On Oct. 30, ETSU’s Tipton Gallery hosted a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibition with a talk by exhibiting artists Vanessa Gonzalez and Nick Peña.

The event included a community alter built by ETSU Language and Culture Resource Center Director Felipe Fiuza, in remembrance of members of the ETSU community that have passed away, specifically Dr. Ardis Nelson and Dr. Angela Claxton-Freeman, who were both founding directors of the LCRC and Multicultural Center respectively. Due to COVID-19 safety guidelines the event was held completely virtually, with streaming available on Zoom and Facebook Live.

“The community altar was built with the prints of Latinx artist Vanessa Gonzalez, specifically the La Morena, an image of Lady of Guadalupe and Catrina, the lady skeleton figure with sombrero who guides the souls of the departed in after life,” said Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, director of the Slocumb Galleries.

An alter is built annually for Dia de los Muertos by members of the LCRC and the Hispanic American Student Community Alliance, but this year directors decided to hold this event in collaboration with the Latinx artists currently exhibiting.

“The community alter commemorates the victims of racial violence, like Breonna Taylor, Chicana serviceman Vanessa Guillen and various unnamed victims,” said Contreras-Koterbay. “The community altar also memorializes the late Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg and lists of names of beloved family members from ETSU the Art & Design family and community members.”

Peña’s mixed media painting depicts the disillusionment of the American Dream shown by architectural structures. Meanwhile, Gonzalez’s printmaking techniques combine iconic images like the Lady of Guadalupe juxtaposed with images of her family and glimpse to her personal life growing up in a Latin American household. The exhibition will be showing until Dec 18.

(Photo by Maddi Miller/ East Tennessean)

“The works are amazing both in form and content, though different in media and subject matter, both works by the two artists are innovative and insightful,” said Contreras-Koterbay.

Author