Sep

Mexican Culture: Moments of Note in Miniature

by Sheron Long on September 24, 2014

Miniature diorama of a harvest celebration opens a window into Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Harvest diorama
© Sheron Long

How Long Can a Summer in Mexico Last?

A lifetime. When you step into another culture, rarely do you leave without life-changing, long-lasting experiences.

Certainly, that was the case during the summer I spent studying abroad in Mexico. One day, I stopped to admire this tiny scene of a harvest celebration—

the corn stalks scratching the sky,

the central beast of burden,

families thankful for the bounty of the crop.

I bought the miniature scene for the beauty of the Mexican folk art, but I came to love it for the thankful moment it symbolizes. A moment of note.

As life went on, I realized the significant impact of my immersion into Mexican culture. There had been many moments of note, many times to say, “Oh, I see.”

Mexican miniature showing a diorama of a kitchen scene and a traditional aspect of Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Mexican kitchen scene,
cooking up food for thought
© Sheron Long

Respect for Mexico’s Roots

Just as with people, I came to understand that a country’s life story gives shape to its present. And that is one reason cultures are different.

In 1492 when Columbus arrived, the indigenous people had built great civilizations, and they were already making miniatures. In the ruins at Teotihuacán and Monte Albán, for example, archaeologists uncovered tiny clay figurines of people and animals, little dishes, and diminutive buildings.

Map of Mexico with modern-day cities where Mexican culture and folk art still thrive. (Image © iStock)

Amid Mexico’s modern cities are the vestiges of great civilizations, such as
Teotihuacán outside Mexico City and Monte Albán near Oaxaca.
© iStock

For a country like Mexico, the arrival of the Europeans had a profound impact. The landing was not merely an important discovery, but rather the very birth of la raza, the beginning of something as personally significant as the Hispanic identity.

Just over 300 years later in 1810, Mexicans rose in revolt against Spain. Mexican folk art survived the constraints of the Spanish colonial rule and Porfirio Diaz’s dictatorship that followed. After the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), however, when national pride swelled, the enduring tradition of artisanal crafts came to be seen as part of the national heritage.

Mexico today is a vibrant culture, both rural and cosmopolitan, with tough issues of drugs and corruption at its doorstep. It is also respectful of its rich origins, a place where arte popular (folk art) is part of the national identity.

Tiny in Form, Big in Appeal

Another moment of note—Mexican miniatures, small replicas of full-sized objects, are the epitome of handcrafts. Katrin Flechsig, in her book Miniature Crafts and Their Makers, gets you thinking about why they enchant us.

A large Mexican market basket and a tiny replica both represent Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Which is more fascinating, the small replica or the real basket?
© Sheron Long

Could it be the playfulness of little objects? Or, could it be the very fact that they are frivolous and impractical? The artisans who make vases like the one below have to know they will never be used. Does that free them up to create?

A pink dahlia next to a miniature vase, crafted by a Mexican artisan and part of the folk art of Mexico. (Image © Sheron Long)

A vase too small
© Sheron Long

Whatever the reason, they attracted the eye of painter Frida Kahlo who displayed her miniatures and folk art in La Casa Azul (Blue House), the home where she was born and died in Coyoacán, now part of Mexico City. You can still see them there today. Perhaps they serve, as Flechsig notes about other modern-day collectors, as “an antidote to cultural memory loss.”

Close to Home

Often Mexican miniatures depict everyday objects used in the rhythm of life—a traditional metate for grinding corn . . .

A metate, or flat grinding stone in miniature, illustrating the work of Mexican artisans preserving Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Though a miniature metate won’t hold a lot of corn, it authentically represents Mexican culture.
© Sheron Long

. . . or special vessels for cooking and carrying.

Copper baskets with intricate handles, the work of Mexican artisans creating miniatures that are part of Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Intricate handiwork shows the perseverance required
to make something beautiful and small.
© Sheron Long

These objects may look small and simple, but they recall family life, one of the deepest and most important values in Mexican culture.

Miniature table set with a tiny basket of fruit and other household items, symbolizing the value of family time in Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Miniatures speak to important values like family time during la comida,
the two-hour lunch in the middle of the day.
© Sheron Long

Made in Mexico

Just about any material is fair game for a miniature. In the dinner scene, a found object—the walnut—becomes the back of a guitar. Palm leaves are woven into tiny baskets, one holding ceramic fruit. A piece of metal makes a tiny strainer. It’s all up to the resourcefulness and the ingenuity of the artisan.

