Living with Folk Art
Banco Nacional de México – Citibanamex, through Fomento Cultural Banamex and with the collaboration of Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation, Roberto Hernández Ramírez Foundation, Diez Modoro Foundation and Alfa Foundation, present the exhibition Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art, Fomento Cultural Banamex Collection, 20 years, for the public’s rejoicing and better appreciation of the Great Masters of Folk Art.
The Fomento Cultural Banamex’s Folk-Art-Support-Program began in 1996. The first exhibition of the Grand Masters was held in 1998 and the book Grand Masters of Mexican Folk Art was presented to the public 20 years ago.
This program has marked a milestone in its field and today is considered a national and international reference of Mexican folk art.
Folk art refers to the aesthetic expressions that are the spontaneous result of the cultural life of the people and encompasses the creations and technique in which popular artists express their inspiration. The paths of folk art allow us to travel an enriching way back and forth. Before a piece of folk art, we discover the own and the alien, where the territory, tradition, communication networks, languages and world views have been mixed.
This exhibition and the accompanying publication is an awareness of the importance of preserving traditions and valuing popular art as an artistic expression, of contributing to the recognition of the Grand Masters and the value of their pieces in the market, not forgetting that all this should not be understood, only, from an aesthetic perspective, but also in its economic and social dimension, as a key means of development to improve the quality of life of the creators and their environment. It is a vehicle for development and an employment opportunity that artists play with pride and a sense of belonging to their community. Folk art, within the cultural industries as a whole, is and can be the key to a better life for many men and women who combine tradition, excellence and innovation.
Contribute, as far as possible, to strengthen the most representative manifestations of popular art, ensure that the skills and wisdom of the Grand Masters are not lost and offer them a favorable basis for their development are the purposes that gave reason to be to Fomento Cultural Banamex’s Folk-Art-Support-Program.
The Great Masters of Folk Art project was successful in Mexico, because it warned about the importance of addressing the issue and insisted on the notion of art, without prefixes or suffixes. On the other hand, it gave name and surname to the Grand Masters and encouraged the generation of new development schemes. Fomento Cultural Banamex has benefited and will continue to do so to a significant number of artists, creating a methodology that can be reproduced in various communities and which eventually proved to be the basis for the expansion of the program.
The program was born with the purpose of improving the working conditions of the Grand Masters and developing their artistic, technical and business capacities, considering them representatives of the best traditions of their communities, to achieve a better quality of life and well-being on a personal and community basis.
This program started with a series of actions focused on the direct support of the workshops, with training activities and infrastructure in the work areas, as well as dissemination and evaluation, through exhibitions and publications, as well as a marketing streak of the handmade creations, in a comprehensive model of support for popular art. Since 2016, to obtain a greater impact, actions are also carried out to strengthen public policies in favor of the sector.
The Great Masters are distinguished by the mastery of their art, the one that exalts their originality and confers value on each piece. The solidity of their tradition, far from diminishing their character, enlivens a process that never disrupts or abandons their aesthetic sense. They say that folk art changes to remain, and these creators own a moving art, a mastery that flows and that they transmit to the next generations.
Tradition represents for our teachers, on the one hand, the conservation of techniques, designs and forms, on the other, the adaptation, learning and recreation of materials, the combination of new elements into unique pieces. The identity of the Grand Master and the craftsman is thus renewed, and reinforced by individual and self-sufficient work, with quality creations and fair trade.
Today, as 20 years ago, it is imperative to recognize the work of the Grand Masters of Mexican Folk Art, with the intention of strengthening and increasing the living nuclei of artisanal production. Without a doubt, and within the framework of our great cultural heritage, we must pay tribute to the owners of those hands that “give life” to pieces within this artistic and creative universe.
The collection displayed, could be configured with such richness and breadth through the monitoring of the Grand Masters over 20 years, to the systematic purchase with curatorial character, which gives guidance to the evolution of popular artists, from 1999 to the present day, and that of his children as the best generational relays; as well as many new names that appear in other specialties. It was necessary to review the evolution of the specialties and those who perform them with mastery today.
Visitors are invited to a trip that involves a series of questions about the current art and crafts, whose present appears before our eyes as a journey towards the new and hopeful. What happens then with traditional craft creations in today’s world?
Many lessons come from reading a collection of pieces like this. One of the main ones is dignifying the Grand Masters as artists; his technical ability jumps when he appreciates his works and with this, he earns the immediate respect of the public and the reader.
With this exhibition and the books that accompany the support program, a tribute is made to the Grand Masters and attempts to provoke the astonishment of both the spectator and strengthen the creative capacity of the master himself and, at the same time, motivate the popular art lover to look for the folk artist, to buy a piece and to LIVE WITH FOLK ART.
This exhibit is presented at Palacio de Iturbide: Av Francisco I. Madero 17, Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México, Centro, 06000 Ciudad de México, CDMX.
http://fomentoculturalbanamex.org/
Text paraphrased and translated from the exhibit Grandes Maestros del Arte Popular Mexicano, Fomento Cultural Banamex, 20 años, by Rodrigo López.
To see full photo gallery visit this link
To learn about our Jalisco Masters of Folk Art Fair Tour follow this link
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