October 8, 2004
Purdue Galleries to showcase work of renowned Mexican artist
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University Galleries will present the works of one of Mexico's most famous artists in "José Guadalupe Posada: My Mexico."
The artwork will be displayed Oct. 25 through Dec. 5 at both the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in the Purdue Memorial Union and the Stewart Center Gallery.
Posada was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, in 1852. He began his career as a teacher of lithography and moved to Mexico City in 1887 to be an illustrator. Posada said he felt an obligation to share information with the largely illiterate part of the community. He did this through illustrations in news articles, advertisements and magazines.
During his career, Posada created approximately 20,000 images, including some to accompany corridos, or Mexican ballads. Even after his death in 1913, Posada remained an important influence of the Mexican Modernists, an artistic movement in Mexico headed by muralists Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco.
The collection comes from the artist Jean Charlot, who championed Posada's work following Posada's death in relative anonymity. Posada satirized and glorified people of all classes in his work. His most popular images are the calaveras, or satirical skeletons produced for the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated in Mexico on Nov. 2. During this day, many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans still practice the tradition of celebrating rituals passed down for generations, one of which includes families building altars, or "ofrendas," in their homes and making offerings to their departed loved ones. For the Posada exhibit, Eileen Garcia, scenic artist and properties manager for Purdue Theatre, will assemble an altar to Posada in the Stewart Center Gallery.
In recognition of Posada's work, Purdue Galleries will sponsor a lecture by Floyd Merrell, professor of Spanish and semiotics in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, entitled "José Guadalupe Posada and His Times." The lecture will take place at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Stewart Center Gallery and will be followed by receptions in both the Ringel and Stewart Center galleries. Merrell will discuss Posada's work in the historical context leading up to and including the initial stages of the Mexican Revolution.
"José Guadalupe Posada: My Mexico" is organized by the University of Hawaii Art Gallery and supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Charlot Foundation, the UH Women's Campus Club, the University of Hawaii Student Activity and Program Fee Board, and the Watumull Grant for Museum Studies in the Arts.
Purdue Galleries and the Purdue Latino Cultural Center also will distribute literature and feature additional programming in connection with the Posada exhibit and the traditional celebration of "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead). The Latino Cultural Center will present "Día de los Muertos, Una Celebracion de la Vida" (Day of the Dead, A Celebration of Life) from 12-3 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Morton Community Center, 222 N. Chauncey Ave., in rooms 106 and 108.
Craft stations will provide children and adults the opportunity to learn how to make sugar skulls, paper flowers, puppet skeletons and masks. Several Dia de los Muertos altars will be on view and Mexican music will play throughout the day.
The Robert L. Ringel Gallery in the Purdue Memorial Union and the Stewart Center Gallery in Stewart Center are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; until 8 p.m. on Thursday; and from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. For class or group visits, contact Mary Ann Anderson at (765) 496-7899. All Purdue Galleries exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.
CONTACT: Craig Martin, Purdue Galleries director, (765) 494-3061, cdmartin@sla.purdue.edu
Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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