MYTHIC VISIONS: YARN PAINTINGS OF A HUICHOL SHAMAN - January 17 to February 22, 2014 at the Latino Cultural Center

DALLAS– The Latino Cultural Center presents Mythic Visions: Yarn Paintings of a Huichol Shaman, a curated traveling exhibition from the University of Pennsylvania Museum featuring the vibrant textile art of shaman-artist José Benítez Sánchez. The exhibit will showcase 31 highly-prized yarn paintings that communicate the ancestral histories and religious motifs of the Huichol People, who receive the visions conveyed in the art works after ingesting the sacred peyote cactus. The exhibit will be on display at the Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak, Dallas, TX 75204 from January 17, 2014 to February 22, 2014. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

 

In western Mexico, in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, the Huichol people have been living since pre-Columbian times and continue to practice their religion, which consists of four main deities and religious rituals that traditionally involve the psychoactive peyote cactus. It is those rituals and deities, the vividly colored visions of which are constantly transforming and blending into one another, that José Benítez Sánchez takes as his subjects and fixes into his art work. These 31 paintings by the Huichol’s most renowned shaman-artist—crafted not of paint but of yarn pressed into beeswax—are remarkable not only for their beauty and craftsmanship, but also for their cultural significance. The art is modern evidence of the survival of the Huichol pre-Columbian culture, protected from Spanish and Catholic influence by living in small and dispersed population groups high in the mountains.

 

Brief informative texts, maps, and color photographs enhance the vibrant yarn paintings and provide audiences a rare glimpse into the complexities of the Huichol spiritual world. These fleeting visions are of the Huichol world as it came into creation in a mystical natural environment that has no boundaries between the present and the ancestral past. The popularity of this art form transcends cultural boundaries, and this exhibition helps us understand the world of its creators as well as their inspiration.

 

About the Latino Cultural Center

The Latino Cultural Center is a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Established in 2003, the LCC’s mission is to serve as a regional catalyst for the preservation, development and promotion of Latino and Hispanic arts and culture. The LCC offers a year-round season of programs, including visual arts exhibitions in two galleries and more than 50 dance, theater and music performances annually in the Oak Farms Performance Hall. The LCC’s signature family programs include Target Second Saturdays, the Día de los Muertos Celebration, and the annual Posada. The Center is located at 2600 Live Oak, Dallas, Texas 75204. LCC hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, please call 214-671-0045 or visit our Web site at www.dallasculture.org/latinoculturalcenter.

 

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