On Monday November 4, the HWRHS Visual Art
and Spanish departments collaborated to welcome master woodcarvers Ventura and
Norberto Fabian from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The Fabians create a wide
range of brightly painted animal figures, based on the folk traditions of their
native village. Their day-long appearance, cultural presentation, and carving
and painting demonstration was made possible through a generous grant from the
Hamilton-Wenham EdFund. Several hundred
students participated over the course of the day.
The folk art of Mexico,
renowned throughout the world, has always provided a window into the life and
culture of the Mexican people. Since pre-Hispanic times, Mexican artisans have
worked in wood, crafting everything from furniture, tools, and utensils to
children’s toys and ceremonial masks. Today, traditional woodcarvers in the
small, rural villages nestled in the rugged hillsides of Oaxaca produce some of
the most alluring contemporary Mexican folk art.
Ventura Fabian is one of the
most original and well-known woodcarvers of the region. Brilliantly colored and
strikingly designed, many of Don Ventura’s carvings are rooted in aspects of
daily life in his village of San Martín Tilcajete; others are wildly
imaginative, springing wholly from the realm of fantasy. His dancing chickens,
strumming mermaids, drumming cats and charging dragons are known for their
“rustic” or more “primitive” qualities as well as for their whimsy and humor.
Don Ventura has passed his craft on to his son, Norberto. They now work
together, always finding new ways to embody the vibrancy and exuberance of
Mexican artistic expression.
