Day of the Dead Beaded Jewelry

This is another mad but purposeful rendition of the content of the mind of that self-styled "King of Taco Deco", Bryant "Eduardo" Holman, of Fausto's Art Gallery, in Ojinaga, Chihuahua.

Day of Dead art, specifically the use of calaveras as a way of burlesquing persons and institutions which were normally protected by censorship laws is a tradition that goes back very far, with both roots in the European and Indian traditions of Mexico. The Indian roots are mostly with the dual nature deities, whose “death side” was indicated by skeletal figures - the most famous survivor of that tradition is “La Santisima Muerte”. The European roots go back to the danse macabre and to the work of Hans Holbien the Younger - of whom the great Mexican illustrator Guadalupe Posada might be said to have carried on his traditions and brought them back to life. Posada was “rediscovered” by Diego Rivera, who promoted Posada in order to attach his own shining star to the calavera artist’s legend. Rivera’s most masterful mural, “Dream on a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” has a rendition of the Catrina - Posada’s most famous calavera - in the middle of the scene, and even has a portrait of Posada there. Day of the Dead art is becoming more and more popular all the time.