Daniela Castañeda has been reflecting on her time as a docent for the Marjorie Barrick Museum's Bus to Barrick field trips. She writes —
Life after college held much uncertainty: most of my closest friends took a gap year from higher education or from finding jobs immediately. As for me, I was hungry to learn more, even after graduating from UNLV with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting, drawing, and printmaking. As a kid I enjoyed science and weird phenomena. I studied health and sciences for a while in my undergraduate career, taking internships in the field and related areas. But my excitement didn’t quite feel as heartfelt as it did when I interned with a local artist at the heart of the Las Vegas arts scene. Since then I’ve learned about the plethora of careers an artist can have, from an instructor in higher education to art historian, graphic designer, and museum employee. Which piqued my interest in the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art.
I wanted to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of working within a museum, and contacted the Executive Director of the Marjorie Barrick Museum, Alisha Kerlin, about opportunities. Thankfully, there was an open position for a docent for the Bus to Barrick program this fall. By far it has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as an artist and educator. I get to work with students K-12 and lead guided tours and workshops based on one of the current exhibitions, Contemporary Ex-votos: Devotion Beyond Medium, curated by Dr. Emmanuel Ortega Rodriguez. Meeting Dr. Ortega and attending his free curator’s tour this past spring made everything come into place for me. When he gave me insight into historical and contemporary ex-votos I saw how his words connected to my practice as an artist, as well as my work as a docent.
From my understanding, the historical ex-votos in this exhibition were created in Mexico during the 19th and 20th centuries. They are oil paintings on tin, with a picture at the top and writing at the bottom. Many of them depict people who are sick in bed or kneeling in a prayer pose, along with an image of Jesus in the clouds, Jesus on a bed or Jesus in the sky on the cross. All of the devout Catholics depicted in the paintings were struggling with illness or hardship, and they prayed to a divine entity such as God or a saint. Once their prayers were answered, they would commission artists to paint an ex-voto to express their personal story and share it on the church walls for everyone to see. The writings tell us what they were suffering from, who they prayed to, and give thanks with an expression of gratitude. Contemporary Ex-votos helps us segue our understanding of these works of art into the present and future. In this exhibition we get to see artworks based on the historical contexts of ex-votos, but using different materials such as cotton, wood, lunch boxes, videos, digital animations, photographs, paper, and cardboard. It’s important to continue educating ourselves on the importance of ex-votos and exploring the endless possibilities of creating new ones.
My experience in learning about these artworks was intriguing, since my upbringing is rooted in Catholicism, going to Sunday school (catechism), Sunday Mass and participating in all traditional festivities. Some of my artistic practices are based on my upbringing in the Church. I integrate religious iconography into my paintings, photography and sculptures to create my own version of contemporary art. Learning more about the historical insights of Catholicism helps me, as a docent, to see things from a different perspective and tell my audience about the artworks in detail.
Therefore, working as a docent is a great experience. Not only do I have the privilege of teaching about my favorite artists and the history behind ex-votos, I also learn from the groups of students. I get to see how they understand color, shape, themes, and how they’re interpreting the subjects of hardships, disease, religion, and higher beings, based on experiences within their family dynamics. I see their faces express awe when they step into the museum for the first time, igniting their curiosity. Mindful of their tender ages, I encourage them to ask questions, telling them that there is no such thing as a wrong question, and reinforcing that a museum is a safe space to learn and grow. I remember growing up and asking questions that were probably worded wrong or too complex to answer, and were left without a positive or educated response. As docents it's our job to encourage, educate, and answer complex questions that come up during our tours and workshops.
Some of my favorite ex-votos in the exhibition are the retablos of El Señor del Sacromonte, dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries, and Xochi Solis’ giant collage, A Tourist in a Dream, 2022. Since both of them are adjacent to each other, they are a great way to introduce ex-votos to our K-12 tour groups. We teach them about the historical context of an ex-voto, including the medium, composition, story, and treatment of the artwork. This is a great segue to Solis’ collage, because her work shows us how we can take ex-votos and make them contemporary. Tourist in a Dream almost looks like a puzzle to solve, since her printed photographs, marbled papers, and pictures are set in various compositions that compel us to twist and turn our heads to make out her ideas. In a video about the exhibition—A View of the Exhibition Contemporary Ex-Votos: Devotion Beyond Medium—she mentions that she’s “drawn to the idea of celestial bodies.” Our students say her imagery looks like outer space and a form of a brain. Each time we do a tour I learn more about ex-votos and how children perceive them. Their questions and comments are like poetry, so deep-rooted, sentimental, and philosophical. One could imagine that they are future critics, art historians, and artists in the making.
I never imagined working in a museum, let alone as a docent, giving guided educational tours to an audience. Dr. Ortega’s curatorial tour was impressive: he went over most if not all of the artworks in the exhibition with such depth and passion. I was like, “Wow he knows his stuff, someday I’d like to give a guided tour on the things that I enjoy too.” And now I’m here, taking part in that same experience.
Works cited:
“A View of the Exhibition Contemporary Ex-Votos: Devotion Beyond Medium.” YouTube, NMSU University Art Museum, 30 Sept. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2d6sLrnPxE.
Image:
Installation view of retablos from the collection of the New Mexico State University Art Museum, featuring El Señor del Sacromonte. Photo courtesy of Krystal Ramirez.