Mexican culture is brought to life with quirky art

Last month, the campus art gallery held the "Shape of Color" exhibit, which displayed art compiled by several different artists.

This month, Fullerton College's art director, Beth Solomon Marino, chose to highlight the art of just one artist, in a Day of the Dead inspired art exhibition featuring artist Robert Palacios.

The exhibit held an opening reception last Thursday, along with a lecture and slide presentation given by Palacios prior to the reception.  

The presentation gave the audience a more informed perspective on Palacios' art and also gave students the opportunity to pose questions at the artist.

Palacios landed the Viva la Vida gig through co-curator and FC art history professor, Jaime Perez, who discovered Palacios' art after he visited the Museum of Latin America Art.  He immediately contacted Palacios as well as Marino at FC, and arranged for a one-man show.

"I was instantly smitten [by Palacios' work]," said Perez before introducing Palacios at the presentation.  "His art makes me feel like a kid again."

Student Martha Roman quoted the artist in her introduction at the beginning of the presentation, "Life is something that is fragile and should be appreciated everyday."

Palacios' art focuses on Mexican culture, and for this particular exhibit, celebrates the lives of departed ancestors. Palacios likes to show the duality in life by blending the brighter side of things in a comical manner. 

"A lot of people forget that we're all made out of bone," said Palacios, in reference to his half-skeleton half-flesh characters. 

His art features pop culture such as McDonalds and Disneyland, themes that influenced him as he was growing up. 

"I'm always looking around my environment and looking for things that are comical," Palacios said.

Using several different mediums, Palacios paints with acrylic on masonite, hand-carved masks, and sculpts with paper mache. 

Many of the depicted characters sport masks, which Palacios said offers a form of mystique in which you can only see their eyes and only guess at what they are thinking.  

"I like things that are mysterious,"  Palacios said.  "Who is that person under the make-up and mask?"

The traditional Mexican card game of Loteria is frequently incorporated in Palacios' art.  The numbers of the card game signify different ideas and characters such as Palacios' favorite, el Diablo.

Translated as "Live the Life," the Viva la Vida exhibit honors both the dead and the living in accordance with the Day of the Dead.

Viva la Vida will be available to view at no charge to the public until November 17 in the FC campus art gallery.