Customer Reviews

Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This important coletion of items brings forth the vitality of present day Mexican art. The traditional techniques being applied to the new expression is facinating. Even the most rudimentary objects become important works of art in the hands of the artisans whose work is exhibited in this book.
I have personally seen some of these objects being manufactured. That was also memorable, the presentation in this book is a veritable tribute to the artisans that preserving their traditional manufacturing are making art with some of the most menial substances.

This is a lovely and well made book that features a wide variety of folk art- weaving and fiber arts, carving, painting, ceramics, tin work, etc. It provides a great introduction to different media and styles. The work is almost all very traditional. The book is divided by media, then each page features a large photo of the artist in their studio/home and a description of the work. The opposite page has photos of the artwork by that particular artist. Quite a few photos are full page, and this is a large book! This book is attractive enough to be a coffee table book, but informative and accessable enough to be of good use in a classroom.

We were having a look through the book, checking out whom we had in our collection, whom we had met on various trips to Mexico.
The book brought back a lot of good memories, and wetted our appetite for more exploring and meeting craftspeople in Mexico.

It is an enjoyable read, with great photographs and information on the craftspeople.

For anyone who collects Mexican folk art, this one is a must have, in my opinion.

Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art is a compendium of some of Mexico's greatest artisans. The book is categorized by handicraft: textiles, wood carving, ceramics etc. There is a photograph of each artist, their work and their philosophy of creating. A few of the artisans such as Manuel Jimenez are now deceased which makes this book a very special collector's item. It is a must for the libraries of folk art lovers.

This is a big, general overview of many different forms of Mexican folk art. An artist is profiled with a few examples of their work, a write up, and photo portrait. Everything is reproduced in color, glossy paper, a large sturdy book that's a nice general survey.

My main interest in Mexican folk art is the woodcarving from Oaxaca. The cover of the book is of a Oaxacan carving which drew my attention the book. However, for those interested in Oaxacan folk art, this book only profiles a few artists of the genre (the Jimenez family being one of them).Out of the 500+ pages there are maybe 20-30 pages on the painted woodcarvings and for that reason I only gave the book 2 stars. For a broad, general survey of Mexian folk art this is a good book. Those looking for in-depth examples of Oaxacan art won't find much in here.