La Curtiduría

When art is anything but trivial 

Blanca González Rosas

Founded in 2006 by visual artist Demián Flores and supported from the start by Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation, La curtiduría (the tannery) is a non-profit association, located in the city of Oaxaca which, in very little time, has become a place to create, exhibit, meet and discuss for the vibrant artistic community residing at such a beautiful and harmed town. Run by Flores and strengthened by the efforts of the arts and letters bachelor Olga Margarita Dávila as curator and of the visual artist Marietta Bernstoff, as person in charge of special projects, La curtiduría gradually consolidates its presence through merging projects that link arts with the needs, realities and everyday problems of this community.

The exhibition called El maíz es nuestra vida (maize is our life) has been at the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture, at the Chapultepec Forest Second Section, since August, 2007. This exhibition stands out both for its creative diversity and for its contextual appropriateness. It was organized by Marietta Bernstoff, who also works as promoter and social activist, and it shows 52 pieces by 48 female artists who live in Oaxaca. The exhibition is aimed at promoting reflection about the significance, from the point of view of economy, culture and nutrition, of the mystical grain in our country. Moreover, it discreetly alludes to the noteworthy relation between maintenance and female awareness. Through different manifestations, both traditional and technological, like conventional and digital graphic works, photos, videos, and installations, as well as pictorial practices, the artists deal with issues associated with the dangerous transgenic manipulation of maize, the rise of tortilla prices, the lack of governmental support to indigenous farmers and the cultural impact of such a highly-appreciated grain for Mexican identity.

Located at the museum of natural history, which under the leadership of Eduardo Vázquez, strives for the integration of both scientific and artistic models of knowledge, the exhibition presents us with works like Laura Blaconá’s watercolor paintings, which document our ethnic diversity through grains of various colors cut transversely. Also, Mari Olguín’s installation restates the perdurability of maize culture with 25 beautiful metates (flat stones used for grinding corn) from different dates in history, as well as the dramatic digital impression by Ana Santos which serves as testimony of the affective and nutritious importance of the tortilla.

Sponsored by Demián Flores, the community workshops for the population of Zegache, exhibited at the cultural center Casa Lamm, is quite notable both for its economic objectives and for the integration of contemporary art with the town’s handcrafting trades. Created on the year 2000 by the artist from Oaxaca Rodolfo Morales (1925-2001) with the purpose of generating job sources, recuperating traditional trades and preserving the artistic heritage of the town, some 20 km south from Oaxaca, the abovementioned workshops made up by 12 young artists have done a remarkable work reproducing the 18th century mirrors at the church of Santa Ana of Zegache. Best known for their cedar-wood red frames, painted in oils, with tempered gold leaves and fine silver appliqués, these mirrors stand as unique pieces, remarkable for the designs created and donated by 24 major contemporary Mexican artists.

Bearing attractive features, these mirrors are marked by the diversity of languages and poetics engraved on them, from the erotic imagery of Daniel Lezama, the geometric abstraction of Mauricio Cervantes, Francisco Castro Leñero and Gabriel Macotela, the allegories of Gilberto Aceves Navarro, the landscapes of Raúl Herrera, the fantastic references of Sergio Hernández, Óscar Bachtold and Dr. Lackra, the chromatic sensuality of Germán Venegas and the humor of Franco Aceves and Miguel Castro Leñero. These mirrors have been exactly reproduced by the workshop members in five-piece editions auctioned at 6 900 pesos.

Even if it’s true that both projects are quite interesting because of their contents and objectives, their core value resides at the sense of integration and social beneficial effects for artistic creation. A sense that serves as further evidence of the fact that art is mostly art when it is not trivial.

Translated by Rebeca Castellanos