Michelangelo once modestly claimed that his only function was to free the statue that was imprisoned in every block of marble. Similarly, the craftsmen of Ocotlan, Oaxaca use the natural contours of ordinary scraps of wood to create animals, reptiles and birds in a fantastic array of shapes and colors. These are not made from single blocks, however, but legs, tails, ears and horns are separately shaped and attached with nails or pegs to the torso. From aardvarks to zebras, large or small, grimly realistic or whimsically amusing, they carve them all, including a number of delightful specimens Noah would never have recognized.
     A visitor to this village will find workshop after workshop with shelves crammed with wooden menageries. If he shows the slightest interest, he will soon be mobbed by men, women and children from all over town eager to show off their masterpieces, all of them so enchanting they are almost impossible to resist.
     The collection shown here is the result of several such visits (and lack of resistance) over a period of 25 years. Some early examples are crude, dyed in realistic colors with details painted in ink. Yet, however naive in execution, each has its own unique charm and personality. Gradually, as they were ‘discovered’ and gained a well-deserved popularity among connoisseurs of folk art, they have grown more sophisticated in style and finish until the most recent, though still recognizable as animals, are glossily enameled in dazzling colors and patterns Mother Nature never thought of.

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