Kalamazoo, MI - The colorful world of Mexican masks is the topic of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts’ exhibition Magic and Intrigue: Masks of Mexico.  Drawn from a private collection assembled over more than 20 years, the exhibition opens Saturday, October 28, 2006 and continues through Sunday, January 7, 2007.

Used throughout history in dance ceremonies, Mexican masks are recognized worldwide for their artistic appeal and exquisite craftsmanship.  Masks of Mexico will feature more than 100 works assembled by Helmuth and Terrie Goede, whose collection is exceptional in both its scope and quality.

The use of masks in Mexico dates from 3000 BCE, when masks were used by priests to summon the power of deities. With Spanish contact, masks became educational tools in dramatic presentations to promote Christianity.  As the two cultures fused, the imprint of each was recorded in masks as well as in the dances for which these masks were used.

In Mexico today, mask-making as a form of artistic and cultural expression is slowly vanishing – most contemporary masks are made strictly for commercial purposes.  Still, masks retain their appeal in Mexican culture, from traditional religious ceremonies such as El Dia De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) to the secular realm of popular wrestling (Lucha Libre), whose heroes wear form-fitting masks that cover their entire head.

Masks of Mexico features masks hand-carved from various types of wood, then painted and decorated with glass, animal hair and other materials.  They range in age from contemporary to 100 or more years old, and come from Guerrero, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Michoacan, Veracruz and throughout Mexico.

The exhibition includes death masks, devil masks, masks to represent general characters (Chino Moro, or the curly-haired Moor) or specific people (Santiago, or St. James) and dozens of masks of animals: jaguars, deer, owls, fish and more.  It is arranged according to the ceremonial dances associated with each mask, including the Dance of the Christians and the Moors, the Dance of the Hypocrites, the Dance of the Wild Beast, the Dance of the Little Old Men, the Dance of the Crazies, the Dance of the Black Snake and the Dance of the Umbrella Salesmen.

Magic and Intrigue: Masks of Mexico is free of charge and open during normal gallery hours at the KIA.

Visit Kalamazoo Institute of Arts at : www.kiarts.org/