Randy Davis, Hank was Long Dead. Detail photos by Aliya Carnes.
Young Blood‘s 1st Annual “Day of the Dead” show presented a fantastic collision of American and Mexican low culture, using Dia de los Muertes coffin shrines as framing devices for tributes to Hank Williams, mariachi, Jesus and Mary, mermaids, Tammy Faye, Elvis Presley, Frida Kahlo, and (of course) dozens of skeletons.
Randy Davis, Hank was Long Dead. Photo courtesy of Young Blood Gallery.
The show was organized by Buffi Aguero and Tracy Wagner of Tweet Design, who distributed identical miniature wooden coffins to about 50 fine artists, craftspeople, and graphic designers.
Though we generally avoid mentioning prices, I feel I should mention that the mean price for these finished coffins was between one and three hundred dollars. That price is about what I’d expect for a group show with so many participating artists, but it’s incredibly reasonable given the quality and detail of these pieces.
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- Patsi Aguero, “La Sirena.”
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- Katrina Krass, “She’ll Die For You.”
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- Samantha Rasnake & Katherine Duggan, “In the Sea of Love.”
What do mermaids and the Day of the Dead have in common?
Kathryn Zaitz, Catrin de la Difunto.
Rhinestones, glitter, and fake eyelashes were widely used throughout the show. It’s strange that we see a “shrine” as a chance to conjure an inflated memory of dead celebrities, rather than a way to honor realistic representations of loved ones.
Jeanne Flint, Skeletal Elvis.
Dodie O'Keefe, Frida.
More abstract representations of death made up about one quarter of the show’s pieces. Two of my favorites were Kumiko Kakinuma’s open dollhouse:
Kumiko Kakinuma
and Ana Balka’s cinema diorama, Go To the Light (named after the Lumière brothers):
Ana Balka,Go To the Light.
(Can any of you identify the two images used inside Balka’s theater? I feel like I’ve seen the image “on screen” before, but I’m drawing a blank on that picture hanging on the wall.)
“Day of the Dead Show” is on view at Young Blood Gallery and Boutique through Nov. 30. You can see more photos from the show at Young Blood’s flickr and Aliya’s web album.
