Tag Archives: Frida Kahlo

Happy New Year 2017 From Mexico City

Posted on Sunday, January 1, 2017 | 12 comments

The clock strikes 2017. Yet the Zocalo in Mexico City today is almost empty. All museums and most shops are closed, too. Most Mexican families celebrate the new year at home. On New Years’ Eve last night there were only a few strollers in the Historic Center as everything closed up by 4 p.m. and people dispersed.

Restaurant Azul Historico patio, Mexico City, festive blue

I had an early birthday dinner with my son Jacob at Entremar in Polanco. After a great fish dinner and superb bottle of Valle de Guadalupe Nebbiolo, we returned to Hotel Catedral and I climbed into bed. It was not yet 8:30 p.m. I did not dream about sugar plums and fairies, but thought about the year past and the one to come.

Organ grinders on Mexico City streets, a dying breed

Tips for Visiting Mexico City Over the New Year Holidays

January 1 is a National Holiday. Most museums, shops and restaurants are closed. They begin to shut down at 2 p.m. on December 31.
Check hours and make reservations in advance. Do your museum visits on December 29, 30 and 31
We were turned away at Casa Azul Museo Frida Kahlo, even though we got there well before it opened at 10 a.m. on December 31. Most in line had bought advance tickets via the Internet, something I didn’t think of. And, the museum closes at 2 p.m. on December 31, is not open January 1.
Use UBER. It’s totally safe and reasonably priced. We did not have to wait more than 5 minutes for a car to take us anywhere. No cash. Just a payment through your PayPal account.

Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, Templo Mayor, under the Cathedral

No specific resolutions for me other than to walk and live with intention, focus on travel only between Mexico and the USA, spend time with family and friends, walk, reflect and do good in the world. The world needs our help.

Alameda Park, Mexico City. Warm enough for fountain play in December.

My son Jacob has been with me this weekend, the best gift I could ever receive. It was his first time in Mexico City. On our first full day, we explored the Diego Rivera murals at the Secretariat de Educacion Publica and the Orozco murals at the Colegio San Ildefonso, had lunch at Restaurant El Mayor, then pushed on to the Tenochtitlan Templo Mayor archeological site and adjoining museum.

Day of the Dead Altar to Frida and Diego, Museo Dolores Olmedo

Special exhibition at Museo Dolores Olmedo

While we missed getting into the Casa Azul, we took an UBER from there to the Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño near Xochimilco to see early Rivera works, the hairless xoloitscuincle dogs, and a special exhibition of Pablo O’Higgins, Rivera’s protege. NOTE: All paintings by Frida Kahlo in this museum are on traveling exhibition in Europe until April 2017.

Man, Controller of the Universe by Diego Rivera

Then, we saw more Rivera, Orozco, Siquieras and Tamayo murals at Museo Bellas Artes. When you get here, pay attention to the second floor mural painted by Diego Rivera, Man, Controller of the Universe. He recreates what was destroyed at Rockefeller Center.

The New Democracy, by David Alfaro Siquieros, Museo Bellas Artes, Mexico City

Art historians interpret the Siquieros mural (close-up above) as liberation from oppression. This was especially meaningful for me as we are experiencing damaging political changes in the USA that could likely effect social justice and environmental causes well into the future.

Close-up, The Torment of Cuauhtemoc, Siquerios depicts the oppressors

Here, art is a universal language and reminds us that we must be vigilant.

Another section of Siquieros’ The Torment of Cuauhtemoc mural, riveting, painful.

On the same day, we visited Rivera’s mural Dream of a Sunday Afternoon on the Alameda at the Museo de Mural de Diego Rivera.

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park, 500 years of Mexican history

Gathering for an outdoor Scrabble game on the plaza, Mexico City

Out in front on the plaza in front of this last museum, the chess and Scrabble players gather. I accepted an invitation to join a Scrabble game until I realized they were playing in Spanish and returned my tiles to the bag.

Jacob Singleton takes a photo of an Orozco mural

Museo Palacio Bellas Artes, Mexico City

In 2016, I legally changed my name to Schafer, bought a condo-apartment in Durham, NC, organized over a dozen workshops and study tours, contributed chapters and photographs to Textile Fiestas of Mexico book, volunteered at the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, commemorated the anniversary of our mother’s death, traveled to India, and went back and forth between Mexico and the USA to vote, attend to health care, visit family and reconnect with friends.

