Here's (above) some examples of Pre-Colombian Inca sculpture. So far as I know the Incas were the world's first funny cartoonists, only their medium was pottery and sculpture, rather than paper. The Los Angeles County Museum has a terrific collection of these funny sculptures but it doesn't get much attention from visitors, maybe because the items are so tiny. My suspicion is that it also gets the short shrift because curators and art critics have disdain for funny things. They're a straight-laced bunch.
The reason I mention the Incas is that they're not the only group that's been slighted by critics. The makers of funny Mexican Folk masks also get neglected.
I don't know about you, but I find Mexican masks like this one (above) to be hilarious. Artful, too.
Haw! Why aren't museums collecting these!??
Wow! I can't believe how nuanced the expressions on some of these masks are!
Some of the newest Mexican masks look like they were made with high-tech woodworking tools. I'm guessing they're made to sell to tourists, but what's wrong with that? They're still interesting.
Current Mexican folk art often manages to be wonderful, even when it attempts to sell out. For comparison here's (above) a recent African mask. It's well done, but it looks like it was made to fit the taste of black intellectuals in New York City.
I like this one (above) a lot better. It's funny and well crafted and looks like it would appeal to tribal Africans, and not just to tourists. The problem is that it's purely decorative and that's a notch down from what earlier African art achieved.
Ditto this recently made Polynesian mask, above. Am I imagining it or does it show an anime influence? It just doesn't feel authentically Oceanic.
New Mexican masks on the other hand, seem comfortable in their own skin. They've full of modern influences and modern technique but somehow that doesn't compromise their authenticity.
I can't help thinking that Central and South America are destined to become serious cultural powerhouses in the not-too-distant future. Mexico will be a big player in that. As soon as architecture drops its silly bias against ornamental buildings the old traditions of that country may come into play again, only in modern adaptions.
