Offrendas: Altars for the Dead

The offrenda, or altar of the dead, is an installation in our household, eclectically following the custom of gathering favorite foods of the dead, pictures, flowers, kid’s toys, candy, mementos. It is a time to renew acquaintances with neighbors and relatives, to tell anecdotes, to laugh and play music. The theme of honoring ancestors in the movie Coco, was set during the festival. It’s exactly how things happen! 

Skeleton figurines at a ceramic feast amid artifacts on a Day of the Dead altar

Many cultures, notably Mexico, take a view of death, not as a finality, but as a transformation, a transitioning into a new state of being. It is celebration, rather than mourning, a time both happy and sad for the remembrance of those who have passed. It is most common to find people define themselves first by their ancestors and children—well before profession or accomplishment.

I’ve been working on a comprehensive treatment of the Días de los Muertos for decades, collecting experiences and images. There is such a wealth of source material in a gamut of styles: traditional photography gave way to mis-process slide film, to Polaroid transfers and manipulated SX-70s, to iPhoneography, also files remastered and reworked into another art form all together. Several books may be necessary.

The first portfolio I printed is without commentary. Beautiful though the images are, the soul of experience and memoir is missing. It’s that personal story. The evolving vision tends toward a mystery novel, set in the real live places, which characters derived from artists I’ve known.

Life-size skeleton by Sara Frances after Mexican artist Felipe Linares