Explore Oaxacan tradition at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology presentation of “Oaxacan Life Lecture and Book Signing” and “Oaxacan Art Demonstration” Thursday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 4. All students, faculty and staff interested in photography, anthropology or folk art are encouraged to attend.
The Maxwell Museum will present the newest book from Shepard Barbash and Vicki Ragan, “Changing Dreams: A Generation of Oaxaca’s Woodcarvers” at their lecture and book signing Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. in Hibben Hall, room 105.
Barbash will talk about the place of art in community life and the economic struggle Oaxacan artisans face despite the opportunities art has given them, said Ronda Brulotte, lecturer, Anthropology Department.
Barbash and Regan first wrote about the growing popularity of Oaxacan woodcarvings in their 1980s bestseller, “Oaxacan Woodcarving: The Magic in the Trees.” The book features interviews with local woodcarvers and their families as well as photographs of their work. Their first book “sparked a huge interest in Oaxacan woodcarvings,” said Mary Beth Hermans, Maxwell Museum public programs coordinator. “The second [book] goes back to follow the story.” In “Changing Dreams,” Barbash and Regan return to Oaxaca and the same families to chronicle changes they experienced from the notoriety of their art.
Popularized by Manuel Jimenez, who began carving monkeys and other creatures in the 1960s, Oaxacan woodcarving reflects Mexican mythology and tradition through its dramatic colors and style. Forms of alebrije, or Mexican folk art, Oaxacan woodcarvings became world renowned in the 1980s.
Oaxacan woodcarvings became popular because they were a novelty, but with time, the market became saturated, so very skilled carvers started to specialize and sell their work to international art galleries, Brulotte said.
On Saturday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m., students can experience the distinctive techniques of contemporary woodcarver Catarino Carrillo in the Maxwell.
Carrillo, featured in both “Oaxacan Woodcarving” and “Changing Dreams,” has been carving figures for more than 20 years and is one of the original artists who developed the popularity of woodcarving in the 1980s, Brulotte said. “Carrillo’s carvings can be found in galleries and collector’s homes throughout Mexico, Japan, North America and Europe,” Hermans said.
“He still uses machetes and other very basic tools… though the art has evolved into more detailed pieces,” Brulotte said. Students will get a chance to watch him work. “He usually has a hands-on demonstration,” she said, so the audience can try to carve figures.
The Maxwell Museum is located on the University of New Mexico main campus, east of University Blvd. between Las Lomas and Dr. M. L. King, Jr. Ave., and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Call 277-1400 or visit Maxwell Museum for more information.
Story by Jazmen Bradford
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu