MAKING CONNECTIONS HMC X-REF 2015
Mom, why is Mexico so poor? I was recently asked by my daughter this question as we sat in the car one day driving home from school. I paused for a minute before I gave her an answer, not because I did not know how to answer it, but because at that moment I realized that she is in that age where she is starting to make sense of the world and she is starting to structure perceptions of not only the world that surrounds her, but also about who she is. Before I gave her an answer I asked her “why do you think people in Mexico are poor?” And she stated, “because they don’t have the things we have”... to which I answered, “You are right a lot of people in Mexico are very poor, but you also need to know that Mexico has a very rich cultural heritage. Her question reminded me that as we are growing up we also have a lot of questions of who we are and where we came from, it also reminded me of the importance of making those connections to our heritage. In essence, what I sensed she was really asking me was.....
“Mom, who am I?”
A New Purpose The realization that this conversation with my daughter went deeper than the surface question is what compelled me to resubmit my entry to the X-Ref committee with a new found purpose. To take this journey along side her and ďŹ nding the real richness of our culture found in art, custom and tradition. One thing that we have in common is that we love creating, we appreciate art and craft making. She likes to work with her hands and wants to be an artist when she grows up. I would like for my daughter to develop a strong sense of who she is and where she comes from. This would be a great opportunity for us to not only rebuild those perceptions, but also a unique opportunity to discover Mexico in a new light and strengthening the bond we already have through this shared experience. I wold like to call this journey:
MAKING CONNECTIONS IN SEARCH OF THE GREAT MASTERS OF MEXICAN FOLK ART
My goal is to attend a variety of workshops with my daughter to expose her to some of the tecniques passed down generation through generation.
DOCUMENTATION Seeing the art in its surroundings will allow us to docuus ment the local inuences and traditions. In the span of three weeks we will be completely submerged in the culture and visit those places that the artist go to for inspiration, from churches to archeological sites to public squares and public parks and document their sources of inspiration. We will each have our personal sketchbooks and we will use photography and maintaining a journal through a blog. Upon our return to the United States we will do a traveling exhibit to other HMC ofďŹ ces of some of the pieces that we create in the workshops along with other pieces acquired through our journey.
“I’m laughing because I know the secret of life. And the secret of life is that I have validated my existence. I know that I am worth more than my house, my bank account, or any physical thing” Carlos Santana