Tradiciones / Artes

TAOS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HOME TO ARTISTS , and amazing art — traditional crafts, decorative works and experimental excursions — has always been central to our community. Nowhere else does one find potters, weavers, jewelers, plein air painters and writers work beside photographers, dancers, installation artists and hip-hop performers.

Taos News loves to highlight these incredible artists each year in Tradiciones: Artes. Look for our salute to our Unsung Heroes, including Citizen of the Year, in next week’s special section.

In this year’s issue, Emily Méndez uncovers the enduring legacy of Patrociño Barela, an artist immersed in the cultural tapestry of Taos who reflects our shared heritage. His story begins on page 4

Jane Ellen Burke has always used simplicity in her pursuit of the truth and reminds us that a single line can mean a life in the work of a master abstract artist.

Virginia Clark writes about her on page 8

And Liam Easley tunes in to Radio Exitos, where morning DJ Rudy Baca spins boleros, merengues and bossa novas — with the aim of preserving Hispanic culture for the next generation of Taoseños. Read his story on page 12. We hope you enjoy this year’s issue of Tradiciones: Artes. These artists are among the many who’ve come to Taos to tell their truth — through their art.

Tashji,

IN THE HALLS OF THE HARWOOD MUSEUM OF ART among the largest collection of the enchanting works of Patrociño Barela, there are tales of resilience, unity and the power of art to ignite the human spirit.

Barela, an artist immersed in the cultural tapestry of Taos and propelled by the New Deal era, stands as a testament to the transformative power of art to heal, unite and inspire. His masterful craftsmanship and profound artistic vision, honed through the WPA, illuminate the depths of the human spirit, reminding us of our shared heritage and the enduring legacy of those who dare to sculpt beauty from the raw material of life.

While records are vague, many indicate that Barela was born around the turn of the century and grew up aquí en Taos and the surrounding areas. Imbued with the love for his ancestral roots and the natural world around him, he developed a deep appreciation for the harmonious fusion of art and spirituality that has defined Taos for generations. Driven by an unwavering passion to express the soul of his community, Barela honed his skills as a woodcarver through the historic practice of carving santos as a santero before branching out into his own interpretation of the craft.

During the Great Depression, when economic despair plagued the nation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program that sought to provide employment and support to artists and craftsmen. It was within this transformative era that Barela’s talent and artistry flourished, as he became a key figure in the WPA’s Federal Art Project.

His participation in the WPA was not only a testament to his extraordinary skills but also a testament to the power of art to uplift communities. Through the program, he was able to transform humble blocks of wood into astonishing works of art that resonated not only with the people of Taos but also with the nation at large.

By the summer of 1936, Barela’s sculptures graced the walls of the prestigious Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, captivating audiences with their unique style and emotional depth. Later that year, with blossoming national recognition and an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Time magazine named Barela its “Discovery of the Year.”

Unfortunately, with the end of the WPA in 1943, Patrociño Barela also lost access to the support for his artistry. While invited into many gallery spaces, his lack of a formal education rendered him unable to negotiate or manage the communication and business necessary to succeed in the cutthroat New York artists’ scene. Coming home in 1951, Barela continued to create for Taos galleries and collectors like Helene Wurlitzer.

Rather than using multiple individually carved elements, he carefully carved his creations from a single piece of wood. This innovative approach not only challenged convention but also brought a modernist sensibility to his work, despite being rooted in a very traditional heritage.

legacy of a master craftsman

SANTOS — a long-standing folk art custom of Spanish artists (called santeros) — are created in the same fashion as Barela’s works. While often miscategorized as a santero, Barela did not consider himself as such. His sculptures, often carved from cottonwood, displayed an exquisite attention to detail, with flowing lines and dynamic forms that seemed to pulsate with life.

In 1964, Patrociño Barela tragically died in an early morning fire in his home studio, leaving behind a profound artistic legacy that continues to resonate with audiences to this day. His impact was not only felt in the art world but also through the transformative power of the WPA. Through their support and recognition, Barela’s artistic journey was elevated, and his work reached far beyond the confines of his humble beginnings.

