Rachel Mitacek Calaveras: Comedy of the Dead
A skull is a symbol located in many areas of the world which has multiple representations depending on the use of the emblem: flags, tattoos, and art décor are just a few to mention. With the endless possibilities, this essay will focus on the artistic view of Mexican culture. Some of the first details one often correlates with Mexican art is vivid colors, skulls, and El Dia de Los Muertos which translates to The Day of the Dead. Skulls or Calaveras in Spanish represents Mexican culture and can be seen anywhere from old Aztec ruins to Mexico city street graffiti. The idea of a skeleton is understood as a symbol of rebirth towards a new life(r) and one artist from the south took this to a new
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By the year 1910, this iconic black and white image was printed on a broadside and headlined a poem with the title "Calaveras del montón, número 1," which translates to “Skulls of the Bunch, Number 1”. To some the title may sound horrid, even gruesome. For some, like the Mexican culture, the idea behind the symbol of the skull represents a brighter view: acceptance of death as someone familiar. “Contemporary Mexicans[..] not only fail to distinguish life from death but also embrace death, as if it were some sort of welcome friend.” (Brandes p273) This idea of accepting death as an old friend has turned the symbol of skeleton into a positive imagery. In Posada’s piece, skeletons represent the living and the dead as well as the social construct of its time. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word Folk as “a group of kindred tribes forming a nation”( website) this definition can be understood in Posada’s print whereas the symbol of the skeleton represents the Mexican people. In the Article “The Seven Strands of Tradition” by Ben Amos, we understand the idea of Folk/tradition has multiple strains ( Amos p) which can be individually be examined. The first idea related to Calaveras Oaxaquena is Folk as a culture which is understood by the moral support portrayed by the mass of skeletons. Amos mentions “ the common core of traditions belongs to the group, …show more content…
Some figures are facing the viewer, and some are turned, so their backs are seen. During the beginning of the 20th century when this print was in the newspapers, the revolution of Mexico had started and the old political regime had disbanded. In Calaveras Oaxaquena the viewer gets the sense an event is going on, maybe even a crisis. Some important factors to consider are the mass of skulls scattered on the floor, the crammed skeletal bodies and the character that's jumping in midair with what seems to be a small machete. The main character who divides this compressed scene in two could be understood as the political “ poster boy" of its time. Consequently, the skeletons become a symbol of resistance for the future. While this picture was only created in 1903, it is possible Posada understood what the future held for the country of Mexico. As Hitler used the idea of Folk as a propaganda tool (Kamenetsky), the tool used in Posada’s case was the traditional symbol of skeletons against the destructible politics. A picture is worth a thousand words is a famous saying everyone knows, but when adding comedy, that can uplift morals. The comedic satire used in Calaveras Oaxaquena assisted the infiltration of knowledge to those not aware of the problematic government. Francisco Goya author of the Los Caprichos prints
The sugar skull is obviously referring to the Mexican tradition called dia de los muertos. Dia de los muertos takes place during the end of october and the first of November. This celebration is an important holiday as it is considered a vital part of Mexican identity, and identity in which is a combination of mesoamerican rituals, European beliefs, and Spanish culture. Mesoamerican culture shared many of the same traditions when celebrating their ancestors. Dia de los muertos isn’t about the final resting place of the dead, but instead the beginning of a new journey. A journey to the Machlin, a final resting place for the souls. Due to Spanish colonization, death rituals were influenced by new laws and lifestyles. Spain and the catholic church made an lasting influence on the cultures of mesoamerica. Many of these influences were a cause of mass war and the bubonic plague. Life and death balanced together like right and wrong, good versus evil, eventually creating a general understanding that life and death, itself, is a cyclical journey. Europeans brought the idea of cemeteries to the indigenous people. Today there is evidence of this with sugar skulls and celebrations in the cemetery and homes. According to The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity, Stanley Brandes
In the eighteenth Century, Colonial European and Mexican artists were fascinated with the emergence of racial blending within the Spaniard bloodline. Works of art began displaying pieces that portrayed three major groups that inhabited the colony— Indians, Spaniards, Africans and other ethnicities. This new genre of painting was known as Casta painting and portrayed colonial representations of racial intermarriage and their offspring. Traditionally Casta paintings were a pictorial genre that was often commissioned by Spaniards as souvenirs upon their arrival from New Spain (Mexico). And yet, why would such works have so much fascination despite its suggestive theme? It is clear that Casta paintings display interracial groups and couples, but they seem to have a deeper function when it comes to analyzing these works. These paintings demonstrate that casta paintings were created to display racial hierarchies within the era. They depict the domestic life of interracial marriages and systematically categorized through a complete series of individual paintings. It is clear that the fascination of these works reflected the categorizing of new bloodline that have been emerging and displays these characters in a manner that demonstrates the social stereotypes of these people by linking them with their domestic activities and the items that surround them as well. Despite the numerous racial stereotypes that are illustrated in these works, casta paintings construct racial identities through visual representations.
