Blind sculptor in Mexico inspires with clay art of indigenous people

CGTN America

Published on Feb 17, 2019

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In Mexico, folk art is as varied as it is popular. However, it's one artist that's setting himself apart by breaking past serious adversity, and breaking past the mold. CGTN's Alasdair Baverstock filed this report from the state of Oaxaca in the country's deep south. They're visions of mythical creatures, rural childhood and indigenous women, sculpted from clay and signed JGA. There are letters on each artwork, JGA, standing for Jose Garcia Antonio. There's one thing that sets this Mexican folk artist apart: He's blind. "My sight was completely gone, but I didn't lose hope, nor become sad or bitter," Antonio said. "As a man, I looked at my life and said to myself, I have lost my sight, but I have not lost my life." Having dedicated his life to art, Jose lost his sight to glaucoma at age 55. Regardless, he said the visions of what he sculpts are fresh in his mind, and that he has learned to see with his hands.