The maker of these finger-sized wooden masks found the bits of wood, considered their natural shapes, whittled a hollow in the back, and then carved and painted to create the fanciful animals.

Tiny wooden masks of a cat, dog, fox, wolf, and other animals, made by a miniaturist whose work reflects Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Creative faces of the miniaturist
© Sheron Long

A lover of literature and the arts must have made these symbols of culture, one from paper and the other from wood and string, both less than 1/2-inch tall.

Miniature book from paper and tiny guitar from wood are examples of the artisanal crafts of Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Imagine the concentration it takes to bind a tiny book and to string a guitar smaller than a fingernail!
© Sheron Long

When I think about the work involved—the manual skill and the diligence required, the certain tedium in putting the miniatures together—I wonder again about the payoff. These are little objects that will never be used.

And yet there was something about my encounter with Mexican culture that taught me to see them as quite worthwhile. The visual delight, the joy of play, the pride in a rich cultural history—these are big moments of note. And that gives miniatures a significance greater than what meets the eye.

Miniature plaster dove with a letter in its mouth, illustrating one type of folk art in Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

Hasta la vista!
© Sheron Long

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

For travel information on Mexico, visit Mexico’s Tourist Board. And, if you go, be sure to stop at the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City.

@YoSoyMexicano invites a different twitterer to share info about Mexico each week, a good way to get insights on currents in the modern culture (in Spanish only). Or, visit the government of Mexico on Facebook for “the latest stories and news on progress and modern changes that are moving Mexico into the future.”

Sheron Long 6 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Mexico/Study Abroad/The World's Art & Design

Aug

Inspired by Art and Wondering Why?

by Sheron Long on August 18, 2014

Sculpture of "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin is itself an example of inspiring art used in this article to suggest making an emotional connection to art instead of overthinking it. (Image © Robert Long )

“Le Penseur” (The Thinker) by Auguste Rodin at the Rodin Museum, Paris.
Image © Robert Long

Don’t Overthink It!

Art. It’s part of our earth and in every heart. It’s as old as time, and yet it lights up the future. It speaks to you without words.

Art began talking to me during college, not as much in my art history class as on a study abroad visit to the Rodin Musuem in Paris. Perhaps it was my age and the subject matter of “The Kiss” that caused the emotional connection, but art has been a source of inspiration ever since.

"the Kiss" sculpture by Auguste Rodin inspires and emotional connection to art. (Image © Robert Long)

“Le Baiser” (The Kiss) by Auguste Rodin.
Passion burns in a slab of stone.
Image © Robert Long

Like all those feelings you can’t explain, I wondered why. Even studied quite a bit about form and composition, line and color, representation and abstraction. While all that knowledge helps with art appreciation, I came to understand that the value in viewing art is feeling it.

Now I don’t go to museums to analyze the works but rather to be in the midst of inspiring art. It makes me marvel, and that’s a thrill.

The Brain Reaction

Evidently, there’s a biological explanation. In a 2011 study, the British neurobiologist Semir Zeki showed artwork to people as he mapped, through fMRI, the parts of the brain that responded. Those parts associated with pleasure and reward lit up.

Scientists at the University of Toronto pooled data from 15 similar studies between 2004 and 2012. They also found that viewing paintings activated brain regions related to inner thoughts and emotions.

Though this brain research is recent, people have known the joy of making and viewing art for thousands of years. The oldest art in the Louvre Museum is this lime plaster statue dating to about 7200 BCE and excavated from ‘Ain Ghazal near Amman in northwest Jordan.

9000-year-old human figure excavated from 'Ain Ghazal in Northwest Jordan inspires an emotional connection to art. (Image © Sheron Long)

This guy delighted eyes 9000 years ago and now today
in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
© Sheron Long

Look into his eyes and you can’t help but smile. This statue is one of about 25 figures believed to be the earliest large-scale representations of the human figure.

Perhaps the ‘Ain Ghazal figures started a trend, though not all the splendid statues that followed in history have eyes or even heads. The Winged Victory lost her head somewhere along the way, but the folds of her flowing garment pressed by the wind against her body show the work of a sophisticated sculptor in ancient Greece. And, oh, those magnificent wings—admire them and you can almost feel the front part of your brain light up!

