Week 5: Fowler Museum

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To start, I had a class on the bottom floor of the Fowler Museum, but I never went to the second floor. In fact, I did not realize it was an actual museum that we could walk into and look at exhibits. I really enjoyed Alba Menéndez Pereda's presentation about the Incan Khipu. Because I made my midterm revolving around Khipu and knot-tying, I would be interested in focusing on the other pieces displayed in the museum. At least in the room that we were in seemed to have a lot of Day of the Dead-themed art. Now I love the Day of the Dead. Even though I have never properly celebrated it in the community, I grew up in. It was not uncommon to see marigolds and other types of folk art displayed during Halloween. I own three clay skulls that are painted to look like traditional sugar skulls. In fact, we went to an art gallery that showed Day of the Dead artwork in my Spanish class during high school. I was super surprised to see José Guadalupe Posada's iconic La Calavera Catrina displayed at the Fowler Museum. In fact, according to the Mexican Folk Art Guide, Posada was influential in the popularization of artist depictions of Calaveras or skeletons. He would use Calaveras as figures in his political satire cartoons. La Calavera Catrina is supposed to represent European materialism and overall excess, which is why she is wearing an extravagant feathered hat in the drawing. According to Jean Moss, this is also the reason why when dressing up as La Calavera Catrina; it is very elaborate extravagant dresses that are reminiscent of the European Rocco period. 

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In fact, the iconography associated with the Day of the Dead is interesting that we gravitate to, which is surprising because the holiday itself is meant to commemorate the dead. Also, it is not a time of mourning but a time of celebration, which already separates it from other holidays that commemorate death, such as All Soul's Day. Regardless, I have always been interested in the Day of the Dead art and overall iconography. It's hard to forget the sugar skulls and the marigold flowers everywhere. According to Ivan Roman, the holiday goes as far back to pre-colonial times in Mexico during the reign of the Aztec Empire. In fact, the traditional marigold flowers that are used at Day of the Dead altars originate from Mexico as well. It is incredible how it managed to survive after the fall of the Aztec Empire and even become a popular holiday in countries outside of Mexico, such as the United States. Also, continue to be able to observe the holiday even after attempts from Spainairds at converting to Catholicism. PBS wrote an article researching the popularity of the Day of the Dead in the United States. Not only did they attribute its popularization to the large Latinx communities in the United States, but they also attribute it to the Day of the Dead being represented in media such as movies. Specifically the Disney movie Coco. Overall, it is clear that the Day of the Dead holiday is very culturally rich, and, remarkably, it is still practiced today and still in art.

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Works Cited

Brandes, Stanley. “Iconography in Mexico's Day of the Dead: Origins and Meaning.” eScholarship, 1 March 1998, https://escholarship.org/content/qt2tt3663j/qt2tt3663j.pdf?t=lnr7ub. Accessed 1 May 2022.

“La Catrina.” Mexican Folk Art Guide, 2011, https://www.mexican-folk-art-guide.com/catrina.html#.Ym92kJ7MKUk. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Lopez, Oscar. “What Is Day of the Dead, the Mexican Holiday?” The New York Times, 1 November 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/article/day-of-the-dead-mexico.html. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Nittle, Nadra. “Beyond Sugar Skulls: The History and Culture of Dia de los Muertos.” PBS, 31 October 2019, https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/beyond-sugar-skulls-the-history-and-culture-of-dia-de-los-muertos. Accessed 1 May 2022.

Román, Iván. “What Are the Origins of the Day of the Dead?” History.com, 29 October 2020, https://www.history.com/news/day-dead-dia-de-muertos-origins. Accessed 1 May 2022.