Hector Aguilar: Bold Form/Simplicity of Design

by Carole A. Berk

What is it that draws me to the designs of Hector Aguilar? The first time that I saw a piece of jewelry by Aguilar I was smitten. His bold design enhanced by the skilled way in which each piece was constructed spoke to me in a way that no other designer did. Whether it was the sunflower brooch, the "x" bracelet in silver and tiger eye, or any of his wonderful necklaces, I was definitely hooked. One of the first pieces of jewelry I was fortunate to obtain was the "puzzle" necklace and bracelet. The design, the construction, the weight of each piece tells you that this is a man to be taken seriously. His out put was tremendous.

Aguilar's creativity flourished with the guidance of Spratling, and a rich understanding of Pre-Columbian design. Learning what he could at the Spratling workshop he left in the late '30s and opened the Taller Borda. His designs are emphasized by incorporating a bold simplicity, which gives a visually, tantalizing image that can be easily read. A basic technique, such as a two-dimensional perspective, enabled Aguilar to provide simplicity of line, and generate rhythm and motion within his pieces. An excellent example of his use of two-dimensional perspective can be found in his turkey pin. Within this pin, Aguilar looks to Pre-Columbian designs to create a precise, simple view of the turkey. The bird has its head turned toward the viewer, which would make the neck, in reality, perpendicular to its body. Pre-Columbian murals created an unnatural, but elegant way to portray the human figure and the various levels of the universe. The figure would be created just like the Egyptian manner of depiction in which, a two-dimensional composite of the figure would be created that would make the figure easily recognizable to the viewer. One must keep in mind that most people during the Pre-Columbian and Egyptian periods were unable to read and write. The opportunity for reading and writing was left mainly to scribes and priests who had to relay religious beliefs to the masses. The best way to communicate beliefs to the masses was through the means of depiction. By understanding such illustration, the masses were able to tell which buildings were designated for each god. Also, by using such perspective, the image becomes timeless with a sense of monumentality. With the use of basic lines the viewer is able to distinguish the various feathers of the turkey. The simplicity of his design makes the object readily accessible to the viewer, and there is little, if any, confusion about what kind of bird it is.

Although Aguilar gained a vast knowledge of silversmithing and Pre-Columbian design under the tutelage of Spratling, he was able to reinterpret these learned principles in his own work. This made his work important in its own right, and gave rise to a large following of serious and distinguished collectors.

CHATO CASTILLO'S CUBIST PARROT

by Penny Morrill
September 2007

For Chato Castillo, a bracelet, brooch, necklace or belt buckle could serve as the substitute for a painter's canvas. In the early twentieth century, artists had been searching for ways to depict a three-dimensional subject on a two-dimensional surface in order to express its character and qualities. Beginning with Picasso and Braque, form was fragmented into planes which were then rearranged across the flat surface of the canvas.

Parrots appear often in pre-conquest art of Mesoamerica where they were considered desirable for their colorful feathers. More recently, parrots have become synonymous with the perceived exoticism of Mexico. Through painstaking effort Chato Castillo produced an image of the Mexican parrot that has now become iconic. With married metals and Aztec stone-work, Chato broke up the color surfaces; flattened them out; and then reconfigured them. The color and texture patterns are inextricably combined and the result is actually more powerful than if Chato had simply depicted the bird realistically.

In 1953 Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo was in Taxco as a judge for the silver festival. When Chato Castillo was given the first prize for color, composition and imagination, this well-known artist produced a presentation watercolor drawing of a parrot in which he incorporated Chato's prize-winning pin.

Los Castillo

by Carole A. Berk

The Los Castillo brothers and their descendents established a family tradition in the field of silversmithing. Don Antonio and his brothers (Jorge (Chato), Miguel, and
Justo (Coco)) began their craft under the guidance of William Spratling. In 1939, they opened their own workshop with Margot de Taxco (Antonio Castillo's wife) on the Plazuela Bernal. An agreement was made with Spratling that they would not reproduce Spratling designs upon creating their own workshop. With this promise, they came to find their own unique style taking the basic knowledge of Pre-Columbian design and adding modern finishing. The one thing that makes the craftsmanship of Los Castillo radically different from their contemporaries is their ability to explore design philosophies and techniques. This flexibility is demonstrated by their ambitious experimentation. They created pieces endowed with movement and depth and this fundamental design philosophy was maintained throughout all their experimentation. One of their most aggressive and successful techniques is their "married metals" used on a pitcher with leaf cover as seen in Mexican Silver on page 93.

Even with their adventures in experimenting, Los Castillo' s basic formula can be seen in this particular rectangular pin. This pin is an excellent example of the Los Castillo blending of past with the future. The pin carries the classic bold lines that delineate the design of the eye, and shadows are used to create depth and further enhance the shape of the eye. Using Pre-Columbian techniques (bold lines), Los Castillo flavors the piece with modernity with their skilled use of stylization. The small charms found dangling from the bottom of the pin provide a whimsical touch of movement pulling past and modern elements together.

Movement within the works of Los Castillo make their designs intriguing. This interlocking fish bracelet not only employs the Los Castillo use of depth, but also entices its audience with a moving pattern. The curves of each fish bring movement to the entire bracelet, giving the illusion of fish gliding through water. The fish are accented with the individual scales creating the characteristic quality of depth.

The intricate work of Los Castillo continues in the designs of Mimi Castillo, daughter of Don Antonio. As she explores pottery, she perpetuates the use of the family formula of depth and movement and mixing past with present.