Cathedral candles, Mexico City

In 2017, I want to stay put more and be present in Durham, North Carolina, and Oaxaca, Mexico. I have friends who dream of becoming vagabonds, taking to the open road, living with more freedom and unpredictability.

Aztec sculpture, Tenochtitlan, Mexico City

I want to think globally and act locally, make a difference in North Carolina, USA to effect change and make a difference, continue to bring people to Mexico to understand her art, history, culture, textiles.

Happy New Year to all. May we each participate in creating a world we are proud to live in, with respect for family, diversity and uniqueness.

12 Comments

Posted in Cultural Commentary, Photography, Travel & Tourism

Tagged Diego Rivera, dining, Frida Kahlo, Mexico City, muralists, museums, new year, Oaxaca, resolutions, tips, travel

Mexican Vintage Gold + Silver Jewelry Pop-Up Sale: Next

Posted on Sunday, June 26, 2016 | 4 comments

Another sweep through my jewelry collection. Getting closer to the essentials. Making some hard decisions about what to sell. Most of these pieces are from Oaxaca and you will recognize traditional designs many reminiscent of Frida Kahlo, with amazing filigree work, and excellent craftsmanship. Several are from visits to Mexico City and Michoacan. I rarely wear them now, so here is an opportunity to bring some fine Oaxaca and Mexico pieces home.

Please make your purchase before July 1, 2016. I’m leaving Oaxaca to visit the U.S. and will bring your piece(s) with me to mail to you via USPS Priority Mail. I include mailing in the price. You send me an email telling me the piece(s) you want by number and I send you a PayPal invoice. I confirm receipt of payment and ask you to send me your mailing address.

#1: 10K Gold vintage Oaxaca filigree earrings with pearls and bezel set, big juicy cut red glass, floral style, 2″ long. Traditional, beautiful. $350. Rare.

#1. 10K Gold filigree with pearls and red cut glass, bezel set. $350 USD.

#1. 10K Gold filigree leaves with pearls and red cut glass, bezel set. $350 USD.

#1. Another view of the stone set in a bezel.

#2. 10K Gold filigree vintage pearls and cut glass in the Gusano style of earring. Lots of lustre. Glass is secured with gold prongs. Gusano is the maguey worm that adds flavor to mezcal! 1-1/2″ long. $325 USD. Rare.

#2. Gusano style 10K Gold filigree earrings with pearls and cut red glass. $325 USD

#3. SOLD. 10K Gold, vintage pearl and cut red glass mini-gusanos. These are small and delicate, 1″ long. $65 USD. Rare.

#3. Mini-gusano earrings, 1″ long. $65 USD

#4. I bought these from a famous Oaxaca jewelry maker and wore them a few times. Just too big for me, but maybe just right for you! Sterling silver, love birds, dangling jars and hot pink cut glass accent. 3″ long. $245 USD.

#4. Sterling silver with dangling jars, love birds and cut glass. $245 USD

#5. 10K Gold vintage filigree and coral earrings. I bought these in Mexico City some years ago. Beautiful filigree work. 1-1/2″ long. $220 USD.

#5. 10K Gold vintage filigree earrings with coral, 1-1/2" long, $185 USD

#5. 10K Gold vintage filigree earrings with coral, 1-1/2″ long, $220 USD

#6. Sterling silver vintage earrings with pearl drops from Puebla, Mexico. 1-3/4″ long. They used to make jewelry in Puebla. No more. $175 USD

#6. Sterling Silver and pearl birds and flowers. 1-3/4" long. $155 USD.

#6. Sterling Silver and pearl birds and flowers. 1-3/4″ long. $175 USD.

#7. The centers of the circles are white sapphires and sparkle with movement. This is a vintage pair of earrings, sterling silver and pearls, with 10K gold hooks, backing and frame. I’ve never seen anything like them anywhere. 2″ long. $145 USD. Rare.

#7. Vintage sterling silver with 10K gold hooks, white sapphires and pearls. $135 USD

#7. Vintage sterling silver with 10K gold, white sapphires and pearls. $145 USD

#8. Traditional Oaxaca sterling silver filigree earrings with coral beads, new. 2-1/4″ long. $95 USD.

