The Skyline art gallery hosted a reception for its Dia de los Muertos exhibit on Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The exhibit located in the gallery behind building one, ran from Oct. 25 through Nov. 1, and included art made by several Skyline students.
Students submitted paintings, ceramic figures, and incorporated art into altars, also known as ofrendas, meant to honor the dead for the exhibit. Primarily a Latino celebration, Dia de los Muertos takes place on Nov. 2. On this holiday, the living celebrate death and remember the deceased with joy rather than sadness.
“It’s mainly celebrated in Mexico and Latin America, and basically instead of a sad way of honoring the dead, it’s a way of honoring the dead in celebration and fond memories of the dead and loved ones in the past,” says Skyline student Jason Thomason who produced work in the gallery. Thomason also holds a work-study job in the gallery and is in the art gallery practicum class, taught by Professor Paul Bridenbaugh. “I think we have close to 50 people that have put up a piece of art or painting or sculpture. It’s open to all the students and faculty at Skyline, so anybody could participate.”
The exhibit was a cooperative effort which included Skyline Latino communities such as PUENTE, who provided art by Diego Rivera among other things. Professors Lori Slicton and George Buckingham offered students extra credit to attend.
Paul Bridenbaugh, the gallery curator and part-time Skyline professor of 20 years, commented on the gallery’s open and culturally conscious atmosphere. “We have information on the walls about Japan, China, Korea, India and all kinds of traditions that honor the dead in some way,” says Bridenbaugh. “We kind of tied it all together in that way.”
Not limited to visuals, the warm and welcome sentiment in the air encompassed various styles of art. As students strolled through the open gallery, absorbing the various paintings, figurines, altars, photographs and installations, they were serenaded by Skyline’s Jazz Quintet, which comprises Skyline students Ben Villa on trumpet, Vincent Iannone on piano, Alex Rosales on bass, Andrew Fenn on saxophone, and Norman Medina on trombone. The quintet (which featured an extra member for the event) also included Mills High School student Nathaniel Welch on drums. The quintet was approached by Zachary Bruno, Skyline’s music instructor, in an attempt to stimulate and connect the artistic communities on campus. The band will also perform at the reception for the Empty Bowls Project Fundraiser on Wednesday, Nov. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. in building 6, as well as at the Light And Shadow exhibit reception on Thursday, Nov. 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Light and Shadow exhibit will comprise of ceramics and photography and will run from Nov. 9 to Dec. 2 in the Skyline Art gallery.
The reception attracted a wide audience, filling the participating students with pride and excitement.
“It was very freeing and felt very good to pay tribute to my parents, who really encouraged me to play with clay,” said ceramics student and Vice President of the Ceramics Club Stephanie Clemons, whose altar and ceramic artwork sat in display at the gallery. “It was wonderful! It was so good having all these people come in and look at the work and just take it all in, absorb it, and comment on it, and see that there’s a lot of artistic talent here on campus.”
“A lot of people don’t even know the gallery’s here,” Thomason says. However, it is certainly not lacking in activity. There are many future events planned, including the Empty Bowls Project Fundraiser and the Light and Shadow exhibit. If you’re interested in this aspect of Skyline student life or if you’re looking to attend future exhibits, visit the gallery’s Facebook site at Facebook.com/skygallery.
