DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR TO HONOR VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING VICTIMS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Quinn Densley
602-740-8569
DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR TO HONOR VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING VICTIMS
A Day of the Dead shrine honoring the victims of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech will be on display at the Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona from October 22 - November 4, 2007. A special invitation is extended to Virginia Tech alumni, former students and friends to visit the gallery and pay tribute to their fellow Hokies.
The shrine was assembled by artist Ruben Maqueda, who is best known for his work at the Museo Chicano, located in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has most recently created Day of the Dead shrines for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez. The shrine will incorporate traditional Mexican elements such as skulls and cut paper, but will also include other items associated with college students. The dominant color scheme of the shrine will be maroon and orange. The public will also have the opportunity to write a message which will be forwarded on to the students, faculty and staff of Virginia Tech.
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday which dates from pre-Columbian times. It is observed the night of November 1st to the morning of November 2nd. It is believed that on this night, the spirits of the departed return to earth to visit those whom they loved in life. Gravesites are cleaned and decorated, and special altars with offerings of food and drink are erected in honor of the deceased.
Admission is free. Vision Gallery is located at 80 S. San Marcos Place in Chandler, Arizona. The gallery is open Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A Day of the Dead festival will take place in historic downtown Chandler on November 3, 2007 from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Quinn Densley
2008-02-05
Brent Jesiek
Quinn Densley (qsdensley@yahoo.com)
eng
We Are All Hokies
by Ruben Maqueda
Like every other American, I was shocked and horrified by the shootings that took place at Virginia Tech. I thought of the students and so many young, promising lives suddenly cut short. I thought of the professors who sacrificed their lives for their students, and whose vast knowledge was now lost to the world. I thought of the survivors and the scars, physical and emotional, that they would bear after experiencing such brutality. I thought of the friends and families of the victims. Having lost my own mother eight months earlier, I knew the painful road that lay before them and how this one day would change them forever. This shrine is a tribute to the victims, 27 students and 5 professors, who lost their lives on April 16, 2007.
In the Mexican culture, Day of the Dead is a very important holiday. It is believed that on the night of November 1, the spirits of the dead return to earth to visit their loved ones. Families go to the cemeteries on that day to honor their dead by scrubbing headstones, cleaning the graves, and decorating the gravesite with candles, flowers, photos, sugar skulls and offerings of food and drink. I wanted to incorporate some traditional Day of the Dead elements, while adding elements of college life and some unique touches of my own.
I was very touched when I learned that the university was posthumously awarding degrees to all of the students killed in the shootings. What you see here is, in effect, a graduation ceremony. Sugar skulls bearing the name of the deceased are a very traditional element of the Day of the Dead. The skulls, decorated with brightly colored frosting, foil, and other items, are placed on the shrine. There are 32 papier-mache skulls adorning the shrine, with the larger skulls honoring the professors. Each skull bears the name of one of the victims, and each skull wears a graduation cap with the Virginia Tech logo over the tassel. In addition to a skull, there is a candle for each victim.
The box above the professors houses an image of George Washington. I thought that since this is their first Day of the Dead, the spirits of the victims might need a guide to show them the way back. Since George Washington has been dead for over 200 years, I thought he would be familiar with the process and would make a fitting guide for them because of his strong association with Virginia. The background of the shrine has the twelve constellations of the zodiac painted on it to represent not only the birthdays of the victims, but the passage of time as well.
There are books, labeled with the subjects taught by the professors, which represent their lives, their knowledge, their education, and their status as educators. On the sides of the shrine are 598 origami cranes. If the ages of the students are added up, it totals 598, so each crane represents a year of life.
Working on this shrine was a labor of love for me. I made the skulls out of cardboard boxes, and I discovered that the strongest and best cardboard came from the core. If you look at a cross-section of a piece of cardboard, the core is corrugated and that is what gives the cardboard, or the box as a whole, its strength. What happened at Virginia Tech was devastating, and we will never be the same. What we have to do is find our core and use that strength to heal.
Ruben Maqueda
2008-02-05
Brent Jesiek
Quinn Densley (qsdensley@yahoo.com)
eng