#8. Traditional sterling silver filigree and coral earrings, new. $95 USD.

#9. SOLD. I bought these sterling silver filigree and turquoise earrings directly from the man who made them in his home workshop in Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca. The turquoise is a little more blue than the photo shows. 1-1/4″ long. They can be yours for $125 USD.

#9. Sterling silver filigree and turquoise earrings, $95 USD.

#9. Sterling silver filigree and turquoise earrings, $125 USD.

#10. Sterling silver earrings, hand-crafted by a famous Oaxaca jewelry maker, this is the squash blossom design. 2″ long. $95 USD.

#10. Oaxaca famous maker squash blossom earrings, sterling silver. $95 USD.

#11. Sterling silver handcrafted designer earrings with hearts, milagros, bows, and bezel set carnelian cabuchons. 2-1/4″ long. $125 USD.

#11. Harts milagros sterling silver earrings, carnelian cabuchons, $145 USD.

#11. Hearts milagros sterling silver earrings, carnelian cabuchons, $125 USD.

#12. Sterling silver vintage Mexican necklace from Taxco, marked 925. 18-1/2″ long, sturdy, secure box clasp. Bought in Mexico City. $85 USD.

#12. Sterling silver vintage leaf necklace, Marked Mexico 925, made in Taxco. $85 USD

#13. Handmade Mexican copper beads from Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, 20″ long, strung on copper. $65 USD.

#13. Copper necklace from Michoacan. 20″ long. $65 USD.

#13. Full view copper necklace.

#14. 2-tone Copper Necklace from Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan. 22″ long. $65 USD.

#14. 2-tone copper necklace from Michoacan, $65 USD

#14. Full view of copper necklace, 22′ long.

4 Comments

Posted in Clothing Design

Tagged coral, earrings, filigree, Frida Kahlo, gold, jewelry, Mexico, Oaxaca, pearls, sale, sterling silver, traditional, vintage, white sapphire

Artist Hollie Taylor Creates Frida Kahlo Retablos

Posted on Thursday, April 7, 2016 | 4 comments

At Casa Azul in Coyoacan, Mexico City, one of the largest collections of folk art ex-votos (also called retablos) hangs along with pre-Columbian art and memorabilia collected by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Ex-voto in Casa Azul, the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City

Traditional ex-voto/retablo in Casa Azul, the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City

They were avid supporters of artists who had no formal training but who represented the naive, populist art of Mexico.

I am broken but I am happy. Frida Kahlo Retablo by Hollie Taylor

Ex-votos are small devotional paintings that offer thanks or prayers to a saint for a gift granted, wish fulfilled or for good health. It usually includes a hand-written note of gratitude at the bottom of the painting.

After a foot amputation, Kahlo gave us this inspiration, interpreted by Hollie Taylor

Hollie Taylor is a North Carolina artist who loves Mexico and Frida Kahlo. On Friday, April 8, the North Carolina Crafts Gallery in Carrboro, hosts an opening reception for Hollie and artist colleague Madelyn Smoak from 6-9 p.m., Dreaming of Frida: Hollie & Madelyn at Casa Azul.

Hollie has adapted the ex-voto concept to offer thanks to Frida for her courage, strength, femininity, resolve and creativity by creating Frida Retablos. These are small devotional wall plaques with many of the icons and sayings that represent Frida Kahlo.

Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera in Mexico City Art History Study Tour

Kahlo studio at Casa Azul, just as she left it

As we know, Frida’s health issues — childhood polio and a debilitating accident at age 18 that rendered it impossible for her body to carry a child — defined her and shaped her art. French artist Andre Breton named her a surrealist, a brand she refuted.

I paint because I need to. Frida Kahlo Retablo by Hollie Taylor

She was a woman who painted her emotions and that is what makes her a great artist. We can identify with her pain, passion and joy.

I paint self-portraits because. Frida Kahlo Retablos by Hollie Taylor

Hollie captures the spirit of Frida Kahlo in the retablos she created for this show. At the gallery, the retablos are offered at $58 USD.

Shrine to Frida Kahlo by Hollie Taylor

You can order your retablo from Hollie at a direct-from-artist price. They are lightweight, ready for hanging, made from collected objects on hand-painted rice-paper covered foam core.

Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera in Mexico City Art History Study Tour

Hollie also teaches retablo workshops in her Chapel Hill home studio. Email her at hollietaylorart@icloud.com her for details about ordering and scheduling a workshop.

Hollie Taylor Novak, mixed media artist

4 Comments

Posted in Cultural Commentary, Mexico City, Workshops and Retreats

Tagged art, art history, classes, devotional, exvoto, Frida Kahlo, Hollie Taylor Novak, icon, mixed media, paintings, retablo, study tour, tribute, wall art, workshops

2016 Summer-Fall: Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera–Mexico City Art History Study Tour

Posted on Monday, April 4, 2016 | Comments Off

Come to Mexico City to explore the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera through their art. This is in-depth art history education at its best! We offer you a narrated cultural immersion that you can miss if you visit on your own. Our expert guide is a bi-lingual Mexican art historian! Come solo, with a partner or friend. Norma Schafer participates in all programs. Small group size limited to 8 people for quality experience. We don’t rush you, either.

Summer and Fall 2016 Schedule: Take Your Holiday Weekend Here!

June 30-July 3, 2016
September 1-4, 2016

We can customized dates for groups of 4 or more people. Contact me.

Arrive and meet for a group dinner on Thursday at 7 p.m. We will have a long weekend — three full days — to learn about Diego Rivera‘s stunning Mexico City murals, visit Casa Azul where Diego and Frida Kahlo lived, and see the largest private collection of their work at the Dolores Olmedo Museum.

Man Controller of the Universe mimics destroyed Rockefeller Center mural

Through their eyes, you will better understand Mexico’s political, cultural and social history, and their personal lives together. Theirs is a story of Mexico’s development as a post-revolutionary modern nation.

You will meet their contemporaries, muralists Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Sequieros, as you compare and contrast their collective work.
We introduce you to student muralists of the time: Pablo O’Higgins, Marion Greenwood, Isamu Noguchi and others.

If you want to register, send me an email. Tell me the dates you prefer!

A few little nips — Frida painted this after Rivera’s affair with her sister

This is an incredible experience! The Rivera murals at the Secretary of Public Education building were like nothing I expected. The scale, the intensity, the variation of themes, the continual flow of connecting vignettes – just mind blowing! It isn’t just an art tour. It is an intense immersion into the beginning of an art movement, a cultural movement, and a culmination of historic events that come alive. — Christine Bouton, North Carolina

Our expert guide is a noted art historian who holds a master’s degree in art history who is about to embark on a doctoral program. She shares her passion for the Mexican Muralists, narrates the expedition, and leads us through these spaces to give you the most meaningful educational experience:

Palacio Nacional
Palacio Bellas Artes
Museo de Mural de Diego Rivera
Secretaria de Educacion Publica (SEP)
San Ildefonso National Preparatory School
Abelardo Rodriguez market
Casa Azul — the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño

Yes, you can visit these places independently. But it’s not likely you will get the same in-depth knowledge, insights, and perspectives if you do.

She called him toad. He was 20 years older. They were passionate about life, politics, each other. They shaped the world of modern art and she became an icon in her own right, creating an independent identity that serves as a role model for women. They were twice married and unfaithful, the subjects of books and film, and art retrospectives around the world.

Rivera’s Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park

Casa Azul — Museo Frida Kahlo is a tribute to the life of both artists. Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño holds the largest private collection of Frida and Diego paintings in the world. Lola Olmedo was a benefactor and life-long personal friend of Rivera who became executor of his estate that included Casa Azul.

Rivera’s mural at the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) covers detailed Mexican history, from pre-Hispanic America to the Spanish Conquest through industrialization, including the French and U.S. invasions, from 1521 to 1930.

David Alfaro Sequieros, Rivera rival; Palacio Bellas Artes mural

Plus, you will have lots of options for independent exploration: shop for outstanding folk art, and eat at local markets, historic and fine contemporary and traditional restaurants! Visit the Anthropology Museum.

Lunch at the gourmet market, Mercado San Juan

See our reviews on Trip Advisor!

