Juarez Mexico Travel Guide
Art Samples - Ironwood Sculpture / Indigenous Mask
Due to their remote location, when their
art was discovered traders had to employ exotic means of
transportation to reach the Seri, ranging from all terrain
vehicles to sea planes to helicopters which appeared out
of nowhere over inland villages. I'm told a few of
traders even parachuted into the region. One can only
imagine the raising of eyebrows these events caused among
the Seri, but, as with the people of Oaxaca with their Alebrijes
carvings, the demand for ironwood sculptures meant new prosperity
for them. It is unfortunate that, because of it's
popularity, ironwood is now in increasingly short supply,
but this fact may well mean your Seri artwork will only
increase in value over time. There is a wonderful
free book about the Seri people written by Bernice Johnson
and published by the University of Arizona Press.
I do not know anything about the origin of this native mask. I simply snapped a picture of it in the City Market and was struck by it later. The eyes have a haunting quality that would make this face come alive on any wall anywhere in the world. The female mask in the background is equally impressive.
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