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Images of a Vanishing Culture: Sacred Symbols and Magical Art

There will be a showing of Huichol Shamanic and Visionary Art in 
Berkeley on Saturday, June 20, from noon to 6 PM. Also, an Open 
House will be held on Saturday, June 27, from 12-6, in Sausalito.

High in the mountains of western Mexico, approximately 10,000 
Huichol Indians live a lifestyle closer to pre-Columbian times than 
that of any other people on this continent. The Huichols are a tribe of 
shamans; it is said that over half of them take up this way of life. 
They believe themselves to be that part of creation which entertains 
the Gods.

The Huichol yarn paintings often depict mystical states in much the 
same way as the stained glass of medieval cathedrals did. Their use 
of bright colors is influenced by the rainbow-like auras they 
experience during their peyote ceremony.

Protected by their wild terrain, the Huichols have remained 
relatively unaffected by the 20th Century.  But encroaching paper 
mills, airstrips, and government forces are rapidly altering this. 
Suddenly the Huichols find themselves constantly needing money to 
survive, and are often forced down to coastal sugar factories and 
tobacco plants where they are exploited as cheap labor.

The Huichol Art Center was established in 1983 to help Huichol 
artists create, repair, and market their goods. The Center also 
provides food and shelter for those needing to recuperate from 
illness or crop failure, and art materials and contact with artists 
from the outside world.

For more information, call (415) 331-3621. (Also see the related 
article in the Summer '92 Whole Earth Review.)

I saw the collection for the first time yesterday - there are some 
very beautiful and powerful paintings.

Earl Vickers			earl@netcom.com