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 Vallarta Living | Art Talk | July 2005 
Mexican Folk Art Emerged From Behind Prison Walls
 Marcia Manna - Union-Tribune
Rations consisted of one cup of coffee and one cup of beans a day. In the cramped cells of San Juan de Ulúa in Mexico, shackled convicts suffered through high tides, when water would seep in and rise until it was waist high.
The inmates confined to the Veracruz dungeon had little to inspire artistic creativity. Yet they are commonly believed to be responsible for the intricately carved coin banks prized by collectors of Mexican folk art.
Their motivation would have been twofold. For a moment in time, the prisoner was free to sculpt scenes of life outside the confines of a hellish existence: riders on horseback dressed in colonial finery, religious figures, baroque floral images and, typically, a face inlaid with silver and mother-of-pearl.
And there was the second reason:
"Extra privileges could be purchased by prisoners," said Joanne Stuhr, curator of "Alcancia de Coco en Mexico," an exhibit of about 40 coin banks that will open Friday at the museum of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. "Coin banks would be a way to generate revenue, or perhaps to create favor with guards to have more food or better living conditions. It's difficult to get concrete information, but it was common practice for prisoners to make objects that could be sold."
The banks were made from the shells of coconuts. Most have a face on one side that correlates with the natural shape of the fruit. After the outer fibers were stripped away, a wedge-shaped hole was made to pour out the milky contents. The hole would later serve as the mouth of a human face, often carved with a mustache. Mother-of-pearl inlays were used for eyes.
The other sides of the shells were carved with intricate scenery that often reflected ancient Indian mythology or figures from the Spanish colonial period.
The coin banks in the exhibit are believed to have been made during the 19th and 20th centuries. Stuhr said the detailed images indicate they were made by educated artisans.
In 1528, the fortress was built to protect the Veracruz port from pirates and thieves, and for more than 300 years, during the Spanish Inquisition and the Spanish-American War, San Juan de Ulúa was Mexico's most feared prison. Presidents, patriots and religious leaders were among the prisoners.
"I was most impressed by the sophistication of the imagery," said Stuhr, who has a master's degree in art history and served for a decade as curator of Latin American art at the Tucson Museum of Art. "Not only is it detailed and finely crafted, but it's intelligent and informed."
Collectors from Carlsbad, Santa Monica and Santa Barbara have contributed to the Escondido exhibit. One piece, from collector Jim Jeter of Santa Barbara, is inscribed: "Made by an inmate at San Juan de Ulúa." It's one of Stuhr's favorites – a 19th-century bank with filigree carving that portrays a lion, female dancers and a man riding a bull.
Jeter is an antique dealer and visits Mexico frequently, searching for artifacts from the Spanish colonial period. He has collected more than 30 coin banks and said he is especially moved by some of the inscriptions.
"So many have dedications to 'mi sposa' or 'mi familia,' " he said. "It was something they could do to give it a purpose." |
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