Conversation with Papier-Mâché Artist Roberto Benavidez

Roberto Benavidez works in the Mexican tradition of cartonería, or papier-mâché. Benavidez grew up in South Texas, and like many Mexican and American children, he grew up with piñatas to mark celebrations. As part of a mixed-heritage family (Benavidez’s father is Mexican and his mother American), Benavidez conveys his sense of a hybrid identity through piñata forms such as Illuminated Piñatas No. 1 and 2, now in MOIFA’s collection, that reference the hybrid creatures that inhabit the margins of illuminated manuscripts. This particular series re-creates creatures from the Luttrell Psalter (ca. 1325-40), housed today in the British Library. Although trained as a sculptor at Pasadena City College, Roberto Benavidez is self-taught as a piñatero (piñata maker) and opted to work in a tradition associated with his Mexican-American roots. On his website, he describes himself in this way: “Half-breed, South Texan, queer, figurative sculptor specializing in the pinata form; playing on themes of race, sexuality, art, sin, humor, ephemerality and beauty.” By blending two traditions–the piñata and the illuminated manuscript–Benavidez reconsiders both and at the same time offers paths of innovation