What is Mola art?
The artistry of a mola reflects a synthesis of traditional Guna culture with the influences of the modern world. Mola art developed when Guna women had access to store bought yard goods. Mola designs are often inspired by modern graphics such as political posters, labels, pictures from books and TV cartoons,...
What is the origin of the Mola?
The mola originated with the traditional practice of Guna women painting their bodies with geometrical and zigzag designs, using available natural colors which were available on the Islands and in the Jungle. Later, the mola designs were sewn into cloth bought from the foreign settlers in Panama.
How do you make Molas?
Artists create them by superposing different colored fabrics in the form of a rectangle, which they then cut and sew to create different patterns. Molas originated from the indigenous community of the Gunadules (also known as Kuna or Tule), located around the border between Colombia and Panama.
How many layers are in a Mola?
Molas can often have as many as four colored layers of cloth with extra color pieces and embroidery accents added. It takes many hours of sewing to create even the simplest mola. The first designs that Kuna women developed for mola panels relate to the body painting that had been traditional for centuries.
When were molas made?
The exact date when reverse applique was used for the first time, is not known, but it is assumed the the first Molas have been made 150 – 170 years ago. The old traditional geometric designs of the body painting are still used ...
What is the origin of Molas?
Origin of Molas. As an inspiration for their designs the Kuna first used the geometric patterns which have been used for body painting in ancient times. After the arrival of the Spanish the Kuna had access to fabric and they started to transfer their motives onto textiles.
What are the colors of molas?
Typical Mola colors , such as burgundy, orange or black are referring to the vegetable colors as used for body painting. Molas have such an importance for the Kuna and their traditional identity ...
What is Kuna art?
In the past 50 years the Kuna also started to depict realistic and abstract designs of flowers, animals and humans.
Cuna Mola Designs
Appropriate for grades: K - 12 Subject areas: History and Social Studies Visual and Performing Arts
Lesson Objectives
Students will learn about how molas are part of Cuna women's dress and culture in Panama. (Responding: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning.)
The origins of the Molas
Molas are a piece of artwork created in fabric in a technique commonly called appliqué. Artists create them by superposing different colored fabrics in the form of a rectangle, which they then cut and sew to create different patterns.
Meanings in the Mola design
Molas usually include designs of animals, landscapes and geometrical figures. Each color, and therefore each layer, represents one part of the universe where only “neles” (women spiritual leaders) can go. Each Mola has a name and even its own song that is always connected to its spiritual and physical state.
Molas in the city
As with many other Colombian crafts made by indigenous communities, Molas have found their way to the big cities and all around the country.
How to spot an original Mola
Since Molas are primarily made to be worn by local women inside the community, an original Mola will always have some signs of usage. The quality of the Mola can vary tremendously, since girls as young as 14 start creating the pieces with less experience than the older women.
What is a mola?
Create a “Mola:” Folk-Art from Panamá. Make a mola: a fantastic example of folk-art from Panamá! Beautiful Panamá: the tropical and mountainous isthmus with coasts on the Caribbean and Pacific that connects the Americas. Off the northern coast of Panamá, there is a string of idyllic islands (an archipelago) called the San Blas Islands.
What is the best known handicraft in Panama?
One of Panama’s best-known handicrafts is the mola, intricate reverse-applique handwork made by the Kuna, and now an important symbol of their culture. The layers of brightly-colored fabric form animals or geometric shapes, and are used to decorate the blouses of Kuna women.
Where did the Mola originate?
The mola originated with the traditional practice of Guna women painting their bodies with geometrical and zigzag designs, using available natural colors which were available on the Islands and in the Jungle. Later, the mola designs were sewn into cloth bought from the foreign settlers in Panama. Recently in the past decades, these same zigzag designs were woven in cotton and became commonly known as molas.
What is a mola in Guna?
Geometric/zigzag molas are the most traditional form of Guna art. They were developed from body painting designs that were used by the Guna’s in special occasions. Nowadays, many hours of careful sewing are required to create a outstanding mola, this is also a source of status among Guna women. The quality of a mola is determined by multiple factors such as number of layers, the fineness of stitches, evenness and width of cutouts, addition of details such as zigzag borders and animal patterns, lattice-work or embroidery, and the general artistic merit of the design and color combination. The more complex the mola is the more status the Guna woman will receive.
Where did Mola get his inspiration for the painting?
Mola took his inspiration for the depiction of the two figures from Titian’s famous altarpiece showing the murder of Saint Peter Martyr, formerly in the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice (destroyed by fire in 1867, but known from painted copies and engravings: see 17.50.16-155 ); Mola had made a copy of Titian’s altarpiece around 1644 (now in the Galleria Pallavicini, Rome). From that same source he derived the lush landscape setting and billowing clouds that serve as a foil for the figurative action. The picture has been dated to the 1650s on grounds of style. Its early provenance is not known, although on the reverse of the original canvas is the stamp of an early owner (fig. 2).
What is the Met Collection API?
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can now connect to the most up-to-date data and images for more than 470,000 artworks in The Met collection. As part of The Met’s Open Access program, the data is available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
What is a mola?
Molas are simple yoke-type blouses richly decorated by intricate needlework. Mola can mean the blouse that is daily wear for Kuna (sometimes spelled Cuna) women but most often refers to its front or back panel. They have been made for about a century.
What were the first designs that Kuna women developed for Mola panels?
The first designs that Kuna women developed for mola panels relate to the body painting that had been traditional for centuries. Mola-makers transformed images of daily life and of the flora and fauna of their islands into mola designs. As the outside world impinged on the Kunas more and more, book and magazine illustrations, record covers, and other images and objects that the men of the islands brought back from nearby Panama City also attracted Kuna women.
How many layers of cloth are in a Mola?
The technique is sometimes referred to as reverse applique. Molas can often have as many as four colored layers of cloth with extra color pieces and embroidery accents added. It takes many hours of sewing to create even the simplest mola.
Do Kuna women sew Molas?
Kuna women continue to sew molas for themselves and continue to vie with one another, as they long have, to create the most dazzling designs. Girls sew as soon as they can handle a needle and, like their mothers, spend hours every day of their lives designing and making molas.
