The Exhibits and Programs of the D.C. Library
Presents
ALTAR OF THE DEAD:
A CELEBRATION OF LIFE
An Art Installation by
MARA ODETTE and JACINTO CRUZ
November 1-30, 2005 - 2nd Floor West Exhibit Hall
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
901 G Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Program/Artists Reception: Wednesday, November 9, 6 PM
For more information, call (301) 213-4814
www.maraodette.com/AltarCelebration.htm
CELEBRATE THE MEXICAN TRADITION, THE DAY OF THE DEAD,
AT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL LIBRARY
To celebrate the Day of the Dead, the District of Columbia Public Library is hosting the exhibit, Altar of the Dead: A Celebration of Life, in the second floor west exhibit hall of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, N.W., November 2- 28, 2005. In addition to viewing the exhibit, the public is also invited to a program of music, poetry readings and refreshments celebrating life on Wednesday, November 9, 2005, at 6 p.m.
Altar of the Dead: A Celebration of Life is an art installation created by Mexican artists Jacinto Cruz Chavez and Mara Odette as homage to their ancestors. The exhibit includes oil paintings depicting various ways in which people remember those who have died. There are also displays of painted funeral boxes and cemetery stones as well as various calaveras (skulls), some made of sugar, others made of papier mache. The altar includes large bamboos and flowers, photographs of ancestors, replicas of food and candles, and symbolic artifacts. Viewers can also enjoy Catrina, a tall replica of a skeleton, which is dressed in traditional clothing from Chiapas. In the Mexican tradition, Catrina is also called "La Flaca" (the skinny one), “La Huesuda" (the boney one), “La Calva” (the baldy one) and other names as a way of mocking death.
The Mayas, Aztecs, Mixteco-Zapotecas, and present day Mexicans believe in life after death or, better said, life after life: Death becomes a transition so it is not necessarily a sad event. The Day of the Dead, celebrated every November 2 in Mexico, is a day dedicated to party with the departed loved ones. All cemeteries in Mexico celebrate the Day of the Dead with music, food, flowers and fireworks; people bring favorite objects to the tombs in order to feel closer with their departed ones and as a way of sharing moments together. The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, as depicted in this exhibit, is a symbol of Mexicanism more than Catholicism. In this context, the Altar of the Dead symbolizes the happy reunion with the departed.
Children can read more about this Mexican celebration by checking out, with their library card, copies of the books, Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead, by George Ancona, Days of the Dead by Kathryn Lasky, Celebrate! in Central America by Joe Viesti and Diane Hall, and Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston and Jeanette Winter. There is also an exhibit of art books on the theme of Mexican traditions on display near the Altar of the Death exhibit in the second floor west exhibit hall.
About the artists:
Jacinto Cruz-Chavez studied graphic arts at the House of Culture in Huitzo, Mexico, his hometown. He graduated as an architect form the University of Oaxaca in 1992. Cruz-Chavez has mastered different mediums, including oil, watercolor, graft, ink, pencil, pastel and acrylic as well as sculpture and collage. Cruz-Chavez’s artwork has been exhibited in galleries in the Washington metropolitan area and Mexico, as well as at the Gorohovaya 6 Gallery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and New Delhi4 Gallery in India.
Mara Odette was born in Chiapas, Mexico. Her art education includes the Corcoran School of Art, with William Christenberry and Blain Larson, and with Maureen Berkowitz. For the past six years, Odette has been under the tutelage of Walt Bartman. She has exhibited in various galleries and institutions in the Washington, D.C. area and in Baltimore, as well as in the National Academy of Art (The Lalit Kala Akademi) in New Delhi, India, and the University of Beijing, People’s Republic of China. During 2003, Odette’s series of murals and paintings, “The Dance of the Genes,” was on exhibit in museums in Mexico, under the sponsorship of the Mexico’s Chiapas State Council for the Arts and Culture. She has also had solo exhibitions at the Congress of the Union in Mexico City. Her paintings are in private collections throughout the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Russia. More of her artwork can be seen at the web site: www.maraodette.com
All exhibits at the D.C. Public Library are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Elena Tscherny, coordinator of exhibits and programs, at (202) 727-1183, or (301) 213-4814.
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Paintings by Jacinto Cruz
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