EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT


Ancient Roots/Urban Journeys: Expressions for Días de los Muertos

Oakland Museum of California, Great Hall Low Bay

Now through December 2, 2007

The Oakland Museum of California’s 14th annual Days of the Dead festivities begin Wednesday, October 10, with the opening of Ancient Roots/Urban Journeys: Expressions for Días de los Muertos.

This year the skulls, skeletons, marigolds, and candles mix it up with low-rider and hip-hop culture.

Guest curator Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, associate director/curator of San Jose’s Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA), encouraged artists to reinterpret the spiritual holiday. Ancient Roots/Urban Journeys includes Days of the Dead imagery and expressions from pre-colonial Mesoamerica (Oaxacan-style altars) to its contemporary Californian configurations (mixed media and graffiti art).

The exhibition depicts the holiday’s evolution with themes as diverse as Aztec and Mayan mythology to low-rider bicycle culture and the perils of illegal immigration. Several ofrendas (altars) will be created by local artists, schools, and community groups.

“Chicano culture and contemporary Chicano folk art are woven throughout Ancient Roots/Urban Journeys,” says curator Helstrup-Alvarez.

“Both have street credibility, and offer a new take on the concept of the ofrenda.