By Colin Reid
Student Reporter
The “Day of the Dead” art show is on display in the Amarillo College Common Lobby Gallery.
Art Professor, Steven Cost, has organized the art show for the last 21 years. The show displays Day of the Dead stories and drawings by AC art students.
“We remember that Day of the Dead is not a Mexican version of the U.S. Halloween. It does not have horror stories and scary images,” Cost said.
“Instead, consider it a memorial and celebration of those before us. Each year, near the end of October, Latin American cultures celebrate Dia de los Muertos, which translates to Day of the Dead. AC art students have participated in the Day of the Dead in nearby Lubbock, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico for years. They create a finished conceptual drawing for this celebration and art exhibit. On the opening night of the show, many artists and visitors dressed in costume.”
Cost said Day of the Dead is crucial to help remember those before us. “Remember their deaths in our own lives of family and friends, and in global society including wars, catastrophes and pandemics,” he said. “These stories could include the lives and deaths of heroes, important persons, celebrities and people we admire.”
Graphic Design major, Hayden Splawn, created a piece for the show called “Death Grip.” “It’s an image of a human hand reaching out to a skeleton hand holding onto it, as if it’s infecting the other one,” he said. “The idea for the piece came from an experience in my childhood when a friend committed suicide. It’s a somber reflection of how I felt during the time.”
Graphic Design major, Saira Cera, also has a piece in this year’s show. “My piece is titled ‘Lamento,’” she said. “It is a portrait of a woman in mourning, and it is what I envisioned when I think of someone in mourning.”
The art show continues through Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. It is located on the lower level of the Fine Arts Theatre lobby between the Amarillo College Music, Theatre and Amarillo Museum of Art buildings.
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