TJ Student art is featured at a professional art gallery.
Artwork by Anna Becker
It’s no doubt that many Spartans have heard about the Dia de Los Muertos art exhibit at The Pirate art gallery. It’s been mentioned quite often on The Spartan Edition.
The Pirate is an art gallery that has been in business for a very long time. Phil Bender, one of The Pirate’s full members, has been involved with The Pirate for almost 30 years. “For me, it’s been a place to show [artwork] every year. That’s the main thing that we’re each individually interested in.” The Pirate has had a Dia de Los Muertos exhibit for a long time, and it’s become a tradition. “One of our members back, I guess it was 26 years ago, came to us with the idea. We said ‘sure’. I never heard of it, but, ‘sure, no problem.’ We’re kind of running it ourselves now, with the help from one [non-member] outsider. It runs pretty smooth,” said Bender. The Pirate features artwork from many local artists, and Dia de Los Muertos is only one of many shows that they do each year. ”Once we vote someone in, that’s pretty much it. When we vote people in, we vote them in because we like their work.” The Pirate helps its members show their art, and sometimes, the artists make money selling their art. Unlike many art galleries, The Pirate does not take a cut of the artists’ earnings.
The art that’s featured in the Dia De Los Muertos is mostly art by students, with a couple professional works on display. To show a piece of art, artists have to be members of The Pirate, but for certain events, The Pirate shows a lot of high school art. “We get a lot of work from school children. The teachers get behind the project, get the kids to do it, and then they bring it down. We probably have more schoolwork in there than adult work.” The Pirate is a nonprofit organization, and featuring student art is something that helps maintain their nonprofit status. “Part of the original thing was, well I mean it still is, it’s kind of a community outreach into our community. Most of our community is Hispanic, and it’s really about their holiday,” said Bender.
For Dia de Los Muertos, one of the central themes is skeletons. It’s a holiday that celebrates the dead, and welcomes them. In Dia de Los Muertos art, it is common to see skeletons in very human poses like playing a guitar or dancing. One of Thomas Jefferson’s artists, Hanna Kazlovskaya, has her piece of art featured at The Pirate gallery. “I do ceramics, work with clay. Usually I do contemporary art. I’m working on abstract art,” said Kazlovskaya. “Last year, I worked in adobe, and I made a pot that sold. This year, I just made the skeleton head.” Kazlovskaya has had her art featured in galleries twice before.
