Artist Saxon Martinez looks at traditional Mexican imagery in an exhibition opening Friday in Carbondale called “Site 1.”
One thing Martinez is interested in is how the image of the sugar skull, the colorful skull associated with the Day of the Dead in Mexico, has been commercialized in the U.S.
“It’s one thing to understand its origins, and it’s another thing to turn it into a logo that says 'Tequila Something-Or-Other,'" he said.
In “Site 1,” Martinez strips down the sugar skull to its bare bones, so to speak. He says his plain porcelain skull is meant to erase commercial associations with the image, so it stands on its own.
It’s one of a handful of Saxon’s pieces on display at the Launchpad. His work also looks at the ideas of home and the passing along of traditions.
“Site 1” opens Friday in the R2 Gallery, alongside Jeff Stevens’ exhibit “It Was Dark Inside The Wolf.”
