Masa

Brand conceived of a series of bronze sculptures while riding his bike past a tortilleria (called Los Tres Tiempos) on the main road from his home to his studio in a neighboring pueblo. He passed by the tortilla stand daily and was overtaken by the visceral experience of Los Tres Tiempos; the loose rhythmic slapping sound created the by local women brightly dressed in their traditional native clothing as they patted the dough balls into flat discs, the rich smell of the cornmeal being cooked on top of giant steel cooktops, and the smoke from the ever-present wood fire coming from the steel laminate and concrete block structures.

What caught his eye were the large mounds of cornmeal (called masa) from which the women were making their dough balls that would be turned into tortillas. With the fingerprints of the women scattered across the mounds of dough, he saw this as an imprint of a moment in time that he wanted to capture. He wanted to create an homage to the women that were creating the most important food source in Guatemala.

One day Brand asked one of the women that had been making tortillas if he could buy the mound of masa. She was clearly confused by the request and at first, just smiled and continued working. But Brand persisted and the deal was made. The artist then took the masa and a bag of tortillas to a local bronze foundry and had them cast into sculptures.