Today, the artistic flame kindled by Patrociño Barela burns brightly in the hearts and minds of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They carry forward his artistic legacy, ensuring that his creativity and unique perspective continue to shape the world of art.

JJANE ELLEN BURKE

The influence of light

SHOCK AND AWE GRABBED JANE ELLEN BURKE BY THE SHORT HAIRS three years ago as she watched the American death toll of COVID-19 mount month after month — so she resolved to make note of it all.

In this year’s January-February exhibit called “Marking Time,” with co-exhibiter Tom Decker at the Encore Gallery of the TCA, Burke recorded in pencil strokes the lives lost to the pandemic from Feb. 6, 2020 to Feb. 5, 2023.

“The [work] is a series of daily markings in remembrance of those persons in the U.S.

that needlessly died of the novel coronavirus,” Burke said of her work in the exhibit and added, “Daily tallies of the pandemic were published in The New York Times and became the source data for this project. One-quarterinch marks were used to represent the death of each individual.”

One rendering from the first year of the

plague alone contains 459,360 quarter-inch lines representing 2020’s casualties.

"The work acknowledges those who died during this time,” Burke told Tempo of Taos News in a press statement about the exhibit. “As lives return to a new normal, it is important to recognize and grieve the losses that we have experienced.”

BURKE ARRIVED IN TAOS in the mid-70s and was arts administrator for the Taos Arts Association (now the Taos Center for the Arts). She also worked as an assistant to master printmaker, educator/artist Jennifer Lynch at the Harwood Museum of Art. Though unpaid, she got prints of what she worked on by artists such as Larry Bell, Earl Stroh, Kenny Price, Agnes Martin and many more.

She notes in her artist statement she remains “fascinated by the soft shapes of adobe buildings and how their weight shaped the doorways and windows of the mud constructions.”

“When I first visited Taos in 1965, it immediately felt like home,” she continues. “This feeling remained with me and following several years of work and travel abroad, Taos finally became my home in 1976. This town and landscape reunited me with an aspect of those times in foreign lands where life was simpler and indeed much more basic. And so, I settled here and began to pursue my work with the basic tool of my art school days ... the pencil.”

Light and line fascinate and challenge her. She spent years sailing with her husband, thus concentrating on water; the light on water; light and color in her monoprints; black and white drawing in graphite; light shining on the chrome of cars; dawning light dancing through leaves and cliffs driving up to Taos Ski Valley.

“For the past 30 years, the pencil and the ensuing drawings have been the cornerstone of my work,” she continues online. “Slow and labor intensive, these drawings have intrigued me, frustrated me, haunted me and challenged me to continue their pursuit. They began as windows and doorways, moved to more linear designs trying to capture the influence of light on a particular surface ... For relief from the many layers of circular motion of the drawings, I turn to other media ... waxes, acrylics, pastels ... materials that lend to more rapid application and quicker results. The color is mostly intense ... mostly cool ... sometimes remembrances of past travels and voyages. My work remains abstract, nonobjective for the most part ... something that challenges me and continues to give me extraordinary pleasure.”

Burke is currently one of eight artists in Centennial Portfolio, a limited edition of signed and numbered original works by Taos-based artists commissioned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lucy Harwood’s founding of the Harwood Foundation and Harwood Museum of Art.

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Making Positive Change, Together!

Community Rewards® in Action

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Harwood Centennial

June 2023-January 2024

238 Ledoux St., Taos 575-758-9826

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Radio Exitos

Keeping Norteño culture alive

WINDOWS DOWN, VOLUME UP, and the infectiously danceable Latin rhythms come on over the stereo, making it seem unfair to be bound to the seat by a seatbelt.

Oftentimes, these sounds come from 99.1, KXMT Radio Exitos, a Taos-based radio station where boleros, merengues and even bossa novas find themselves on the airwaves. But for Rudy Baca, the station manager and morning DJ for Radio Exitos, the goal isn’t just to make people dance; it’s also to preserve a deep heritage.

According to Baca, much of Hispanic music places the culture under a looking glass, describing the history of the culture both regionally and in the greater nation. Some of this music, he continued, highlights both positive and negative aspects of Hispanic history, detailing oppressive moments and difficulties, as well as beauty and tradition.

