Toneyama .:. The Popular Arts of Mexico

Toneyama, Kojin,
The Popular Arts of Mexico. 2nd printing. NY, Tokyo: Weatherhill/Heilbonsha, 1974. 225 Seiten mit Abbildungen. Leinen mit Schutzumschlag. Gross- 4to. 370 x 267 mm. 2393 g

---

* Foreword and notes on modern Mexican folk crafts by Carlos Espejel.
Bestell-Nr.160414 | ISBN: 0-8348-1030-1

---

Toneyama | Lateinamerika | Mexico | Mexiko | Ethnologie | Voelkerkunde | Kunsthandwerk | Volkskunst

---

MEXICO
has long been the source of a vast variety of utilitarian and decorative folk-art objects. In this visually stunning book, with 171 pages of full- color illustrations, a well-known Japanese painter with a keen interest in anthropology gives a fascinating view of Mexican folk crafts in words, sketches, and photo- graphs. Coming as he does from another industrialized country that yet manages to preserve a proud folk-art tradition, the author brings true perception and sym- pathy to his subject.
Here are abundantly displayed the usually joyous but sometimes melancholy themes of Mexican folk art as expressed in exuberant colors, imaginative fantasies, and native materials ranging from the humble bark paper of the Sierra of Puebla to the soft, lustrous silver of Taxco. The author also treats with deep affection the craftsmen themselves, writing of the communities in which they live and the customs that have shaped their craftsmanship.
Another important feature of the book is the survey of modern Mexican folk crafts by Carlos Espejel, the director of Mexico's national folk-arts museum. He describes the dangers that threaten his nation's folk arts and makes a moving appeal for greater official and private support of the crafts, lest commercial pressures bring about irreparable deterioration in the popular arts.
But all words take second place to the visual excite- ment of the craft objects themselves, here depicted with such love and artistry. In thus showing the rich- ness of Mexico's treasury of folk art, the book gives eloquent witness to the worth of preserving the traditional crafts of that country and, by extension, of all countries in the worlds

with 306 illustrations in full color and 27 in black and white

---