In 1977 the first “coffee table book” about molas was published. Molas was the joint effort of Avon Neal and Ann Parker, a husband-and-wife team that published a number of books about various art forms. For many mola collectors, their book was a jumping-off point. We read the book and “got the bug.” Ann’s splendid photography and Avon’s diligent, time-consuming, pre-internet research created a game-changing publication.
Ann and Avon’s taste in molas provided guidance for a lot of us. Their focus was clearly aimed at “story-telling” molas, often those that were inspired by photographs and drawings in magazines, newspapers and books from the U.S., Mexico and Europe. But their mola collection also included a large number of abstract and spiritually-focused molas. We have been fortunate to get to know Ann quite well (Avon has passed away), and have acquired a number of pieces from their collection. Shown here is an assortment of traditional (vs. acculturated) molas from the collection of Ann Parker & Avon Neal.
