This year’s altar focused on honoring people how had died in 2015, including actors, musicians, writers and other prominent Americans, such as Pete Seeger, Maya Angelou, Lou Reed, Lauren Bacall, Carlos Fuentes and others. Jennifer Eschedor, a local educator and artist, also loaned her quilt, honoring those who had died while trying to cross the desert, to Special Collections, for display alongside the altar.

Here’s the promo I wrote for the altar:

Dia De Los Muerto Altar at Special Collections

The staff of Special Collections are once again setting up a “Dia De Los Muertos” altar in the Special Collections exhibit gallery. There are several ways you can participate. You are welcome to  bring a photo of a departed loved one to place on the altar anytime from now until November  7.   You can also join  the procession that will take place at noon on Monday November 3. Led by a group of visiting teachers from Mexico, it will start at Special Collections and finish at the Cesar Chavez Building. “Pan de muerto” (Day of the Day bread) and hot chocolate  will be served . Talks about the significance of “El Dia De Los Muertos” will also be  presented by our guests from Mexico. Everyone is welcome!

ABOUT THE QUILT:

This quilt, titled The Unknowns, was made to commemorate the people who lost their lives while attempting to cross the US/Mexican border during fiscal year 2012-2013 as they were seeking a better life for themselves and their families.  An organization called Los Desconicidos, founded by Jody Ipsen, seeks individuals and groups to use migrant clothing to create a quilt to honor those who have died during each fiscal year since 2000.  I found the names and causes of death on a website provided by the Coalition de Derechos Humanos.  My purpose for creating this quilt was to increase awareness of the horrors that continue at our border.  The skull image has become a pop symbol, yet it is used here to hopefully confront viewers with the outrageous number of deaths (183) that occurred during one year.  The skull, gun and hammer images were carved out of linoleum and printed individually on cloth.  I wanted to give a graphic illustration of the cause of deaths.  In the extremes of the desert environment, many bodies are found so decomposed that the cause of death, and even gender can not be determined.   Working with jeans that were actually worn by the migrants made me feel a strong connection to them as real people….I couldn’t help but imagine the families they left behind. 

I received a BFA from Kent State University in Studio Art with a focus in textiles.  After teaching art in public schools in Pittsburgh, PA for a few years, I grew tired of the gray skies and moved out to Tucson in 1999 to attend the University of Arizona.  In 2000, I earned my MA in Art Education and have taught in a variety of situations, both public and private in Tucson.  Currently, I enjoy working in mixed media.

Jennifer Eschedor