Exploring the indigenous art culture Of Mexico Mesoamerican Art and Mexican Folk Art

What is Folk Art? Folk art is art work or crafts created/produced by an indigenous culture, peasants, or other tradespeople not traditionally trained as “artists”. In contrast to Fine Art, folk art is primarily utilitarian or decorative rather than purely aesthetic. It is typically characterized by the naïve (naif) style, which disregards the traditional rules of proportions and perspective.

Mexican Folk art It is typically inspired by ancient cultures such as the Mayans,Aztecs, and Zapotecs. It also has many Spanish, Arabian, and Asiatic influences that were introduced with the conquering Spaniards. It is highly colorful, decorative, and employs numerous organic patterns that deal with nature. It is also found in a huge variety of media. In addition, a great deal of contemporary Mexican Folk art is related to the Mexican holiday- Day of the Dead aka Dia De Los Muertos.

Dia De Los Muertos The Day of the Dead is a longstanding Mexican holiday, spanning back at least 3000 years. It combines combines traditional native beliefs with traditional Spanish Catholic beliefs. The Day of the Dead celebrates dead family members through a series of events that take place on November 1st and 2nd in Mexico. It is in NO WAY related to Halloween, evil, demons, and is in no way meant to be scary. It is meant to be a celebration of life and death and a commemoration of loved ones.

History of Day of the Dead… When the Spanish began arriving in the 16th century, they were offended by the Day of the Dead, and saw it as a pagan holiday. Spaniards considered it gruesome and morbid. Since the Spanish had their own holiday for the dead, "All Saints Day", they moved the native Mexican Day of the Dead to its current date, November 1st. Today, the Mexican Day of the Dead combines the Spanish catholic traditions of All Saints Day with the ancient traditions of the native Mexican tribes.

Typical Traditions…

The art and crafts of Dia De Los Muertos Despite the changes that took place after the arrival of the Spaniards, Day of the Dead art still reflects many of its early roots. Cakes and other food in the shape of skulls or skeletons are often handed out to children as a lighthearted way to celebrate the Day of the Dead. -Day of the Dead art is often thought by outsiders to be morbid, but those who create it see the holiday as a joyful way to celebrate family members who have passed on. t/holidays/day-of-the-dead/2014/09/24/day- of-the-dead-history/ /

Why the skeletons and Skulls? The duality of life and death in Mexican art is not a new concept. It has been around since ancient times and is seen in many codices from the Mayans and Aztecs. The ruling god of the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl, is sometimes depicted in a half human( live form) and a skeleton death form. It is meant to represent the cycle: birth leads to life and life then leads into death. Calaveras (skulls) and Calacas (skeletons) are meant to represent the dead in a fun and comical way. They are not meant to be scary. The are meant to be joyful and exciting and are often seen participating in everyday activities and wearing colorful attire. Catrina is a common skeleton seen in Day of the Dead art and she is a well known personification of the rich. She was created by Mexican illustrator Jose Posada as a satirical representation of the rich. She is often seen in elegant clothing, holding a cigarette and wearing a larger decorative hat. – The symbolism behind this piece was that even in death, we are all the same- A skeleton.

Sugar Skulls: One of the other EXTREMELY popular art forms of Day of the Dead art is the Sugar skull. Traditionally sugar skulls were molded in sugar and placed on ofrendas or used as other decorations. The names of the deceased may be written across the foreheads and they are decorated with bright colors and numerous patterns. Many are still used on ofrendas, while others are consumed or just used for decorative purposes. They are also found in ppaer mache, paintings, clothing, and mask form. Today Sugar skulls can be found in many other places around the world in many other formats.

Sugar Skull Paintings

We will be creating our own Calaca or Calavera paintings All Drawings must be influenced by Traditional Mexican Folk Art- DO NOT STRAY INTO ANOTHER CULTURE. If YOU CHOOSE TO CREATE JUST A SUGAR SKULL YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU CREATE A SCENE NOT JUST A FLOATING SKULL NO COPYING DESIGNS AND NO TATTOO DESIGNS ARE ALLOWED. ALL IMAGES MUST BE EXTREMELY COLORFUL AND DECORATIVE, IF YOU CHOOSE A CALACA AS YOUR SUBJECT, THEY MUST BE SCENE PARTICIPATING IN SOME SORT OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE EVENT. – EXAMPLES, DANCING, PLAYING MUSIC, PARTYING, EATING, ETC – THESE HSOUDL BE FUN, NOT DARK, EVIL OR SCARY IN ANY WAY OR YOU HAVE FAILED TO CONNECT IT TO ITS TRUE INFLUENTIAL ART FORM.

LETS TALK ABOUT MEDIA… WE WILL BE PAINTING BUT… WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH A NEW MEDIA FORM THAT IS RELATIVELY NEW IN THE SUGAR SKULL WORLD AND THAT IS REVERSE GLASS PAINTING. ---Reverse painting on glass is an art form consisting of applying paint to a piece of glass and then viewing the image by turning the glass over and looking through the glass at the image.

After you complete your practice reverse glass painting, you need to look up reference images and start planning your final piece. Do Not forget to get citations for your images. A short Proposal of your idea needs to be completed and turned in at the end of class. -give me a general idea of what your work will look like- Include detailed description. a small thumbnail should be included. Tell me if you will Be using your own glass and frame.