"Winged Victory of Samothrace" in the Louvre Museum, Paris, illustrating how inspiring art evokes an emotional connection. (Image © Robert Long)

The “Winged Victory of Samothrace” depicting the Greek messenger goddess Victory dominates a hall
in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
© Robert Long

French Lessons

In France patrimoine, or French heritage, includes the sculptures shown here—in fact, all art in the national museums. As such, the art is protected and owned by the country’s citizens, who are charged with passing a love of art onto the next generation.

That’s why you often share the galleries in French museums with inquisitive school children, like this group of sketchers at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

School children sketching sculptures develop an emotional connection to art. (Image © Sheron Long)

Eyeing “Spoon Woman” by Alberto Giacometti gives a young girl an early start on appreciating art.
© Sheron Long

Another group recreated Alberto Giacometti’s skinny dog with pipe cleaners, literally feeling the art.

School children studying the inspiring art of Alberto Giacometti as they use pipe cleaners to recreate his bronze sculpture of a skinny dog. (Image © Sheron Long)

Culture and heritage come along with this art lesson.
© Sheron Long

Bronze dog, inspiring art by Alberto Giacometti, alongside two student creations made from pipe cleaners and illustrating an emotional connection with art. (Image © Sheron Long)

Two pipe cleaner dogs and one Giacometti bronze—
all capture the imperfect forms for which the sculptor is famous.
© Sheron Long

The French lessons are an “Oh, I see” moment: Connecting with heritage, connecting with art is a human right. The French make sure their children get the chance.

The Outdoor Museum

It’s true that most art is inside museums, so people often have to make a deliberate choice to see it. Some are put off by guides who make them feel ignorant or the stuffiness of some institutions. Communities that place art in public spaces and street artists who create so much more than graffiti are making a difference in access, however.

Boy climbing on a modern art sculpture of a large head in the Tuileries Gardens. (Image © Robert Long)

Art you can climb on!
Sculpture by Ugo Rondinone
© Robert Long

When Swiss-born sculptor Ugo Rondinone set up 12 giant heads in the Tuileries Garden for his “Sunrise East” exhibit, he added amusing interpretations of the human figure to history’s collection. He also gave museum access to the public with an open invitation to play with his inspiring art.

No one needed a guide. Most rediscovered a bit of wonder from these cast bronzes covered with silver auto paint. An emotional connection with art? For sure, and no need to overthink it.

Two adults showing an emotional connection with inspiring art as they make the same face as a funny sculpture of a giant head by Ugo Rondinone. (Image © Erick Paraiso)

Art inspires a number of emotional reactions.
© Erick Paraiso

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/France/The World's Art & Design

Jul

Life Changes When A Brain Goes Bilingual

by Sheron Long on July 29, 2014

Shape of the Western hemisphere in an eye, illustrating how life changes and the world view expands for people with a bilingual brain. (Image © Stockbyte)

Oh, how the view of your world expands!
© Stockbyte

Power Up! Know the 6 “Warming” Signs

The bilingual brain is hot! Powered by two or more languages, it leads to a series of life changes. Should you embark on this adventure, recognize the 6 “warming” signs and get set to become a different person.

#1 You Start to Zag

Growing up, you get pretty good at zigging, doing things the usual way. But once you start communicating in a second language, you have to find fast work-arounds. The very thing you want to say requires a word you don’t yet know.

Maybe you want to invite a friend to the beach, but you can’t recall the Spanish word for beach (playa), so you think on your sandals and say (in Spanish): Let’s find some sand. Or, Let’s go down by the water. Or, To Acapulco!

Acapulco beach, discovered while trying to build bilingual brain power in Mexico. Image © Erkki Tamsalu / iStock)

The beach in Acapulco—worth getting there!
© Erkki Tamsalu / iStock

When you’re learning a language, you do this over and over and over again. Pretty soon, an important concept sinks in: If you’re stuck and can’t solve the problem in one way, you can always solve it in another.

Then you start approaching all of life’s problems, big and small, in a flexible way—zigging when you can, zagging when you can’t.

#2 You Take More Risks

Anyone new to a language knows it’s a risk to open your mouth and talk. We all have our stories, like the time my husband expressed appreciation to our French friend Françoise: Merci, Frambroise! (Thanks, Raspberry!)

But it’s the unabashed courage to keep on talking that finally blesses you with a bilingual brain. Along the way, you learn that people are pretty understanding, and you figure out how to get yourself out of trouble.

