CalaKabuki: A Blending of Cultural Styles

CalaKabuki is a blending of the words Calaca and Kabuki.

This style came to the artist, Zarco Guerrero, while working at the Japanese Matsuri festival in Phoenix, Arizona. Zarco wanted to blend the theatrical kabuki style of mask painting, the Japanese Noh mask look, and the Calaca Día de los Muertos skeleton style.

All masks were initially sculpted for specific individuals while performing parkour at the Cultural Coalition Día de Los Muertos festivals. Their group name at the time was called the Flow-Ninjas.

These masks are part of the Mask Alive Museum & Cultural Center’s Performance Collection, which contains pieces available for loan to use in community and artistic performances. These masks displayed here are a small selection of the ones currently used by Ken Koshio and his group at Cultural Coalitions’ Mask Alive festival for taiko drum performances.

Experience these masks coming alive at Cultural Coalitions’ festivals. See a schedule of upcoming festivals at culturalcoalition.com/events.

About the Artist
The masks in this pop-up exhibit are part of the Founding Collection of the Mask Alive Museum & Cultural Center, donated by the artist, Zarco Guerrero. A master sculptor, storyteller, and visual artist, Zarco began carving wood in 1986 when he received the Japan Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He lived in Kyoto, Japan for one year and was the first non-Japanese apprentice of Master Noh Mask carver Joshun Fukakusa. Joshun shared the ancient secrets with Zarco on how to create the most sophisticated of all theatrical masks. The Noh Theater was the ritual theater of the Samurai class and demanded a high level of skill and discipline. Zarco then traveled to Bali, Alaska and Mexico to carve side by side with master carvers.

The artist is currently blending various styles learned from these experiences to create a hybrid style which reflects a world view of the mask art form. The wood masks are carved with japanese tools and balinese knives. Zarco carves a variety of woods such as cypress, cedar, bass, cottonwood and mahogany. The artist strives to produce a highly refined mask carving in exotic woods for the most demanding of collectors and aficionados.

EXHIBIT PROSPECTUS
Traveling exhibition includes the 19 objects shown in the online collection (ready to hang), object labels, exhibition text, artist biography, and artist photograph.

To bring this traveling exhibition to your space, send inquiries to [email protected]

For larger exhibit spaces, this exhibition can be combined with the Noh Mask exhibition to show the progression of the artists' style and technique, from his fellowship in Japan to how the masks are used in the Arizona arts community by local dance, music, and theater companies at Cultural Coalition's festivals, outreaches, and educational programming.