The presentations last week have been one of the highlights of this course for me. It was a great experience being able to learn about everyone’s artists and having the opportunity to view their art as part of a lecture. It was also extremely interesting to see how individuals perceive and analyze the art in different ways based on their own experiences and lenses.
One of the artists that stood out to me was Mel “Melo” Dominguez. As stated in the lecture, he is a muralist from Los Angeles, but now located in Tucson. However, he has taken his advocacy everywhere he goes. I appreciated how he uses his art as a form of expression as well as activism. The use of vibrant colors to portray traditional Mexican culture, such as papel picado, ofrendas, and the vestuarios of baile folklorico. His art definitely highlights the beauty of the culture and I believe impacts his audience in a positive way. My favorite image was the All Souls Procession image. It gives the illusion of an ofrenda, however as stated in the title it is a parade. It is apparent that he pays close attention to detail as you can see in the image the several souls that participate in the procession. Some appear as Frankensteinesque while others appear to look more traditional wearing the mariachi vestuario and even one that appears to look like a woman sewing. The piece, although to some may appear as morbid considering the amount of skeletons and souls, but I think it does a great representation of the dualism that is the Day of the Dead. A day that in our culture celebrates our passed loved ones and allows us to appreciate the cycle of life. Not necessarily as the end of life, but rather a continuation of it.
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