Tinwork Devotional
‘Sagrada Corazon de Jesus.’ Anonymous folk art, painted on tin; 5 x 3.5 inches; tinwork frame – Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM.
Tin was called “the poor man’s silver.” Extracted from the earth, and labor-intensive. Whose labor though, and what earth? Tinwork goes back to the 16th century in Mexico. It was pounded, rolled, shaped, stamped, and cut with metal shears. Made into masks, mirrors. Also ex-votos, milagros, retablos, and this portable altar. Earthy, earthly bridge between the human and the divine. Personal. Private. Whose home held this object of devotion?
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The frame is tin, and wondrously ornate. The humble metal from earth, once a flat sheet, is now lushly extravagant with plants, suns, and, abundant with decorative flowerings. I can’t help but think: pagan. How much of this came from the religion before?
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At the center of a tiny painting, a man with long dark hair and a round face. Rays emanate from his head, above and to each side. He sits above cushiony clouds. His garment is the color of the night sky. Deep celestial blue emblazoned with stars of gold. His eyes were made large and dark, and his gaze meets yours. Whose hands took up the brush, the paints?
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The man’s cloak is opened. He is naked beneath the garment, and yet he does not look away. His fingers are painted curled around the garment’s edge. This is not an accident. This is a gesture. The man’s hands part the garment and he shows you his heart. How can we nakedly meet another’s gaze? How do we reveal our hearts?
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This is not the heart shape of the profane commercial world. It’s an anatomical heart, and the heart is bleeding. It’s pierced and wounded. It’s aflame, a heart for humanity I’m sure. But I think also for animals, plants – all of nature’s creaturas. It is a passionate heart, a passionate love. It’s called sacred. How do we find our devotion, reverence, sacrality, and for what.
Sally Miles paints, makes mixed media art and more recently, writes about art, spiritual experience and our relationship with plants. She has recently been published in The Ekphrastic Review.
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