By Zarco Guerrero
Aug. 30 - Nov. 3, 2006
Preus Library
Gallery Reception - Thursday, Nov. 2, 6:00-7:15 p.m.
Zarco Guerrero
Untitled
(wood and mixed media)
"Caras y Máscaras" is a celebration of diversity, blending elements of Mexican, North West Coast,
Japanese and Balinese mask making traditions. This exhibition is important historically because over 90%
of the art work exhibited has been utilized in performance and has served a valuable function in the cultural
life of various southwest communities over the past 25 years. Caras y Máscaras is a testament to a once dying
masking tradition brought back to life and thriving in Arizona.
Installation View
Zarco Guerrero has been a force in the Arizona art scene since the early 1970s,
as a multi-media artist and community arts advocate. He has participated in the Artist in Education program
of the Arizona Arts Commission and has conducted workshops throughout the U.S. since 1972. The artist has had
one-man shows in Mexico and throughout the United States. He is the founder of Xicanindio Artes, Inc. a non-profit
organization dedicated to better understanding of Latino and Native American arts. In 1984, PBS broadcasted
nationally a one-hour documentary about his art entitled The Mask of El Zarco. In 1986 he was awarded the prestigious
Japan Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and spent one year in Kyoto, Japan, studying the Noh Masks
as an apprentice to Joshun Fukakusa. From Japan, the artist investigated mask carving in Bali, Indonesia and China.
In 1990, Zarco received an Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Project Grant to pursue his mask carving in Mexico.
He was the mask maker for La Mascarada la Vida, a play by Childsplay, Inc. in which he also played the lead male and
co-composed the musical score. This play was featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In 1991 The Institute
for Studies in the Arts at Arizona State University and its dance department performed A Song for the Forest People,
a dance/opera written by Zarco in which over 30 of his masks were featured. In 1993 he was awarded Arizona's Governor's
Arts Award for his artistic contributions to the community. In 1994 he was the recipient of the 1994 Scottsdale Arts Council's
Chairman's Artist Award. In 1998, he completed a larger-than-life size bronze sculpture of farm worker leader César Chávez
commissioned by the City of Phoenix. Zarco has performed regularly for many years with the Latin and world beat band Zúm Zúm Zúm.
Face to Face in a Frenzy is a one man play by Zarco where he uses his masks to create multiple characters. Zarco
regularly portrays El Diablo as the lead role in La Pastorela, a contemporary interpretation of the traditional
Mexican drama. Most recently, Zarco and his family have written and produced Que Pasión! - An Extraordinary Easter Story,
which depicts the crucifixion and the resurrection from a unique Chicano perspective.
Additional information about Zarco and more examples of work can
be viewed at his website at: www.zarkmask.com
Installation View
Installation View
The following pictures, and artist's statement, are of Zarco's Dia de Los Muertos installation, set up in the upper level of the library, in memory of farm
worker leader César Chávez.
Installation View
WE DECORATE THE DEAD
Zarco Guerrero ©2004
We decorate the dead! that's what we do
We decorate the dead 'cause someday we'll be dead too
We decorate the dead so the dead don't die in vain
We decorate the dead 'Cause the dead don't feel no pain
We decorate the dead 'Cause the dead must live on
We decorate the dead With poetry and song
We decorate the dead and with each and every breath
We decorate the dead until we're laid to rest
We decorate the dead prepare their favorite feast
We decorate the dead so the dead may rest in peace
I decorate the dead It should come as no surprise
We decorate the dead Because it makes us feel alive!
We decorate the dead because life is a deadly dance
We decorate the dead while we still have the chance
We decorate the dead to celebrate life
We decorate the dead to look death in the eye
We decorate the dead The dead both young and old
We decorate the dead because their stories must be told
We decorate the dead 'Cause it's our way of giving
We decorate the dead to prepare the mortal living
We decorate the dead for those who are dying
We decorate the dead for those who are left crying
We decorate the dead because the dead live in our hearts
We decorate the dead so that the dead may live as art!
Installation View
Installation View
