Alebrijes by Pedro Linares López

Alebrijes are a form of Mexican folk art developed by papier mache artist Pedro Linares Lopez in Mexico City in the 1930s. Alebrijes are colorful sculptures which depict mythical creatures in bright color. Although they were originally made of papier mache, the sculptures are now made of wood. The material most often used is the wood of copal trees. Copal refers to various species of trees which are used to created a type of tree resin also called copal that is traditionally used in Latin America. The fantastical figures, which often include a combination of the features of various animals, are painted in bright, vivid color. The paint is always applied in intricate and detailed patterns, and often the different parts of the animal have their own designs. One of the most famous alebrijes by Pedro Linares is of a bird with chicken-like feet, large, spiky wings, lizard-like arms and long nails, a tail split into two, the neck of a bird, the head, wattles, and comb of a chicken, but the sharp teeth and long tongue of a dragon. Although each feature alone is true to the animal it represents, the final product is a unique creature like nothing seen in nature. The chicken-like feet are painted black but covered in vertical beige stripes along the toes and horizontal beige stripes up the legs. At the knee joint, the color changes; the upper half of the legs are painted red with cheetah-like spots that have a yellow center and a pale blue outline. The torso is also painted red but covered in delicate spots which are black with a white center. On the underbelly of the sculpture, there is a streak of kelly green with spots that are purple with a black border. The lower half of the torso has a red background but is covered with a gradient that goes from yellow to black. Interrupting the yellow portion of the gradient are periodic green stripes. The two tails are black with a seafoam green line down the middle and yellow dots along the top and bottom edges. The wings are cerulean blue with a purple honeycomb pattern, and within the pockets of the “honeycomb” are organic, loose green shapes with an orange dot in the center. The arms of the bird are yellow with green leaf-like shapes that contain red dots. The neck and head of the bird are forest green with a red honeycomb patterns with black and white spots worked into the pattern. The wattles of the sculpture are painted red but sculpted to have an exaggerated pointed edge. They are painted bright red with a simple green and purple flower design in the middle. Overall, alebrijes use a wide range of color and designs. It is not unusual for a single alebrije to have almost every basic color included as well as various patterns. While the paint is placed methodically, carefully, and with purpose, there are few straight lines or sharp edges. Although detailed, the designs are drawn freehand and have a relatively organic, authentic feel.

Although alebrijes have now become a popular form of Mexican folk art and are created by people across the globe, the original creator of the art form is Pedro Linares López. Linares was a papier mache artist or cartonero who lived in Mexico City. He created piñatas as well as other papier mache figurines to make a living. One story says that he was commissioned by painter José Gómez Rosas to create the figures for a party at the San Carlos Arts Academy. However, there is another story which explains the existence of the alebrijes. When he was 30 years old, Pedro Linares López became very sick and had a dream about a strange forest. Initially, he felt happy walking through the dream forest, but then suddenly all the trees, clouds, plants, rocks turned into these strange, fearsome animals. The animals all shouted the same word: “Alebrijes!” The noise was tremendous and Linares awoke; however, when he recovered, he remembered the dream and wanted to share what he had seen. Using his skills with papier mache, Linares molded and painted the sculptures from memory. For many years, Linares sold his work locally until Judith Bronowski created a documentary film in 1975 that brought him international fame. The documentary Pedro Linares: Artesano de Cartón (Papier Mache Artist) told the story of the alebrijes. In 1990, Pedro Linares López won the National Prize for Popular and Traditional Arts which is the most prestigious award given to artisans by the Mexican Government. Two years later, in 1992, Pedro Linares López passed away at the age of 85.

I find the alebrijes beautiful for many different reasons. Some alebrijes I find alluring or cute simply because of their form. Many of the more modern, mainstream alebrijes depict very lifelike animals such as armadillos or turtles. Unlike the traditional alebrijes which depicted zoomorphic monsters, they are recognizable and easily understood by a larger audience. Paired with the intricate, detailed painted patterns, they make very attractive decorations or statement pieces. I think that these newer alebrijes have a fairly universal aesthetic appeal because they create a sort of purely visual pleasure in the viewer. However, I do not think they generate the same sense of emotional or intellectual pleasure as the original type do. While certainly more challenging to understand, the traditional alebrijes are more authentic and have a deeper meaning in my opinion. In fact, I would argue that traditional alebrijes even have a greater impact on my senses by not just being beautiful, but by also being visually interesting as they are an amalgamation of various animals. Besides the fact that they appeal to my senses by being beautiful and unique, traditional alebrijes appeal to my emotions by being frightening and intriguing. I feel like I understand both the fear and the fascination Linares felt while dreaming of these animals. I love that they give me a glimpse into his mind and his world. I am always fascinated in what was going on in an artist’s mind while they created a work, and this work is quite literally a representation of what was inside Linares’s mind. Furthermore, I believe the story behind the alebrijes is fascinating, and I feel like they represent something greater. The fact that a simple cartonero could create such beautiful, distinctive art and then become famous for it exemplifies the idea that dreams can literally take you anywhere. From a fever dream, Pedro Linares López created an entirely new type of folk art that is the product of his technical skills, his imagination, and the culture he was surrounded by. The bright, vivid colors and intricate patterns are typical of Mexican folk art, and yet Linares created something so unique. Besides the fact that looking at alebrijes is visually pleasurable, I think that I enjoy the complex emotions they bring about and the knowledge that I am seeing into the mind of the artist.