"Most often associated with Mexico, the piñata's origins may actually trace back to China. By the 14th century, the celebratory tradition of breaking open a container filled with treats had arrived in Europe. Then, Spanish colonists and missionaries imported the custom to Mexico during the 16th century, although a similar practice was already in use within Indigenous Mayan and Aztec communities in observation of special events. Today, piñatas are an integral element of cartonería, the Mexican craft of papier-mâché."
"For Los Angeles-based artist Roberto Benavidez, the art of the piñata is a central tenet of a practice exploring intersecting themes of race, sexuality, humor, sin, and beauty. He draws upon the paper art form's early religious significance in Mexico, when Spanish missionaries used a seven-pointed version as a tool for converting Indigenous people to Christianity. This motif, which appears in some of Benavidez's distinctive sculptures, nods to its past colonial use."
"Benavidez continues to make piñata-like sculptures that resemble uncanny, hybrid creatures, often inspired by the marginalia of illuminated manuscripts and the surreal characters in Hieronymus Bosch 's "The Garden of Earthly Delights," which the Netherlandish artist painted between 1490 and 1510. Bosch Beasts highlights Benavidez's ongoing fascination with the rare and extraordinary, exhibiting new works alongside pieces he's made throughout the past decade. Installed on the floor or suspended from the ceiling, his creatures appear independently occupied and immersed in an esoteric group activity."
Piñatas likely originated in China and reached Europe by the 14th century before Spanish colonists and missionaries brought them to Mexico in the 16th century, where similar Indigenous Mayan and Aztec practices already existed. Piñatas are integral to cartonería, the Mexican papier-mâché craft. Los Angeles-based artist Roberto Benavidez uses piñata forms to probe themes of race, sexuality, humor, sin, and beauty. He references the seven-pointed missionary piñata motif and creates uncanny, hybrid piñata-like sculptures influenced by illuminated manuscript marginalia and Hieronymus Bosch’s surreal figures. Bosch Beasts assembles new and decade-spanning works in immersive installations.
#pintildeata-origins #cartoneriacutea-papier-macirccheacute #roberto-benavidez #colonial-symbolism #hieronymus-bosch
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