IAmong the artists juried into the 2011 exhibit are two artists from Corvallis, Joey Azul and Carol Chapel, and Portland artist Alaina Dias Lara. For this year’s Day of the Dead exhibit, Azul displays Susie, a 3-D fabrication made from everyday objects. Before moving to Oregon, Azul lived in the Southwest where she attended many Día de los Muertos celebrations. She appreciates the “opportunity to honor and remember people while still making art.”

Painter/printmaker Carol Chapel calls her work autobiographical and describes the four paintings she exhibits in the Art Center’s show her “Día de los Muertos stories.” Her painting, Katrina in Lights, depicts the skeletal figure of an upper class woman called Katrina, an image first popularized by Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada and later painted by Diego Rivera. Katrina has become one of the most popular figures in Day of the Dead celebrations. Chapel playfully surrounds the painting with lights affixed to the frame.

Dias Lara displays four small mixed media assemblages that explore what she calls the “Mexican fascination with the duality of life.” Dias Lara was raised in San Jose, California, where the presence of home altars for the deceased was common. She was entranced by the attention paid to these altars. She describes her art practice as “bound by a deep desire to recreate inner knowledge, to make meaning out of unexplainable experience, and to give the audience a new way of seeing.”

An essential aspect of Día de los Muertos activities in Mexico is the creation of altars that welcome the dead. This year’s Day of the Dead exhibit features five commemorative altars created by individuals and community groups. One of the altars is dedicated to Susan Dearborn Jackson, the curator of the Center’s first Day of the Dead exhibit. Susan was steeped in the tradition of Día de los Muertos, and continued to be a guiding light for the Center’s annual exhibit over the years, serving as curator (1994-96), guest lecturer and presenter, and altar builder. The altar dedicated to her memory is by Hannah Goldrich, Pamela Griffin, and Carmelita Thompson.

The 2011 exhibit also features the following altars: in memory of Alison Cadbury by Judith Fernandes, Hannah Goldrich, and Catherine Siskron; in memory of Maude I. Kerns by Duchess Committee members Marsha Shankman and Martha Snyder; in honor of Larry Joe Blakeney by Tina Schrager; and, finally, an altar commemorating the victims of hate crimes, especially crimes associated with sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status, by Amigos Multicultural Services Center’s youth group, Juventud FACETA.
Pictured above: "Viva La Frida" by Marilyn Kent

"The South in the North Project"
Musical Performance by Samuel Becerra
Thursday, October 27, 7-8pm
Join us as artist and Día de los Muertos exhibit juror, Samuel Becerra shares the cultural music of Mexico and South America with his handmade instruments. To learn more about "The South in the North Project" visit "The South in the North Project."
Pictured: "Katrina in Lights" by Carol Chapel.