Cultural Exposure and Experience

Museums play a significant role in the exposure of their communities to the art and culture from around the world. This is particularly true for those who cannot travel, either because of cost or mobility issues, and it holds double for children, who can easily step into a museum for an hour, but aren't up to the dozen hours or more it might take to get to the place something is from. This is from an exhibit on the Day of the Dead in our local museum, from a hands on part of the exhibit with an oversized alebrije to marvel at. Alebrijes are whimsical carvings depicting animals, people, objects, and imaginary creatures painted with intense colors and intricate patterns that are from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Although there are many artisanal things produced today that date back to pre-Columbian times, these distinctive cultural artifacts are a tradition of Mexican folk art that only began to appear in the 1940s. There are villages that are known for making them, and there is gendered division of labor in the production of alebrijes. Males, both men and boys, gather and carve wood, since wood gathering and carving is a long established tradition in rural Oaxaca. The sanding of the alebrijes is a monotonous job that is usually relegated to children or unskilled labor. Women typically paint the alebrijes, with the most talented painters creating the most intricate and complex patterns. The final product is an amalgamation of talent, and for me, a source of great enjoyment.