmuseum.org.

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