The Aztec Calendar stone has become one Mexico’s national symbols. After decades of Latin American Art being degraded, underappreciated, forgotten, and abused, it has become one of Mexico’s most national treasures. After years of research from the Codex Mendoza, the Calendar, and documents by the Spanish conquistadors, it has gradually become clear as to how the Aztecs truly lived and how art played such a huge role in their society. It has not only given researchers insight to the Aztec culture and religion and has also given influence to modern and the mainstream media today such as fashion and graphic design.
Mariachi has become the face of Mexican culture, and truly represents the music of Gonzales’ people. It is played in almost every occasion including funerals, weddings, quinceneras, parties, and marches. Gonzales explains this by saying, “Our art, our literature, our music”; He elaborates by naming mariachi under these categories. The author recognizes the significance of this music in his background. In one article, Collins states that “the only thing more Mexican than tequila is the mariachi” (Collins 1998). These words capture how immersed mariachi is in the author’s mores, therefore giving him purpose in mentioning it. Not only does mariachi define Mexican culture, it defines the beauty and soul of tradition.
The calavera, or skeleton, is an important symbol during dia de muertos. Skeletons decorate the inside of ...
The work relates to other ideas like life, death, and the organic nature of the earth. Similarly, it relates to events like growth, decay, and preservation in terms of biology. The use of skulls invites all kinds of interpretations to be considered and made about the artwork. For instance, there is a clear reference to the ideas of life and death. Similarly, there is a coherent connection between these ideas and the earth. This work could be trying to suggest that there is both an inherent richness to life and beauty in death; this is most indicated by the lustrous beading of the skulls. The jewelry-work makes the piece all that more attractive, allowing a viewer to admire something as odd as a skull. Evidently, nature plays a major role as an influence to the work. This work could invite viewers to question the morbid and anxiety-inducing nature of death that humanity often projects. It goes without saying that death, life, and skulls are heavily expressive topics throughout countless cultures and the human race as a whole. Similarly, there are deep historic and emotional ties to the ideas of death and returning oneself to the earth after
Both the Mummy Portrait and the Bust of a Matron commemorate the individual through their truthful appearance using different artistic mediums and practices. Both objects, coming from Egypt, present this fluidity in and a multitude of styles that was circulating in the Roman Empire. On one hand, the Mummy Portrait of a Woman combines Ancient Egyptian burial practices with modern Roman encaustic panel portraiture. While the Mummy Portrait would have been an object that would no longer be visible after the woman’s burial, the portrait pays homage to her by giving an identity to her mummified corpse and preserving her in this vivid image. On the other hand, the Bust of a Matron follows closely with versitic Roman sculptural portraiture practices, showing the artist’s ability to render a realistic portrait that communicates her virtue to the viewer. The bust would have been a public object, accessible to her descendants to commemorate her contributions to the family. The artist portrays her biography through the signs of aging present on her face, implying that she was a public servant who contributed to the society of her
In “Eleven”, written by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros uses literary techniques such as diction and imagery to characterize Rachel’s character during her transition from age ten to age 11. These literary techniques help to describe how Rachel feels in certain situations while also explaining her qualities and traits. Through the use of these literary techniques Cisneros also collaborated on Rachel’s feelings when she was other ages and how she felt at that time during her life.
