Camel-Eagle
Last week my friend Liz and I visited the Sonoma Botanical Garden because we wanted to see the exhibition "Spirit Guides - Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles". It was fantastic.
The first sculpture greeted us in front of the Welcome Center, Camel-Eagle. When you stand behind the sculpture you can see the hump.
The eight monumental sculptures, made from fiberglass and painted with acrylic paint, are distributed throughout the garden, most of them along the California Oaks Trail.
The sculptures are inspired by the astrology of the Mesoamerican Zapotecs. Zapotec astrology features animals associated with birth dates. These animals can be symbolic of personality traits, but they are also believed to share a destiny and soul with their human counterparts.
This is Coyote-Fish. As you can see here, these are rather strange animals - coyotes with fish tails, eagles with camel humps, monkeys with iguana backs etc. Fantastical creatures indeed.
Every part of the animal is painted in great detail.
The Crane - the only animal sculpture that didn't have a part of another animal.
Jacobo and María Ángeles are a Mexican artist couple from San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, where they operate a community workshop providing training and emplyment to hundreds of local artists. Their work blends contemporary sculpture with Mesoamerican cultural traditions and patterns found in Indigenous Mexican artwork.
The Monkey-Iguana:
This artwork draws on Zapotec beliefs about animals that share a spiritual bond with humas. For many Zapotecs, and other Indigenous Mexican people, special animals called tonas and nahuales act as spiritual companions or guides. Assigned to each person at birth, any animal may be a spirit guide, from butterflies to jaguars to monkeys. Different people interpret the influence of these animals in different ways - guardians, shapeshifters and companions with intertwined souls and fates.
Tonas and nahuales can also embody their human counterparts' personalities. The monkey, for example, symbolizes knowledge and an affinity for the arts, while the iguana characterizes an ability to adapt and persevere.
The Armadillo-Insect:
The following sculpture was my favorite one - the Jaguar-Eagle.
Look at this beautiful and intense face!
In my humble opinion, I think the Rabbit-Deer should have the name Rabbit-Antelope. Those horns don't look like a deer antler.
The head of the rabbit was exquisite.
A close-up of the pattern at its neck. The symbol is the seed and stands for fertility.
Lastly we came upon the Deer-Butterfly.
According to the Zapotec astrological calendar the deer symbolizes agility and energy, while the butterfly represents hope and optimism.
8 comments:
...Carola, these Spirit Guides are fabulous, so colorful. Many should learn immigrant add color to our society when they sure their culture.
Hello,
Easy to see that Sonoma Botanical Garden is a beautiful plece to visit. I like those unusual artworks. This is really a lovely post.
Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I really appreciate you writing your point of view about American people who don't support Trump. You also wrote kind words about my country. Thank you for that!
Great to hear your mother used to speak Italian. As it is known, Italian is official language in South Switzerland too.
You grew up in Germany, which is the European contry I like the most.
I have been there six times in Germany: Rosenheim, Stuttgart, Offenbach, Nurnberg, Munchen and Berlin.
Feel free to ask me everything you would like to learn/know about Italy.
Greetings from Italy,
Giorgio
Gorgeous photos
Danke, liebe Carola, für die vielen Fotos dieser wunderbaren Skulpturen.
Mit Sicherheit hattet ihr viel Freude im Botanischen Garten bei dieser herrlichen Ausstellung.
Was für wunderschöne Formen, Bewegungselemente und spirituellen Wahrnehmungen konntet ihr in euch aufsaugen.
Die Farben der Bemalungen und Muster sind ebenfalls eine Augenweide.
Dankeschön. Freut mich sehr.
Ich mag den Hirsch-Schmetterling :-)) neben vielen anderen.
Eine Umarmung für dich und liebe Grüße. Viola
Well these are stunning. Before I got too far into viewing you images, my thought was these looks similar to Huichole art, not exactly but close. I had to look Taller Jacobo y María Ángeles up and was not surprised where they are located. This is a magnificent display! How fortunate that you were able to see it in person and then share it with FFO. Thank you so much. Have a nice weekend.
Carola, these are truly spectacular! I am very familiar with these Mexican figures from the state of Oaxaca. However, I had only seen small handcrafted figurines that are available at Mexican folk art shops, not sculptures. Not just that, but Jacobo and María Angeles artistry is truly superb. Thank you for sharing these pictures!
Wow Carola. These are spectacular. That is a a visit I would love to do also. The colors and designs of these spirit animals are amazing, and I love how they have a cultural history too. Thanks for sharing. Happy weekend. hugs-Erika
Dear Carola, these are amazing! So beautiful, colourful and creative!
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