Carrying on Colorful Tradition : Family’s Sculptures Exhibited at UCLA

For 100 years the unusual craft was handed down from father to son.

Four generations had learned how to turn scraps of paper and clumps of dirt into things of beauty--festive masks, candy-filled pinatas and distinctive calaveras that had become something of a holiday tradition in Mexico.

So Pedro Linares was naturally pleased when a woman from UCLA stopped at his modest Mexico City workshop seven years ago to say that an exhibit of his family’s unusual papier-mache sculpture was in the works.

The 81-year-old Linares was assured he would be invited to the show when it opened in five years or so. It would take that long to organize and schedule a first-class exhibition.

“I might be dead by then,” the old man replied. “But if I am dead, will you still invite me? I’ll be there, I promise you.”

Linares died in 1992. And that explains why a jaunty-looking skeleton figure will be positioned near the entrance to a Fowler Museum of Cultural History gallery when the long-planned exhibition opens at noon today on the Westwood campus.

Using paste, paper and brightly colored paints, Linares created a whimsical self-portrait en calavera-- the distinctive skeletal art form that reveals the Mexican attitude toward death that is depicted during Day of the Dead celebrations. The November rites welcome the “return” of the souls of the deceased for a visit with their families.

The baseball cap-wearing skeleton will introduce visitors to 150 other Linares papier-mache sculptures on display for the show, which is scheduled to run through July 16.

“ En Calavera : The Papier-Mache Art of the Linares Family” is a tribute to work that evolved from folk art to fine art, said show curator Susan Masuoka--the woman who told Linares about the exhibition plan years ago.

Along with traditional cartoon-like skeleton figures, family members’ sculpture includes intricately detailed dragon creatures that Pedro Linares nicknamed alebrijes .

The UCLA museum has acquired Linares artwork for about 30 years, according to education director Betsy Quick. The collection was started when the university purchased pieces shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as part of a Mexican art exhibition. Los Angeles had been the final stop of a traveling show that in 1963 had visited 15 American and European cities.

Private collectors including filmmaker Dennis Hopper have loaned other pieces for the current show.

Linares’ three sons--who will demonstrate traditional papier-mache techniques today from noon to 2 p.m.--arrived Thursday for the opening. They explained their work to a small group of schoolchildren Friday and to 140 Los Angeles-area elementary schoolteachers Saturday.

The family profession was started by Pedro Linares’ father, Jose. In the early days, the craftsmen used scrap paper and clay soil to form their sculpture; dirt mixtures added color to their creations.

Felipe Linares, 52, a member of the third generation in the artistic line, said he was stunned when he stepped into the Fowler Museum.

“We were surprised to see work of my father that we hadn’t seen since 1950,” he said. “And my father’s piece by the door--there was sadness seeing that. But everybody’s going to die. We take a humorous look at it: That’s life.”

Enrique Linares, 60, said the family realizes it is carrying on the Mexican cartonero (papier-mache) tradition, but they intend to continue their father’s style of personalizing sculpture too.

Miguel Linares, 44, said the family did not realize at first that its handiwork was valuable. Now, some of the family’s work fetches $35,000 from collectors. But the Linareses have not forgotten their roots.

They still craft fiesta masks for youngsters at their workshop close to Mexico City’s municipal Merced Market.

“When I saw a kid come in and pick up a Mickey Mouse mask for $4, I thought, ‘That’s a good deal,’ and I ordered one myself,” museum curator Masuoka said of a recent trip to Mexico City.

“When I came back to get it my price was $20. They have a different price structure for local kids--they’re staying in touch with their local audience.”