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Ceramic Trees of Life
The Fowler Brings You Mexico Color and Culture from across the border
Original posting: June 2003 Issue
Original posting: June 2003 Issue
by JENNIFER CHANG, editor-in-chief
If you were on campus between last month and this month, you may have seen the bright, colorful banner advertisement hanging above the entrance to the Fowler Museum. In your haste to get to your class, it was probably only a blur of reds, blues, greens and whites that darted quickly out of your field of vision as you scurried by. If you happened to be walking at a leisurely pace, however, you may have seen the details in the banner and noticed that the advertisement is an extreme close-up of a very intriguing piece of art. If you are among the lucky few who had time enough to stop and read the banner, you would have discovered that the Fowler Museum’s newest feature is an exhibit showcasing “Ceramic Trees of Life” from contemporary Mexico. And if you are among the enlightened few who appreciates unique art and world culture, you most likely gave in to temptation and strolled inside to take a look……at which point you would have realized that it was a good thing you did.
The new exhibit at the Fowler brings an exquisite collection of unique contemporary art across the border for your viewing pleasure. I had already heard from friends that the display was one not to be missed, so I was expecting to be impressed. What I did not anticipate was that the display would effectively show me that culture is continually evolving and changing in spectacular ways.
The Ceramic Tree of Life is a rather recent art form that has gained popularity in Mexico over the last century. The designs depicted in these ceramic pieces were inspired by the country’s rural and indigenous population and the art form has endured partly as a result of the timelessness of the things it symbolizes and represents to the Mexican populous.
The clay pieces, decorated in paints and varnishes, are laden with religious, social, and mythical symbolism. For example, the use of the tree shape suggests that the country’s modern identity lays in the land’s ancient past. It has also come to represent family (think of a “family tree”) and also the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge at the center of the Garden of Eden.
The exhibit displays many different ceramic Trees of Life, done in many different styles and inspired by many different themes. The colors range from brilliant juxtapositions of contrasting hues to simple monochromatic shades. Some are tinted in variations of single colors, others are even left undecorated. Some are formed as single sculptures, while others are composed of many different components and held together with wires. The trees of life range in size, shape, structure, and function (some are ceremonial decorations while some double as candle-holders), and often the variations are so great that it would be hard to identify the pieces as being examples of a single art form if it were not for the unifying “tree” aspect.
There are, however, some common elements that the artists took care to incorporate into their ceramic pieces. These are important to note because they reflect the values, ethics, and morals dominant in contemporary Mexico. They include religion (Adam and Eve are depicted in many of the trees), national culture (some of the trees capture the spirit of holidays like the Day of the Dead), nature, family, and joyous celebration (Mariachis, dancers, and beautiful women can be seen decorating some of the trees).
There is no description that can adequately capture the experience of seeing the Ceramic Trees of Life for yourself. Each piece is unique and elicits from the viewer a very specific feeling; you will find yourself tossed from a piece that is aesthetically playful to another that is morbid and disturbing as you walk among the trees enclosed in their glass display cases.
The beautiful thing about the tradition of creating Ceramic Trees of Life, however, is that it is a part of the Mexican culture that is still changing today. Artists in Mexico are continually incorporating new symbols and conveying new ideas through this popular art. Though there’s no telling what the Trees of Life will look like decades from now, what already exists speaks volumes about the country’s past and present.
The “Ceramic Tree of Life” display will be available for viewing at the Fowler Cultural Museum through December 28th.
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