Lacquer Renaissance in Mexico ONE of Mexico's oldest crafts-lacquer work, ancient when Bishop Vasco de Quiroga encouraged it in the sixteenth century is receiving a fresh impetus in the twentieth. The shoddy painted ornaments turned out for the tourist trade will go, with the reorganization of the industry planned by the government; and under the guidance of Señor Enrique Gutmann, the great days when its lacquer ware was the glory of Uruapan will come again. So readers are told by Ulises Monferrer, writing in the Mexican magazine Hoy. When Señor Gutmann came to Uruapan about five years ago, a journalist on vacation, the once-proud art was for many merely a poorly paid labor performed to head off starvation. The tradition which had made Michoacán lacquers distinctive was fast disappearing. Design was often a naïve combination of patterns borrowed from all over the globe, and the colors— gaudy commercial paints-were strident. Many pieces were rushed to completion. for a quick sale, and the protesting lacquers cracked later or ran. The prevailing wage for the tedious work was about a dollar a day. Even magnificent examples, recalling the past, sold to shopkeepers or in the market place for a few pesos. Gutmann's interest was aroused, and his investigations led him into a new career. No one knows how many generations of Tarascan Indians have passed on the art of patient hand-rubbing of gourds and trays, until colors glowed on a polished surface. There is a theory that the Chinese, the world's original lacquer craftsmen, might have brought it across the Pacific when they sailed (if we may believe the ancient document that tells us so) to the western shores of Mexico about 600 A. D. Authorities who hold this view point out that the Mexican lacquer cen ters are in the coastal states of Michoacán and Guerrero, where the Chinese would have landed; that Mexican and Chinese artisans use the same technical process; and that the stylized flower patterns typical of Uruapan designs are similar to those on the lacquers of China. Certainly, however, the lacquer art in preColumbian culture stretches back over centuries. The finest modern craftsmen still follow the laborious methods used by their an-, cestors to achieve masterpieces that amazed the Spanish. Gourds were hollowed out, leaving only the tough rind. Gourds and wooden objects were smoothed with sandstone, and the background-frequently black-lacquered on. The designs were cut into the finish with sharp instruments. The colors, blended from local earths according to jealously guarded formulas, were applied separately with the fingertips and rubbed into the wood. Each color was allowed to dry thoroughly for several days. The lacquer was made of a substance collected from certain small insects. Finally, the palms of practiced hands would buff the finish to a shine. A simple piece could not be completed in less than three weeks, and an ornate one might take months. The Conquest brought no change in this age-old process, but with the Spaniards new influences crept in. They widened the range of color available to lacquer artisans, and introduced unfamiliar objects on which their skill might be lavished. Spanish trade with the Orient resulted in Chinese motifs that, this time, can be traced to their source. Bishop de Quiroga's patronage of the art, as a means for the poverty-stricken Indians to better their economic condition, introduced the first European elements into the design. Señor Gutmann's research led him to believe that the history of lacquer work would provide the basis for a great modern industry. In all Mexico, there were not more than four hundred families representing the lacquer tradition, but among them were some truly fine artists. He learned that before the war sales of Japanese lacquers to the United States had totalled $24,000,000 annually, and was convinced that a market existed for good Mexican lacquers. The craftsmen needed guidance; even more, they needed a sound economic footing, to raise their work from a level of drudgery to that of art. With a small capital, he organized an enterprise to put his ideas into practice. His initial accomplishment was to convince workers that it was necessary to bring modern production methods and designs to the aid of an ancient skill. In a small cabin in the lacquer colony he installed a group of artisans, with the assurance of a steady wage higher than TWENTIETH-CENTURY TREASURES FROM URUAPAN This trio of lacquered wood trays exhibits t major influences in Uruapan ware. The bla trays are typical of traditional design, with the stylized flower patterns and graceful arabesque The larger one (top), of violet and purple wit green leaves and gold tracing, is signed by th artist, Alicia Velázquez R. The design of th smaller tray is of varying shades of red, set of with lemon yellow and silver. The merry bird and beasts in the modern all-over pattern of the center tray are black against a terra-cotta background. polishing the surface. Gutmann instituted specialization. In his shop the most imaginative workers were responsible for design; the man with steady hands did nothing but outline; women with strong hands applied and polished the lacquer. The result was a technically perfect article, but perhaps even more gratifying to Gutmann was the workers' growing approval of the specialization method. As the success of the experiment became assured, the shop hired its own woodworkers. Gutmann believes that artists of every age, while basing their work on the traditional, must express themselves in contemporary terms. In In Uruapan he wanted to create a simple style truly Mexican and representative of the Michoacán cultural heritage, yet modern-free on the one hand of inharmonious foreign influences, and on the other, of slavish repetitions of fifteenthcentury symbols. Lacquer ware from his workshop was to capture in spirit the daily life of the artisans against their historic background. Impressions of the maguey and the palm tree replaced traces of Napoleonic France and the Australian bush. Another theory of Gutmann's was that lacquered objects should be useful. He encouraged production of cigarette boxes, lamp bases, and book ends. The skepticism of the Indians, an obstacle which Señor Gutmann has since termed the principal difficulty he had to face, was dispelled as former President Cárdenas expressed his approval, and orders. showered in. From its humble shack, the studio was moved to a large house with a garden. The man who has been entrusted with promotion of the lacquer industry is a German by birth. Before 1933, he was well known in Berlin as a crusading journalist and outspoken champion of democracy. The accession of the Nazi Party forced him to flee to Prague. After a year of roving and continuing his political activities in the free countries of Europe, he settled in Mexico, his wife's country, in 1934. Convinced of the tremendous unexploited material and spiritual riches of the land, he became a photographer, accredited to Life. Exhibitions of his work attracted wide notice. With the outbreak of World War II, he devoted himself almost completely for several years, in his writings and through organizations and attempts to rescue antiFascists, to the defeat of the Axis powers. He was certain, with the victories at Stalingrad and in Africa, that the turning point of the war had been reached; and after urging early attention to the problems of the peace, set off for a vacation at Uruapan. His observations there led to the experiment that serves him as head of the government-sponsored reorganization. Present plans call for a wide application of the latest industrial methods to the making of lacquer ware. A factory is to be built, in which much of the basic work can be performed mechanically. Modern lathes and woodworking shops will permit mass production of bowls, trays, boxes, and ornaments, and a scientific drying plant will improve and speed finishing. There is to be a large new workshop for the artisans. A major improvement is to be the development of lacquers similar to those now in use, but waterproof, to permit the manufacture of a wider variety of objects. A school will be opened to train apprentices, for only a few hundred craftsmen are now skilled in lacquer work. Economic benefits to the workers, which in 1943 seemed to Gutmann so long overdue, will become a large-scale reality. As the program gets under way, international markets will be sought. It is hoped that a great new era is at hand for Michoacán, seat of the lacquer tradition. The government's interest in the prosperity of the industry, and Senor Gutmann's confidence in its future, should mean the eventual appearance of Uruapan lacquers in homes and shop windows all over the world. |