Story and photos by Kayla Webley
Elvia Rodriguez of Pros Arts Studio in Pilsen uses artwork dedicated to the Day of the Dead to teach children about the holiday.
In the after-school program run by the art studio, children 6 to 12 craft papier-mâché skeletons, noise makers, gravestones and banners. The students will use the artwork they create as part of the annual parade through the neighborhood on Thursday.
Rodriguez said art gives the students a way to understand the holiday’s traditions firsthand. As the students work on the art projects she tries to insert small lessons about what they are making.
“Death is a less scary thing to talk about if you make it a celebration of life,” Rodriguez said. “This holiday is not about scaring people.”
She tells the students about the Day of the Dead and the importance of honoring the deceased.
“As long as we take time to remember the past, we don’t forget the past,” she said. “I tell them, ‘We are remembering our past and the people who affected our lives. Wouldn’t it be nice if people remembered us when we’re not around?’”
The Day of the Dead celebration, or Dia de los Muertos, culminates with two ceremonies honoring the deceased. Ceremonies on Thursday honor children who have passed away, called little angels, or angelitos. Friday’s celebrations are for adults.
Artwork at the “Dia de los Muertos: A new beginning” exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, mocks death with brightly decorated sugar skulls, dancing skeletons and life-size papier-mâché skeletons playing cards and drinking Tequila.
The tradition of Dia de los Muertos is rooted in the culture of the ancient Aztecs and Mayans in Central America. In those cultures death was not something to fear.
“How could you fear death? The idea that death is something to be afraid of is a joke,” said Luis Tubens, 26, a tour guide at the museum exhibit. “Most of the artwork here is made to mock death – show that it is not something to be afraid of. If you make a joke of it, then there is no fear.”
In the after-school program run by the art studio, children 6 to 12 craft papier-mâché skeletons, noise makers, gravestones and banners. The students will use the artwork they create as part of the annual parade through the neighborhood on Thursday.
Rodriguez said art gives the students a way to understand the holiday’s traditions firsthand. As the students work on the art projects she tries to insert small lessons about what they are making.
“Death is a less scary thing to talk about if you make it a celebration of life,” Rodriguez said. “This holiday is not about scaring people.”
She tells the students about the Day of the Dead and the importance of honoring the deceased.
“As long as we take time to remember the past, we don’t forget the past,” she said. “I tell them, ‘We are remembering our past and the people who affected our lives. Wouldn’t it be nice if people remembered us when we’re not around?’”
The Day of the Dead celebration, or Dia de los Muertos, culminates with two ceremonies honoring the deceased. Ceremonies on Thursday honor children who have passed away, called little angels, or angelitos. Friday’s celebrations are for adults.
Artwork at the “Dia de los Muertos: A new beginning” exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, mocks death with brightly decorated sugar skulls, dancing skeletons and life-size papier-mâché skeletons playing cards and drinking Tequila.
The tradition of Dia de los Muertos is rooted in the culture of the ancient Aztecs and Mayans in Central America. In those cultures death was not something to fear.
“How could you fear death? The idea that death is something to be afraid of is a joke,” said Luis Tubens, 26, a tour guide at the museum exhibit. “Most of the artwork here is made to mock death – show that it is not something to be afraid of. If you make a joke of it, then there is no fear.”
Death is represented in the artwork in the form of skeletons, or calaveras.
Some of the calaveras are about the death of ideas and use satire to convey political messages. One skeleton made by artist Raul Lopez Reyes, called “Ecology,” shows the Earth dying as industry is developed. The skeleton is dressed in a suit with money spilling out of its pockets. It holds a skeleton head painted like the Earth, which has industry growing out of the top.
Other paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs focus on the theme of life springing from death. An example of this theme is Arturo Garcia Bustos’ painting called, “Life Emerging from Death.” Bustos depicts a skeleton holding a young child, raising her up from the depths.
“The child is an offering of new life from death,” Tubens said.
As part of the Day of the Dead celebration, families construct altars, or ofrendas, in their homes to honor their family members who have died.
Each altar is a work of art. The museum exhibit showcases different types of altars from the traditional to more contemporary.
Traditional altars must have the four basic elements: earth, wind, water and fire. Water is represented by a glass of water, fire by candles, wind by traditional tissue paper flags known as papel picado and earth is represented by bright flowers, often yellow-orange marigolds, known as cempazuchl.
Altars for adults often include treats such as Tequila and cigarettes, while those for children have toys and candy.
One contemporary altar at the museum, created by students from Big Picture High School in Chicago, is dedicated to 32 Chicago Public School students who were killed in street violence during the 2006-07 school year.
Empty desks are topped with school supplies and snacks as if they were left by the students who died. Framed photos of the murdered students are set throughout the altar. Their names and ages are written with chalk on two blackboards.
In honor of the students, a poem on the back wall of the altar reads:
“Hello, I am the spirit that always walks in the street trying to come to life.
I’m one of the students that died because of violence in the street.
Remember my school, I see my seat empty.
My presence is needed, but I am no longer here.”