Base Trip Includes:

welcome dinner at renown restaurant Azul Historico
guided discussions by an expert, bilingual art historian educated at UNAM and graduate Southern Methodist University
introduction to Norma’s favorite restaurants (meals not included) and folk art galleries
transportation to Casa Azul and Dolores Olmedo Museum
complete travel packet and readings sent in advance via email

Preliminary Itinerary

Day 1, Thursday: Meet for group dinner at 7 p.m. at Restaurant Azul Historico near the Zocalo. Dinner included in your tour cost. Overnight in Mexico City.
Day 2, Friday: guided visit to SEP, Colegio de San Idlefonso, where Diego met Frida, and the Abelardo Rodriguez market where Rivera’s students, including Pablo O’Higgins, painted. Lunch and dinner on your own. Overnight in Mexico City.

One of 125 Rivera painted at SEP, 1923-28, this one mocking the bourgeoisie

Day 3, Saturday: guided visit to Palacio Bellas Artes and Museo Mural de Diego Rivera. Optional folk art shopping or visit to Anthropology Museum. Lunch and dinner on your own. Overnight in Mexico City.

Palacio Bellas Artes built during the 30-year Porfirio Diaz presidency

Day 4, Sunday: guided visit to Casa Azul and Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño. Includes transportation. Lunch on your own. Overnight in Mexico City.
Depart on Monday for home.

The oldest street in Mexico next to the Palacio Nacional looks like Europe

Be ready to WALK and then, walk some more! Don’t forget to bring an extra suitcase to pack treasures you pick up along the way.

Base Cost: $895 USD per person double occupancy, includes 4 nights lodging.
Single Supplement offered: $1,195 USD

We will stay at a comfortable bed and breakfast inn or hotel located in the historic center of Mexico City with breakfast included.

Tiffany ceiling, El Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico

What the base cost does not include:

meals except noted in itinerary, alcoholic beverages
transportation to/from Mexico City
museum admission fees
mandatory international health/accident insurance
tips for hotels, meals and other services

Base Cost: $895. USD per person double occupancy, includes B&B lodging with breakfast, private bath for four nights, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Otherwise, all exceptions noted above apply.

Single Supplement: $1,195. USD for private room and bath.

Optional: Arrive early and/or stay later to discover Mexico City and her incredible museums and restaurants. We will give you a list of recommendations to explore on your own.

Katharsis, 1934 mural by Jose Clemente Orozco, Palacio Bellas Artes

Reservations and Cancellations. A 50% deposit will guarantee your spot. The last payment for the balance is due 45 days before the program start date. Payment shall be made by PayPal. We will send you an itemized PayPal invoice.

Please understand that we make arrangements months in advance of the program. Deposits or payments in full are often required. If cancellation is necessary, please tell us in writing by email. After 45 days before the program starts, no refunds are possible. However, we will make every possible effort to fill your reserved space or you may send a substitute. If you cancel on or before the 45 day date, we will refund 50% of your deposit.

Frida died July 13, 1954, at age 47, soon after she painted these watermelons

Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health/emergency evacuation insurance. Proof of insurance must be sent at least two weeks before departure. If you do not wish to do this, we ask you email a PDF of a signed and witnessed waiver of liability, holding harmless Norma Hawthorne Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. Unforeseen circumstances happen!

To register, email us at norma.schafer@icloud.com. We accept payment with PayPal only. Thank you.

Frida’s sketchbook & journal; notice the deformed leg from childhood polio.

This workshop is produced by Norma Schafer, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. We reserve the right to adjust the itinerary and substitute leaders without notice.

A note to Frida from Diego two years after her death … “you live in my heart.”

Paint brushes in Frida’s studio at Casa Azul, exactly as she left them

Comments Off on 2016 Summer-Fall: Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera–Mexico City Art History Study Tour

Posted in Cultural Commentary, Mexico City, Photography, Travel & Tourism

Tagged art history, Ciudad de Mexico, class, communism and Mexico, Diego Rivera, Distrito Federal, Frida Kahlo, guided tour, Leon Trotsky, Mexican Muralists, Mexican Revolution, Mexico, murals, Pablo O'Higgins, politics, study, tour, tourism, travel

Mascaras Mexicanas: Mexican Masks — Dances, Dieties, Identity

Posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 | 6 comments

A new temporary special exhibition at the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) on the Zocalo in Mexico City features hundreds of hand-made masks from towns and villages throughout Mexico.

This is the same building that houses Diego Rivera murals, so if you go there soon, don’t miss this. Enter on side street through security, go to second floor.