The Castillo workshop, more so than any other workshop of the 50s, produced (and continues to produce) a wide range of designs in jewelry and holloware. They used not only Pre-Columbian inspirations, but also inspirations from the American and European modernist movements of the time. A good example is this brass and wicker tea set with a matching tray. Looking at it for the first time I thought of the German, Scandanavian and English designs from the 30s. There is really nothing new under the sun; it is only one's interpretation that makes it new and fresh.

by Carole A. Berk

Sigi learned his trade at an early age. By the time he was 23 he had opened his own shop. This was in 1952 and the height of the tourist trades in Taxco. Each year Americans would travel to Taxco and spend an extended period of time in this charming town. It was like an aphrodisiac to the returning tourists year after year. If Taxco was a draw, so was Sigi's shop where he worked and entertained the visitors. But it was essentially his silver designs and craftsmanship that held the people spellbound.

One has only to examine his jewelry to discover the wonderful combination of 50s design and technical aspects of his craftsmanship. For instance, all earrings made at that time had screwbacks. Sigi incorporated this element and added a hinge to the backing making for a more comfortable fit. His necklaces have the wonderful Modernist designs that can be seen in the American Modernist movement - bimorphous and boomerang shapes, along with organic forms of plants and fish. His use of oxidation is superb. Unfortunately, people who are not familiar with this technique try to clean it off thinking the piece is dirty. His design techniques are unsurpassed. He incorporates semiprecious stones with silver and gold to achieve technical perfection.

For Modernist design and superior craftsmanship Sigi is the one to collect. In my opinion his work is undervalued. The reason may be because many people prefer the traditional designs of his predecessors.

William Spratling - Creative Genius or Pragmatist?

by Carole A. Berk

Spratling was a man in search of a livelihood when he began designing in Taxco, Mexico in the 30s. A man in search of a comfortable living, he was a pragmatist in the most literal sense of the word! However, when one looks at his designs over the years, a creative genius is visible in the silver he manipulated for his livelihood.

My introduction to his work came about some 12 years ago in London of all places. Since then, my affinity for his silver designs is seen by what is lying in my jewelry drawer at home. As a dealer I buy and sell a wide range of his jewelry and holloware. Because my client base is broad I stock almost everything I can lay my hands on by him.

My personal taste runs in two directions. First and foremost, I am drawn to his early 30s designs–small brooches with bold Pre-Colombian forms, mainly organic. I wear two or three at a time on a lapel or sweater. My bracelets in contrast to these unassuming pieces are thick and chunky also foretelling an earlier time in Mexican history.

Secondly, I love Spratling's silver and tortoise designs in jewelry or utilitarian objects. I enjoy this mixture of texture and color in the funneled forms of the so-called needle necklace in particular. Matching earrings were specially designed to complement the necklace. I was fortunate to have the opportunity several years ago to purchase this striking set right from the original owner who obtained it from Spratling in the early 50s. Having seen the necklace done in silver with several mediums such as wood and ivory, I was startled by the change this third material brought about. Seeing it in tortoise and silver with a gold wash ultimately won me over. The gold reflects the variation of color contained with the tortoise bringing the necklace alive. The earrings are like no others Iâve seen before.

Spratling was a man who survived through what he created. If he were alive today he most certainly would be astounded that his designs are sought with such fervor.

WILLIAM SPRATLING'S SUN AND MOON PIN

In Central Mexican mythology, the sun and moon were created at the same time in Teotihuacan. Depending on the circumstance, the Aztec god of the sun, Tonatiuh, could be paired with the Moon god, Tecuciztecatl, or with Quetzalcoatl as Venus, the Morning Star in the East. In Aztec art, Tonatiuh wears an eagle feather headdress and a large disc with triangular rays. The moon is represented as a U-shaped form with a rabbit at its center, for the shadows on the moon closely resemble this animal. Spratling produced a small pin and large pin/pendant in the U-shaped form.
The union of the sun and moon images persists after the conquest, but take on the Christian meaning of the conquest over death and time. For Spratling, a church façade in a small village in the state of Guerrero provided the source for the joined sun and moon. In the Spratling-Taxco Collection at Tulane University's Latin American Library is the original cover design for Little Mexico, with the following notes in Spratling's handwriting: "Two line cuts on wood for Jonathan Cape Harrison Smith. Aztec Sun and Moon from the Church at Tepalcingo, carved in stone. 12.5"x19." In Little Mexico, Spratling describes the village as follows: "At Tepalcingo last year there were eleven groups of dancers. . . dancing in the heavy dust or in the quiet shade of the vast atrium of the church. It was a sixteenth century church with Aztec Sun and Moon, each about ten feet in diameter, cut in the pink stone wall of the two great towers. . . . The dancers were both inside the building and out."

Penny C. Morrill
April 2008

TANE

Pedro Leites, the designers, and members of the workshop have coalesced as a team to bring about the extraordinary success that Tane has enjoyed for more than half a century. The Leites family formed the silver company in the mid-1940s. Pedro Leites apprenticed in Mexico and Europe, learning the many aspects of silversmithing. The results of those years of apprenticeship are revealed in the Tane workshop, where the emphasis is on training highly skilled metalworkers.

The workshop employs the most up-to-date developments in safety and engineering available. Technical wizardry is coupled with an insistence on the highest level of quality in production. These elements are built into the design process, so that quality is inextricable from the power of the imagination. An example is the work in vermeil, which requires numerous techniques in the making: casting, repoussage, chasing, and gilding.

The designers turn for inspiration to all aspects of Mexico's artistic heritage. The shell bowl is reminiscent of the baptismal shells from the colonial period. Pre-Columbian art inspires but does not dictate the form Tane's jewelry and objects might take. Designs for jewelry and decorative tableware are refined, with no exaggerated or over-the-top embellishments. This elegance of form is what has always been prized by Tane's clientele.

Penny Morrill
November 2007