Molders of Modern Retablos.

• Author: Harris, Patricia Roberts

EVERY GENERATION of folk artists seems to spawn a master who breathes new life into the tradition. For the colorfully painted diminutive sculptures of the Andean retablo, this generation's master is Claudio Jimenez Quispe. Last year Jimenez and his wife, fellow retablista Vicenta Flores de Jimenez, were recognized as premier fine artists during a brief residency at the Art Institute of Boston, where an exhibition of their work filled the galleries of the art college.

Born in 1959 into a family of retablistas in Peru's Ayacucho region, Claudio was initiated into the art at an early age by his father, Florentino, himself a renowned sculptor and painter of images and masks. Florentino was in great demand as a restorer of religious pictures, traveling from town to town with his son in tow, teaching him the folklore of the Peruvian villages. Claudio explains that he learned at a young age to avoid places where he might encounter "qarqachas" (human beings turned into llamas or pigs as punishment for committing incest) or "pishtacos" (men who killed people to render their fat). Blessed with a vivid imagination and considerable talent, Claudio began making retablos at the age of eleven, first exhibiting with his father and older brothers at the University of San Cristobal de Huamanga when he was thirteen.

The traditional Andean retablo, which folklorists believe evolved in the Ayacucho region, consists of a painted box that, when opened, reveals a scene of tiny figures modeled from cooked potatoes mixed with gypsum. The figures are

sealed with glue, painted, and usually mounted on shelves. Traditional retablos almost always follow religious themes and were often used as portable altars.

But from the outset, Claudio was interested in retablos that told stories of everyday life. In many cases, his work offers social commentary while incorporating Andean mythology into contemporary settings. His career as a professional retablista was launched in 1974, when at the age of fifteen he won two national prizes for popular art. In 1985 he married Vicenta Flores Ataucusi and taught her retablo techniques. They have since...