I returned on my last day in the Federal District and spent about an hour-and-a-half learning more about Mexican art and culture. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In ancient civilizations one of the main functions of ritual masks was to represent gods to worship them in religious celebrations. This was designed to support natural and social equilibrium.

In pre-Hispanic Mexico, masks served as elements of transformation that allowed rulers and priests to assume the identity of their gods during ritual ceremonies. This helped bridge communication between the spiritual and natural world.

The gold mask, above right, was found in a Monte Alban, Oaxaca tomb.

Sculptures, reliefs, murals and figurines from throughout Mesoamerica show ancient members of the elite personifying deities with the masks and attire that empowered them.

If you come with us on Looking for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Art History Study Tour in February or March, you can drop in to see this show.

According to the exhibition curators, since the time of the Spanish conquest in 1521, the invaders prevented pre-Hispanic civilizations from freely practicing their religious customs. The conquistadores imposed their will by force. The Catholic religious friars sought to supplant native ancestral traditions by incorporating Christian ideas into native rituals.

Despite these efforts, pre-Hispanic symbols survived and indigenous people continue to observe their ancient religion under the veil of Catholicism. New masks arose from this cultural mixing (mestizaje) with an original combination of symbols that continue to the present in many regions throughout Mexico.

This provides continuity for ceremonial and celebratory traditions. Many communities throughout Mexico, such as Teotitlan del Valle, where I live, practice rites and dances like Dance of the Feather (Danza de la Pluma) from viceregal times in which costumes and masks play a central role in the celebrations.

La Malinche mask, left, called Maringuilla bonita, is from the Purepecha Danza de los Viejitos, Michoacan. Here she appears as a sweet, modest young woman. To the right is Moor Mask from the Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, with eyelashes and red cheeks depicting cultural exoticism.

The masks are handmade from gold, precious stones such as jade, turquoise, malachite and coral, wood, paper, straw, textiles and other materials. All the indigenous people of Mexico, including Aztecs, Mayans, Zapotecs, Purepechas and others used them.

Sacred dances in pre-Hispanic Mexico were ceremonies of invocation that found resonance in Catholicism as indigenous people were folded into the Spanish concept of small towns or barrios under the sponsorship of patron saints.

Right, Huichol mask from the Sierra Madre of Jalisco. The Huichol people do intricate beadwork.

Indigenous people adopted and venerated these saint along with their own ancestors and pre-Hispanic deities. Friars promoted village feast days during the liturgical calendar and introduced morality plays. These were dramas based on sacred history and events that focused on the struggle between good and evil.

Often featured in these dances are masks representing Judas, Jews, Moors and the devil. The purpose of this was to instill fear and respect in the local population along with the message that they were defeated and obliged to strictly obey the new religion. I have no personal evidence today of any anti-Semitism in Mexico, that continues to welcome dissidents and disenfranchised.

We see in the Hall of Festivals at the Secretary of Public Education Building in Mexico City, many of these celebrations painted by Diego Rivera in his murals. Masks in this exhibit depict the Deer Dance from Sinaloa, also featured by Rivera.

La mascara posee un extraño poder de sugestiøn sobre la imaginaciøn … es la sintesis, la esencia de la deidad, del demonio, muerto o héroe qu se trata de representar. — Miguel Covarrubias

The mask has a strange power of suggestion on the imagination … it is the synthesis, and represents the essence of deity, demon, death or hero. — Miguel Covarrubias

The exhibition takes a step beyond the traditional to include the work of Mexican contemporary artists who work in various media. This painting (below) by Frida Kahlo, My Nanny and Me, is on loan for this exhibition from its home at the Dolores Olmedo Museum.

Evoking Frida Kahlo: Making Altars and Shrines Art Workshop

The painting is part of this exhibition because of the masked wet-nurse representing indigenous culture that provides sustenance.

Also included are the work of artists Francisco Toledo (paper mask) and Germån Cueto (wood mask), and painters and printmakers whose names I didn’t record (sorry).

Today, we often hide behind the mask we present to the world as a way of self-protection, self-preservation. In the days before the popularity of mask-wearing for Halloween, the mask was a symbol for deception, hypocrisy, and lies.

Instead, we can hide behind a straight face, make-up, choice of clothing to present who we are — to project “our face” outward. It is interesting to think that an exhibition of this type can cause each of us to ask the question, Who am I?How do I present myself and how am I “seen” in the world?