W I D E W O R L D O F C R A F T
Right: Like many
alebrije
artists, Ivan Fuentes’ stu-
dio is also storefront and
home. He prefers creating
larger pieces like those
shown here, but smaller
items sell more easily.
Ceramist Carlomagno
Pedro Martinez’s wall-
size
Mural de la Cunquista
uses the centuries-old
medium of
barra negro,
or
black pottery, to explore
sweeping themes of
history and culture.
Below left: The Zapotec
motifs on this
alebrije
carved by Efrain Fucntcs
(Ivan’s brother) signify
separate stages in the
journey of life. Efrain
and his wife Silvia share
painting duties.
M arian o S o sa M a rtin e z; yo u n g e r
artists in clu d e his r6-year-old
son , as w e ll as up-and -com ing
20 -year-old w e a v e r J a v ie r L a z o .
T h e prosp erou s hom es w ith
sto refro n ts that line th e road into
T e o titla n b ear w itn ess to the
econ om ic b en efits m any h ave
reaped from th eir c raft; even in
San M artin T ilca je te , a m ore
m od est village w h e re
alebrijes
are
m ade, artists lik e th e F u en tes
and M e lc h o r fam ilies h a ve b een
in vited to th e U n ited S tates fo r
d em on strations and w o rk sh o p s.
N o on e is u n realistic, h o w e v e r:
M o s t o f th e trade depen ds on
to u rist purchases. L a P la za ’s
C erq u e d a G arcia estim ates that
at least 70 p e rcen t o f th e ir re v -
enue com es fro m tou rists. C a rlo -
m agno P ed ro M a rtin e z, ceram ist
and d irecto r o f the M u seo E statal
de A r te P o p u lar de O a xa ca in
San B arto lo C o y o te p e c , puts it
e v e n h igh er, at 95 p ercen t.
A n d w h ile th e artisan s are
n o t w o r k in g in a fa c to ry ,
alebrije
artist Iv a n F u e n te s v o ic e s a
co m m o n fru stratio n : strik in g a
b alan ce b e tw e e n p ro d u cts m ade
to sell - e v e n i f hand m ad e and
on e o f a k in d - and artistic
e x p re ssio n . (S till, i f y o u fall in
lo v e w ith a sp e cific w o r k , b e it
an
alebrije
, je w e lr y , o r b la c k
p o tte r y , y o u ’d b e w e ll a d vised
to b u y it; y o u m a y n e v e r find
an o th er w ith th e e x a c t c o m b i-
n atio n o f co lo rs o r m o tifs that
en tran ce d y o u .)
L a herencia
also rem ain s a
liv in g th in g. A t C a sa d e las
A rtesam 'as, L 6 p e z G a rcia and
fe llo w ceram ist Juan R am 6 n
A c e v e d o R u iz are e x p lo rin g
d e c id e d ly co n te m p o ra ry form s.
C arlo m a g n o P e d ro M a rtin e z ,
w h o s e fa m ily is o n e o f th e o ld -
est in S an B a rto lo , a c e n te r o f
b la c k p o tte r y , is p a rt o f a larger
g e n e ra tio n o f u n iv ersity -tra in e d
artists w h o e m e rg ed in th e 1970s
and ’ 80s. N o w a
maestro
o f th e
m ed iu m , th e ceram ist m ade a
nam e fo r h im se lf w ith his
im p ressiv e ta b le au x b ased on
oral trad itio n s m ix ed w ith social
and p o litica l th e m e s, a k in d o f
visu al m agical realism .
M o re o v e r, cra ft artists are
arisin g fro m th e c ity o f O a x a c a
itse lf. W e a v e r A d rid n G 6 m e z
stu m b led on h is callin g w h e n he
w e n t to T e o titla n som e 40 yea rs
a go as p art o f a g o v e rn m e n t in i-
tia tiv e to install e le c tric ity . H is
w o r k is h ig h ly rep rese n ta tio n a l
and te ch n ica lly in tricate , w ith
su b jects ran gin g fro m p la y fu l,
d re am lik e scen es to a strik in g
m ed ita tio n o n v io le n c e . A ls o
b ased in O a x a c a , S e rg io L a z o
cre ate s sp are, m od ern d esign s
fo r w o v e n h an d b ags, w h ic h can
b e seen at th e c ity ’s B la c k b o x
g a lle ry , a g e m lik e sh o w c a se o f
cu ttin g -ed g e O a x a c a n artists.
no american craft
apr/m ayn
www.downmagaz.com
M u r a l
photo: Courtesy of the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca /
A le b rije
photo: Efrain Fuentes / Studio photo: Judy Arginteanu
