The foundation of the Taylor Museum collection is largely
rooted in traditional Latin American and Native American works, areas in which
Alice Bemis Taylor held a particular interest.
Santos, depictions of saints in both two- and three-dimensional forms,
make up a significant percentage of Taylor’s original gift; the Fine Arts
Center has maintained this legacy through the ongoing acquisition of these
objects over the decades. This selection
represents some of the most recently acquired santos and demonstrates that the
art form is very much alive and is both reverential to tradition as well as
innovative to appeal to a contemporary audience. Most of these artists are living
santeros/santeras (craftspeople of holy images) and are working in New Mexico
or Colorado, many of whom are nationally collected and renowned for their
award-winning work.
Moya: Alterscreen |
The stunning straw appliqué work of artists such as Jean
Anaya Moya continues a centuries-old European tradition that was introduced to
New Mexico and flourished in the late-17th through the mid-19th
centuries. Often called “poor man’s
gold,” the technique was developed to mimic marquetry, a form of decorating
wooden items, typically with inlaid wood, ivory, shell, or gold.
Tapia: Would Christ Make the Six-O’Clock News? |
Although it was considered a lost art form at
the end of the 19th century, it perpetuated at the Pueblo of Santa
Ana and made a dramatic resurgence through support from the WPA and the 1956
revival of the Spanish Market in Santa Fe.
Jean Anaya Moya’s continuation of this form of art begins with many
traditional materials but then combines modern materials such as acrylic paint
and commercial glues and varnish. She
states that her designs are “traditional Hispanic religious images with a
contemporary twist… it is extremely important to create art that people can
relate to.” She continues, saying that
“some change is always good as long as we never forget how we evolved.”
Luis Tapia, a Santa Fe native, began carving santos in 1970
and “looks for the nourishment of blending tradition with contemporary culture
so that the tradition may continue to grow and flourish.” He has made a place for himself in the
mainstream contemporary art world; although his bold colors and updated themes
may break from strict tradition, it is with no intention to disrespect or
satirize traditional forms. The
popularity of Tapia’s work is a testament to the artist’s belief that it is his
responsibility to create new forms rather than copy the old, stating, “I am the
tradition.” Tapia received a grant from
the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980 and has shown his work in such
notable venues as the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Corcoran Gallery, and
the Museum of International Folk Art, and he is represented in the collections
of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of American Art, and the
Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum.
Ortega: The Bishop |
Husband and wife team Eulogio and Zoraida Ortega began
making santos later in life, in 1975, after Eulogio had already served in the
army and worked as a school principal and Zoraida retired from teaching. Eulogio had originally studied art education
and had received a master’s degree in painting and sculpture, so woodcarving
came naturally and he found the history of the craft fascinating. His first piece was a bulto of San Rafael
that he decided to carve after he read about a statue by the great santero José
Rafael Aragon that had been stolen from a chapel in Chimayo. Although the sculpture was recovered before
Ortega could complete a replacement, the artist was already committed to
pursuing the craft. His wife Zoraida, an
award-winning weaver, would become his collaborator and the painter of
Eulogio’s carvings, as well as painting her own retablos. The couple’s work is nationally known and
collected by both private individuals and museums and has been featured in many
Southwestern art books and periodicals.
Perhaps their best known and most revered work is the Nuestra Senora de
Guadalupe Chapel, constructed by the couple as a testament of faith after
Zoraida’s battle with cancer. The
chapel, located in Velarde, NM, brings visitors from around the world for its
beauty and for healing.
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Harris: Las Vegas, NM |
Renowned photographer Alex Harris is represented in
collections of institutions such as the J. Paul Getty Museum, the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum and has been awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The founder of the Center for Documentary
Photography and Documentary Studies at Duke University spent six years from
1972 – 1978 living in and photographing villages in northern New Mexico,
resulting in perhaps his best known work, Red
White Blue and God Bless You, published in 1992. The image on
display is from this series of 45 photographs and offers an intimate glimpse
into the co-existence of secular and sacred culture in the lives of his adopted
community.
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