Alebrijes in the Haight

1301 Haight Street

*

*

 

Jet Martinez, whose work is all over San Francisco is responsible for these colorful frogs.  It is titled Bosque de Alebrijes.

This is what Jet said on his Facebook page: Alebrijes are small animal figurines decorated with beautiful colors and patterns. They are really incredible on their own, but what is truly inspiring to me about them, is the fact that entire communities in Oaxaca will dedicate themselves to making this artform and have created an economy around the art they create. The art in turn, defines the community and creates the visual identity of the place. It’s deep and it’s incredibly inspiring to me as a maker. I wanted to celebrate that tradition, and give life to these animals… in a sense, give life to this community.

Alebrijes: The first alebrijes, along with use of the term, originated with Pedro Linares. After dreaming the creatures while sick in the 1930s, he began to create what he saw in cardboard and paper mache. His work caught the attention of a gallery owner in Cuernavaca and later, the artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Linares was originally from México City, he was born June 29, 1906 in México City and never moved out of México City, he died January 25, 1992.

*

*