Dark Art

Oct, 27, 2020

Art

Dark Art

This Halloween, celebrate all things spooky with a wide selection of eerie artworks spanning the European, contemporary, Asian, American, and fashion design collections of Phoenix Art Museum. Then, take a deep dive and learn about the satirical calaveras of Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada.

COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

Duendecitos (Little Goblins) (1797-1799) by Francisco de Goya

Francisco de Goya, Duendecitos (Little Goblins), 1797-1799. Aquatint etching. Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Read Mullan.

The Musicians (1953) by Philip C. Curtis

Philip C. Curtis, The Musicians, 1953. Oil on board. Gift of Gayla April.

Kyōgen mask, Saru (late Edo period, 1789-1868), Japan

Fool, Seer, MFA Grad (Elana) (2011) by Rebecca Campbell

Multicolored Ombre Effect Wrap-around skirt (1975-2000) by Giorgio di Sant’Angelo

Giorgio di Sant’Angelo, Multicolored ombre effect wrap-around skirt, 1975-2000. Chiffon. Gift of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Untitled (Bridge over River, City) (20th century) by Paul Hammersmith

Paul Hammersmith, Untitled (Bridge over River, City), 20th century. Print. From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Rosenthal.

Landscape: Ascending the Tower to View the Hills After a Rain (1738) by Shangguan Zhou

Shangguan Zhou, Landscape: Ascending the tower to view the hills after a rain, 1738. Ink and color on paper. Gift of Marilyn and Roy Papp.

Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1665-1670) by Carlo Dolci

John with White Pumpkin (2002) by Chris Rush

Flat Orange Teapot in the Shape of a Pumpkin with Blue Leaves (20th century), China

Unknown, Flat orange teapot in the shape of a pumpkin with blue leaves, 20th century. Stoneware. Gift of James T. Bialac.

Blob (2004) by Tony Oursler

Black Chantilly Lace Over White Satin Evening Dress (c. 1897)

Chemin des Coudriers, Geneve (Ghost Road, Geneva) (1989) by Thomas Struth

Cat Ghost (1979) by Fritz Scholder

Fritz Scholder, Cat Ghost, 1979. Cyanotype cliche verre. Gift of Shahrokh Rezvani.

Iris (1912) by Thomas Wilmer Dewing

Triumph of Death (2007) by Artemio Rodríguez

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José Guadalupe Posada, La calavera del cólera morbo (The Skull of Morbid Cholera), 1910. Engraved relief print. Gift of Clayton Kirking in memory of Rick Lancaster; José Guadalupe Posada, La calavera de cupido (Cupid’s Skull), 1910. Engraved relief print. Gift of Clayton Kirking in memory of Rick Lancaster; José Guadalupe Posada, Las bicicletas (The Bicycles), 1913. Engraved relief print. Gift of Clayton Kirking in memory of Rick Lancaster.

Deep Looking: José Guadalupe Posada

Pioneering 19^th-century printmaker José Guadalupe Posada profoundly impacted the development of political critique in Mexican art. Between 1872 and 1913, Posada produced more than 20,000 prints for newspapers, street gazettes, and broadsheets that were satirical, humorous, or cynical in nature. Often referred to as the Mexican Francisco de Goya, he is best known for his images of animated calaveras (skulls or skeletons), which reference both Mexican pre-Columbian art and popular Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) festivals.

Posada’s skeletons began as scathing, fancily dressed caricatures of politicians and the bourgeoisie but eventually evolved into characters enacting the idiosyncrasies of everyday Mexican life. As he witnessed the social ramifications of stark economic disparity in his country, Posada came to believe that death is the only true democratic process, by which humans reach sacred immortality. His skeletal illustrations strip their subjects of any defining physical features, leaving only clothes as markers of social status and reminding viewers that underneath it all—the skin and hair, the jewelry and hats, the suits and gowns—we are all the same, just connective tissue and bones.

Check out works by José Guadalupe Posada from the PhxArt collection here.

José Guadalupe Posada, En prueba de puro amor o Regalo de calaveras (In Proof of Pure Love or Skulls’ Gift), 1910. Engraved relief print. Gift of Clayton Kirking in memory of Rick Lancaster.