Week 4 - Lu Valero - Dia de Muertos (?) Far From Home.

 

This is just one of the elements of the little ofrenda I put up on the bookshelf in my room. While growing up, I was never particularly interested in this celebration. I am even ashamed to admit that I was very ignorant about how meaningful it is in my culture. I started to immerse myself in its beauty only after my grandmother passed away a few years ago, who by the way was very passionate about Dia de Muertos. Things are different now, I am far away from home, secluded in the dorm which although gives me much tranquility, it also gets lonely from time to time. I decided to put up my little own ofrenda, but I was soon sad that I could not really find what I needed for it, especially here in Irvine. I still did it, it is small, simple, and colorful. I am conflicted as to deciding if it is accurate or not, but I like to believe that the intention behind it is genuine. I used it as a background for a project, and I still have it up, I’ll leave it there until November 2nd. What I most like about the picture is the bright orange and yellow colors. It reminds me of the warmth of the fire of the candles I was supposed to get and could not find. The flower is a little too pink and too bright for what was needed, but the texture and feeling of it still served its purpose. There is a desk light that is lighting the plate from the right side, and it gives them an interesting shadow and contrast with the colors, especially on the pumpkin. The blurred picture on the background is a picture of my grandmother. It was completely unintentional to have it there but it definitely gives a lot more meaning to the emotion of this picture and makes it more interesting to look at.