It’s Spook – Tober! And Maude Kerns Art Center has pulled out all the stops on its annual Day of the Dead celebration.
There are no fewer than seven elaborate altars to honor individuals who have passed away recently. I didn’t know these people, but that isn’t important. What I enjoy is the way the artists have assembled a colorful collage of the person’s life: pictures, flowers, favorite activities, food, and drink all draped with bright garlands of paper flowers or colorful birds.
Each altar has a quiet undertone of sadness before bursting into a wild visual dance of a cap celebration of life for that individual. I noticed kids love these as well as being drawn to a lively, 15 foot skeleton.
This year‘s exhibition is considerably elevated by amazing work from ten famous Mexican printmakers. These really drew my eyes because firstly, the workmanship is of the very best quality; secondly, the themes are so profoundly Mexican, including the pre-Columbian corn goddess, ritual skeletons, mermaids, rabbits, jaguars, and my favorite of a monarch butterfly, flanked by parents and children titled “Migration is not a Crime.”
Don’t miss a skeleton puppet with bat wings flying away with an animated loaf of bread.
Take a minute to share a memory of the name of someone whose life you celebrate and add it to a growing Memory Tree.
Appreciate Ellen Gabehart’s quiet watercolor of a little girl and her doll, both in embroidered Mexican dresses.
The gift shop has a case of “decalcophobia,” which is fear of empty wall space because it is wall-to-wall Day of the Dead gift art for sale.
The hard-working folks at Maude Kerns have gone all out on this big show. I hope you’ll honor it with your presence.