All that leads to speaking up more, to trying new approaches without the fear of failure because you know one of your next risks will work out well.

#3 You Turn on a Dime

Once multiple languages fill your head, your brain has to activate and prioritize the one that’s needed.

Man's head showing his bilingual brain at work as he switches back and forth between two languages. (Image © Vectoraart / iStock)

You find yourself speaking in English to one person and then turn on a dime to communicate with someone else in Spanish.

Your brain gets fast and facile at choosing the right body of words and setting the unneeded language aside.

In fact, you may use both languages at once when you talk to another bilingual, choosing the word from whichever language best conveys your idea.

Judith Kroll calls this “language juggling.” She reports on research showing how all this switching back and forth makes you better at multi-tasking, focusing, and prioritizing—all skills of value in other aspects of life and work.

#4 You Double Your Pleasure

Speak English, and you can talk to about 500 million people in the world. Learn Spanish, and you can talk to over 400 million more. More languages, more friends.

More fun, too, discovering the riches of a culture—so much new food, art, music, and tradition to enjoy.

Slices of a starfruit, native to the Philippines, illustrating how life changes with the tastes of a new culture. (Image © Quanthem / iStock)

And, if you like to play with language, you’ll have a whole new repertoire.

The French Voilà says something that’s hard to convey in English, and it has dozens of daily uses, like other words worth borrowing.

Other languages may have just the right word for your special someone. Instead of Honey, how about the Spanish Mi vida (my life) or the French Ma puce (my flea)?

#5 You Lose That Notion of “One Way”

In the US, people drive on the right; in Britain, on the left. But everyone gets around. As you become bilingual, you learn more about culture, too, seeing the truth in this Italian proverb: Many roads lead to Rome. Now you’re freed up for creative problem-solving!

And, more than likely, you’ll embrace someone else’s idea when you see it’s better. In France, les rondpoints (traffic circles) keep cars moving much better than the US intersections with 4-way stops.

Traffic circle in Tarascon, France, illustrating a life-changing idea more likely to be accepted by someone with a bilingual brain. (Image © Sheron Long)

The French bullet trains connect cities as far apart as San Francisco and LA in 2.5 hours. Well, rondpoints and bullet trains weren’t hatched in the USA, but why not try them here?

#6 You See Life from Multiple Perspectives

Language is often the portal to a deeper understanding of a culture, an awareness of how people come at life in both the same and different ways.

Blurry clock face showing how different cultures think about the time. (Image © Hayatikayhan / iStock)

Take time, for example. One perspective is that time is linear, useful for making and keeping to a schedule.

Another is that it’s more important to fill time well. Why head to a scheduled event when the present one isn’t satisfyingly over?

Attitudes toward time are deeply rooted in culture, so much so that invitations may give the start time of an event, followed by hora latina (Latin time) or hora inglesa (English time).

Just the assignment of a gender to every noun in Spanish, French, and Italian is a clue to cultural attitudes, though sometimes confusing.

Why is a word like necklace masculine in Spanish—el collar—and a word like beard feminine—la barba?

And why is fork masculine in Spanish (el tenedor) and feminine in French (la fourchette)?

After shifting in such fundamental ways when you step into another culture or speak a second language, you begin to appreciate that perspectives are not necessarily better or worse, just different. And that alone helps with all kinds of relationships, even those closest to home.

Ready to Build Your Bilingual Brain Power?

It’s easier than you may think. Foreign movies. Online courses. Volunteer travel. Bilingual forums. World music and songs. And soon your life changes.

Even if you don’t master your second language, you may have an experience like William Alexander’s. He flirted with French and failed, but he did see a huge increase in his scores on a test of cognitive power. As he told the New York Times, “Studying a language had been like drinking from a mental fountain of youth.”

Such an “Oh, I see” moment supports research studies on the benefits of bilingualism for improving memory and delaying dementia. If you don’t build your bilingual brain for the love of language and culture, power it up for the love of life!

Beach sandals, symbolizing how life changes when you take the road to building bilingual brain power. (Image © Oksancia / iStock)

For more on the benefits of a bilingual brain, including what people say they value most about being bilingual, see Dr. Neel Burton’s essay in Psychology Today. For a fun perspective on learning a new language, enjoy Flirting with French by William Alexander.

Comment on this post below.

Sheron Long 4 Comments

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