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Marching in …

By Teresa Adamo,
MÁS Staff.

Long before global communication united multicultural voices, the world of devotional art spoke volumes.
    “Santos, Saints and Santa” — a holiday exhibition at the Bakersfield Museum of Art (BMOA) Dec. 6 through Feb. 25 — showcases a collection of colorful, historical and contemporary pieces.
The lead exhibit features 50-plus santos — artistic interpretations of the saints — mainly from New Mexico, Mexico and South America.
“It’s fascinating art — folk art of a very special type,” said Beth Pandol, the BMOA’s director of marketing. “We think the community will really respond to a show like this and we believe this will be the first exhibit of this kind here, too — one of our biggest goals at the museum is to expand our reach and represent many tastes and segments of our community … This is everyone’s museum.”
There are two basic forms of santos: retablos (small, two-dimensional oil paintings, typically done on wood or tin) and bultos (three-dimensional, carved wood figurines). Typically, these works are made using rich, bright hues.
Because the BMOA exhibit includes pieces dating back to the early 1800s, some of the santos appear in a more muted color scheme — but only because time has worn away some of their luster.
However, the “true blue” background chosen for the wall color of the museum’s Cunningham Gallery allows all the art to “pop.”
For BMOA Assistant Curator/Preparator, Nicole Saint-John, preparing the exhibit is a labor of love.
“It’s like Christmas morning,” said Saint-John, while recently opening the various boxes and packages containing the artworks and prepping them for display. “Everything in the show is so beautiful, so different and so colorful.”
Saint-John, the curator of the exhibit, actually began planning for “Santos, Saints and Santa” some two years ago after presenting the unique exhibit idea.
She has spent this time researching, reviewing and immersing herself in all things santos.
“You just have to start early with your contacts and look and look until you find what you believe represents the art form and the period in different saints, different time periods and a mix of colors,” said Saint-John, who, when possible, went to see the pieces in person (though she and Pandol both wondered aloud what on earth they would do without the Internet!).
The santos in this exhibit have been borrowed from several sources, including other museums in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, as well as a private collection from New Mexico.
The result of Saint-John’s santos search will be displayed in chronological form, with the saints appearing in the order of historical appearance.
Some of the pieces will be protected under Plexiglas, while others will be left out in the open, though some will have a preventative border.
“It can make you a bit nervous,” said Pandol of the artworks that will be somewhat less protected — including one of the largest pieces, “Nuestra Señora del Pueblito de Querétaro, Our Lady of the Village of Querétaro” (a hollow frame bulto, courtesy of Barbe Awalt and Paul Rhetts) by Charlie Carrillo. “But you have to remember that art is meant to be seen and experienced.”
Historical retablos from José Aragon (active 1825-1835) and his school are displayed, as well as works by José Benito Ortega, Antonio Molleno, Arroyo Hondo and others.
Contemporary works by today’s santeros — artists who create santos — like Alcario Ortero, Charlie Carrillo, Leo Salazar, Nicholas Herrera, Gloria López Córdova, Jerome Luján, John Gallegos, Felix López and Floyd Trujillo are also included in the show.
Though there is certainly strong religious content in this exhibit, Saint-John emphasized that the objects offer artistic value and historical reference as well.
In the foyer area — the Dezember Gallery — there is another segment to the show, a collection of icons painted by local artist Joyce Tanner and several of her iconography students.
While the santos are more closely associated with Christian images as interpreted by colonial Spanish Catholics, the icon image often depicts Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the angels or saints, events taken from the Bible, etc. and is connected to the liturgical and spiritual roots of the Orthodox Christian and other Eastern churches, according to Saint-John.
Tanner and her students work on their art in a studio at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Bakersfield, she said.
When Tanner and her fellow student artists — who hail from Bakersfield, Porterville, Taft and beyond — were invited to join the “Santos, Saints and Santa” show, it was an easy decision.
“We’re happy to do this,” Tanner said. “It’s wonderful to keep the art of iconography going and to share it with others.”
The group’s work depicts iconic images rooted in Byzantine, Egyptian, Greek and Russian styles, according to Tanner.
Tanner compared icons with the “sharing of the gospel” and noted that the art form’s early existence was likely a form of unwritten communication that lives on today, thousands of years later.
“I’ve heard it called ‘A brush with God,’” she said.
And to further celebrate the holiday season, a whimsical history of good ol’ Saint Nicholas — aka “Santa Claus” — will also occupy a portion of the Dezember Gallery.
The display will offer a visual transformation of Santa from his original St. Nicholas form to the modern-day Santa.
“Families will enjoy this,” Pandol said.

“Santos, Saints and Santa”
*  Opening reception, 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 6.
*  Admission for the reception is free for members; $10 for non-members. Hors d’ouevres and no host bar will be available.
*  RSVP to the museum, 323-7219.
*  Exhibit runs through Feb. 25, 2008. “The Outsiders, Northern California Plein Air Painters” will show in the Ablin Gallery.
*  Museum hours:
Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursdays 10 a.m to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.
Closed Mondays and holidays.
*  Prices:
$5 for adults; $4 for seniors (65+); $2 for students; children 10 and under admitted free. Members also admitted free.
*  Details at: www.bmoa.org
*  The Bakersfield Museum of Art is at 1930 R St. in downtown Bakersfield, across from Central Park.