Friday, February 21, 1997
‘Cuando Hablan Los Santos,’ the newest exhibit at the UCLA
Fowler Museum showcases the generations-old tradition behind
carving statues of Catholicism’s most sacred figures.By Kathleen
Rhames
Daily Bruin Contributor
he art of northern New Mexico not only represents a cultural
lifestyle, but a tradition that has lasted generations.
But the New Mexican artists are not traditional in the sense
that they are painters or performers. They are "saint makers" or in
Spanish, santeros. Sculpting ornate statues of Catholic saints from
a simple wood shell, the santeros reveal that their artwork is a
way of connecting with their faith.
"In Latin-American culture, there’s a belief that santos
(saints) can help you in your life," says artist Cruz Lopez. "By
respecting those traditions, creating a santo is actually like
saying a prayer to that specific saint. The faith is what inspires
us to create."
Starting Feb. 23, the UCLA Fowler Museum will present its latest
cultural exhibit, "Cuando Hablan Los Santos," or "When the Saints
Speak."
The exhibit will include the work of 13 contemporary santeros
that features decoratively carved santos and other devotional
objects such as painted panels and altar screens.
The artwork will be displayed alongside a biographical sketch of
each artist that details their early and transitional pieces. The
combination of images and text gives insight into how the santeros
interpret their own work. It gives them a voice that speaks
centuries of tradition to viewers.
"Our thought was to let the work speak for itself," says chief
curator Mari Lyn Salvador. "All of these artists have a shared
concern about expressing their sense of spirituality and their
pieces represent saints which are very much a part of that
spiritual belief. You really get a sense of who these people
are."
The belief in the power of saints is part of the Catholic faith
that dates back to the early days of the church. Men and women who
sought spiritual union with God lived self-sacrificing lives in the
hope of spreading God’s love and peace to others. It is believed
that after their deaths, God rewarded their devotion with sainthood
in heaven where they exist as patrons who can help believers who
pray to them.
For Lopez, carving santos is a bridge to finding inner peace
with himself and his faith. His piece is entitled "Nuestra
Señora Dolores," meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows." She represents
the sorrowing mother and the pain of the Virgin Mary at the time of
Christ’s death. Lopez says he creates specific santos that he feels
he can relate to. Doing so enables him to express many hidden
emotions.
"My piece really means a lot to me because I identify very much
with the sorrow that she felt," Lopez says. "I can somehow
understand it and put myself in her place. It’s a way to think
about things because you spend so much time perfecting the artwork.
In this way I feel like I become a little bit closer to God."
While making santos may indeed connect the artists with their
faith, it also connects them with people and is a hobby that has
been bringing families together for generations.
No one knows this better than Lopez, who will speak at the
opening night of the exhibit alongside his father José
BenjamÃn Lopez, a santero since the age of 17. The younger
Lopez attributes his talent and ideals to his father who taught him
the tradition of the santero at an early age. The bond between
father and son clearly stems from the shared interest in carving
and for this reason, Lopez feels proud to be presenting his piece
at the exhibit.
"It’s really important that I get to do this with him because I
carve with him all the time," Lopez says. "Where I’m from, families
have been in New Mexico for decades and I think it’s important that
the culture and traditions have remained alive. My kids will one
day learn and understand where they’re from and what people came
before them. That is what my father taught me."
The 13 santeros participating in "Cuando Hablan Los Santos" were
originally chosen through a process of taped interviews and studies
done as a collaborative project with the Maxwell Museum of
Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. Under the direction
of museum curator Mari Lyn Salvador, each artist was asked to
create a piece which they thought best represented their work. The
sculptures were carved on both painted and unpainted wood according
to the tradition that each individual santero followed.
"I was really interested in the perspective of the artists
 how they viewed their own work and the work of their peers,"
Salvador says. "So that became the organizing framework of the
exhibit, highlighting the voices of the artists themselves."
When they’re not presenting in the exhibit, the santeros spend
their time carving religious figures for recreation and as a paid
job. While their work adorns churches in the form of altars and
religious statues, the artists enjoy a lucrative business selling
their work at the Spanish Market in New Mexico every July and other
local market fairs.
But whether in a church or in a museum, the tradition and the
faith carved into each santo give it a unique voice of its own.
"It’s not just artwork, it’s an emotion and a representation of
strong faith," Lopez says. "It has a lot of power and it bears a
powerful message."
ART: "Cuando Hablan Los Santos" opens at the Fowler Museum Feb.
23 and will be on display through Sept. 7. For more information
call (310) 825-4361.
SHAWN LAKSMI/Daily Bruin
"Nuestra Señora de los Dolores" /"Our Lady of Sorrows" by
Cruz Lopez.SHAWN LAKSMI/Daily Bruin
"Santa Fe Blue Carreta" by Luis Tapia.SHAWN LAKSMI/Daily
Bruin
"The Holy Family" by Jose Ben Lopez.