Skeletons and skulls are almost always portrayed as enjoying life, often in entertaining situations or fancy clothes. Calaveras (skulls) are short poems mocking commemoration of friends, describing habits and attitudes or funny incidents. This custom originated in the 18th or 19th century. The literature skulls originated in the 19th century as a form of showing of important politicians and personalities of the time. As skeletons they kept their features so they were recognizable. The illustrations included a short commemorance -style
In writing this evolving story 3 major points served as a preamble. This cultural production is not the actual results of the new awareness, rather, is imposed by the European imaginaries during the time of Spanish exploration and colonization in the sixteenth century. Moreover, this presented art was a heterogeneous mixture of many communities that invade in the region and have never been monumental. Another important aspect is that the Latino Art and the related culture are dynamic and mutable. The art has expressed from of the immigrants and intersect across various styles and susceptibilities. In short, this art is not depicting the actual form of Chicano cultural values
Sandra Cisneros writes a memoir through the eyes of an eleven year old. Turning eleven happens to be a tragic day for the main character, Rachel. Through various literary techniques such as hyperbole, simile, and syntax, Rachel is characterized. Rachel is a fresh turning eleven year old who finds herself in an awful situation on her birthday. Forced to wear a raggedy old sweater that doesn’t belong to her, she makes it defiantly clear her feelings towards the clothing item, and we see this through use of hyperboles. Rachel describes the sweater as ugly and too “stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope.” This extreme exaggeration demonstrates the fire within Rachel. She is a defiant and pouty little girl who out of stubbornness has to defy the sweater in her mind. “It’s maybe a thousand years old”, she says to herself in act to degrade the filthy red sweater even more. The sweater to Rachel has become an eternal battle of ages. She is torn on whether or not to stand up and act bigger th...
The primary function of monumental portraits in Ancient Rome was to honor political figures of power through repeating social and political themes. The Romans expressed these themes through a form of “realism”. Relics of this era were found depicting the elderly conservative nobility that lived through civil disruptions and war, elaborately individualized through detail of the face expression. Through the features of grimacing heaviness, wrinkles, and effects of old age, the Romans were able to express the reality of their political situation felt by the people whose faces were sculptured into stone. Furthermore, Nodelman discusses the use of sculpture portraits to depict the ideology behind Roman conservative aristocracy. Artists would portray the virtues of gravitas, dignities, and fides, through the use to physical expression and symbolic meaning, rather than through words. A statue of Augustus, for instance, displays the militaristic, powerful, godly perception of the conservative ideology through the use of symbolic detail. The decorative, rich, military outfit on Augustus, represents the power of the military and Augustus’s role as imperator in it. The freely held masculine arm and pointing gesture towards the horizon are Rome’s expanding dreams, clashing with the overall powerful and sturdy stance of the body. The bare feet bring about the impression
Mexican art consists of a vast area of visual arts that have been developed over the geographic area of Mexico. The influence of art did occur during the Mesoamerican era and colonial period. The art is seen as indigenous and was tied to religious and the ruling class. Mexican art also reflects the influence of ancient and modern art of colonial and revolutionary part. The Mesoamerican era did influence, painting style through regional traditions. They are also known for depicting indigenous villagers, designs from pre-colonial civilization, and communist imagery.
He used skeletons to depict Mexican society of his time. Posada was a political activist, who used art to reflect the social inequality and injustice of his era. The most famous work was of a skeletal woman called, “Calavera Catrina”. The woman (skeleton) was dressed in fancy clothes and a hat that depicted the upper class. As author Barbara Lewis wrote, “Posada liked to draw skulls and skeletons to show how short life is and to make death seem less serious to the living. In his drawings he showed that whether someone is a peasant or a politician, in death we are all the same. His drawings depicted the poor people and their suffering.(2) Another artist, named Diego Rivera, who was inspired by Posada, also used skeletal images. He took the iconic picture of the skeletal woman and dressed her up calling her, “La Catina”, referring to a rich woman. Today the colorful images are recognized during the “Day of the Dead” ceremonies. Together Posada and Rivera captured the symbolic use of skeletal images. Artists to follow continue to use skulls and skeletons in their art, like Frida Kahlo’s use of skeletons as a central theme. They in essence re-invented the use of the skull to empower the Mexican people by honoring their heritage that was once suppressed by the
The use of certain items in these still life’s are not random as a first look might suggest and the macabre nature of some items selected such as skulls were meant to evoke a sense of mortality, and humbleness in the viewer, while other items had a much more subtle approach such as the use of flowers. The overall goal of these images is to reinforce the inevitability of death and the futility of earthly pleasures. The word Vanitas comes from the Latin word for vanity, and the images shown were also used to not only speak of death, but also the folly of the love of worldly things. At its core Vanitas are a continuation of the theme of a memento mori, which is Latin for “remember that you have to die”. Memento mori art often featured elements featuring skulls, skeletons, or decomposing corpses. While similar in motif, memento mori were more obvious in their statements, while a vanitas had greater depth to what was being said. Vanitas were heavily influenced by the location in which it originated, the Leiden area of the Netherlands in particular had a large Calvinist population, and the moral teachings of the denomination are apparent in these works. Calvinist of the time put an emphasis on strong moral foundations and a great self-awareness of the deprivations of mankind. Many of the lessons to be learned from a vanitas are engrained in Christianity in general,