Last Thursday, I was reminded about the important connection between art and community at the opening reception of Xicano Community Narratives at Petaluma Arts Center.
Over 150 people came to celebrate the works of Chicano/Latino/a/x/Indigenous artists in the Bay Area. More will attend next week’s Lowrider Festival for the Arts.
An Indigenous tribal leader gave a blessing. He said he’d been thinking about Creator, and Creation, and realized the connection between the two is creativity. Artists are channels for Great Spirit.
B'Loved in front of his portrait of his father, "Última Marada," oil on canvas.
In the process of co-curating the exhibit (with Anabell Nuñez, Juan Roman, and Vicky Kumpfer), I learned so much about the imagery in Chicano art. For example, the monarch butterfly represents migration, because it flies from California to central Mexico and back every year. It also represents the souls of deceased ancestors returning to the living world, because the butterflies arrive in Mexico just in time for the annual Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration in early November.
The exhibit features several beautiful Alebrijes: brightly colored folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures, often seen as spirit guides that guide people into the next life. They are most prevalent in Oaxaca, where artisans have developed the craft to a fine art.
"Reindeer" by Irma Rodriguez, beneath a pen drawing by Mo Bernal.
I knew about the Day of the Dead skeletons and skulls, which celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed away. But I didn’t know that roses symbolize rebirth, the balance of death and abundant life, and laughing in the face of death; or that Flor de Muerto is the flower used to decorate altars and graves. Usually found in orange and purple, representing the earth and grief respectively, its pungent odor is said to attract the spirits who come to visit their mortal loved ones.
Peter Perez, one of the artists in the show, was a visual consultant on the movie Coco. He turns 86 next week, the day of the Lowrider Festival! I hope he comes so we can sing him happy birthday.
Some of the art is more political, such as portraits of Zapatistas, and the images of farm workers and the laborers behind local wines.
There's a wall of paños—or prison art. The artists used whatever pens or pencils they could get, and drew on envelopes, pads, scraps of paper. The recurring symbols include painted skulls, clocks (time passing), clowns and happy/sad masks (“Smile Now, Cry Later”), hummingbirds (messengers), La Virgin de Guadelupe, the Red Road, and more. The art was often used as currency, a way to trade for valued things.
Paños by Manny Rodriguez, Alexis "Dedicated," Andrew Valencia, Jose Castillo, Jose Castillo, and Anonymous.
It was an honor to be a part of this powerful show. If you're in NorCal, come see it! The work is up through Nov. 1.
Art Heals
The artists who created paños for this exhibit credit artmaking with healing. They were pushed into “the life” as kids, when they were put into juvenile hall and youth authority for minor infractions in school. Having a record and being Latino made their roads more difficult as adults. But learning to draw and tattoo saved their lives and helped them make better choices.