Most of all, it keeps these aspects of Hispanic culture alive, preserving a unique type of storytelling.

“A lot of the songs describe our history,” Baca said. “A lot of the songs describe how the Latins perceive love, how the Latins perceive dance, how they perceive a lot of things in their daily lives, so the music has a lot to do with that. I think if you listen to some of the songs, a lot of them have a deep meaning to them.

They’ll tell you a little bit about the song, a little about life and how it progresses, so I think that’s really important in Latin music.”

Born and raised in Questa, Baca has been steeped in this music all his life, from the sounds of the border to the rancheras of Northern New Mexico. Northern New Mexico is home to a unique dialect of Spanish. This rare dialect, which some believe has dwindled in recent decades, was once the language of the regional folk music, which derived from Pueblo folk music and later became infused with European genres, like polka and various Latin styles, as colonization took place.

“The music is really important to our culture,” Baca said. “It tells a lot of stories about the past. We have a lot of musicians that do pieces about the history of New Mexico, about our chiles here — in particular, chile verde rock tells about the harvest of the chile here and how it’s eaten.”

At Radio Exitos, Baca keeps these genres alive, while also shining a light on the modern iterations of Latin music produced in the 21st century. To Baca, these artists are the ones who are keeping

the traditions alive and well. However, it’s not just up to him. “The young generation is the future for our music,” he added.

“We try to inspire our youth to continue our music,” Baca said, “and by having concerts that are free to the public (for instance, our Mother’s Day concert), we like our younger kids to go out there and listen to the music, get inspired by it, understand what it means that your father or mother liked this music — it has something in your soul. I think that’s the way we want to go with it: to preserve the soul of the music in people.”

Fifteen years ago, Baca thought the music might fade away as fewer and fewer new artists were playing Hispanic music or incorporating it into their work. However, he’s been pleasantly surprised with a recent resurgence in the genre, especially among young artists in Taos. From Baca’s perspective, the music has progressed into preserving the old themes, revitalizing them with modern elements but delivering the same message.

“There are younger artists that have really brought it back. I love seeing that because I want this music to move on into the 29th century — way up into the future,” Baca said. “I think it’s something that, if we try to instill into our listeners

more of the music that is upbeat and tells stories, I think our younger generation will pick it up, enjoy it, and that’ll carry us on into the next generation.”

KXMT may be working hard to keep the music playing, but Baca is hoping to retire soon and is looking for someone to fill his shoes.

“The only way for this station to move forward and capture that richness that the music needs and deserves is to have someone new in here,” Baca said. “I think if we had a new DJ with some new ideas, with some of that knowledge of the new music, I think we’d flourish here, and I think that’s where we’re at.”

The preservation of Norteño music is important for the people of Northern New Mexico, and most school districts — including Taos, Peñasco and Questa — offer mariachi classes to students.

“The future is very bright for KXMT in Taos,” Baca said, “the new artists coming up are excellent, and they’re producing music at an alarming rate. I never thought I’d see this happen, but it is so heartwarming to see those new musicians make new music, create new music, have it on the air, and I think that is the future for KXMT — all the new artists and all the new music, and perhaps a couple of new DJs as well.”

Recovery is Possible

Recovery-Friendly Taos County is a recovery community organization center that provides services to Taos County. All services are provided by people in long-term recovery to those in recovery or seeking recovery from substance use disorders and mental health issues.

Services include:

Peer support

Basic need (food, clothing) distributions

Community outreach

Case management

Recovery groups

Rio Grande ATP, Inc. is celebrating 45 years helping your family members and friends find recovery from substance use disorder. We offer intensive outpatient programs, medically assisted treatment and peer support. There are many Paths to Recovery in our strong and resilient communities.

Rio Grande has been and continues to be there for all those seeking a new way of life.

Taos Mountain Casino is proud to honor those who both exemplify the best of the past and who help us weave it into the future. These people are our own links in what continues to be an unbroken circle of tradition at Taos Pueblo.

Artes: The art of living in balance with our surroundings for more than 1,000 years.