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The Date Farmers
The Date Farmers (Mexican-American artist collective, 1998)
Glow in the Dark, 2012
Acrylic and mixed media collage on wood panel
ËÄ»¢Ó°Ôº Acquisition
Chicano artists, Armanda Lerma (b. 1975) and Carlos Ramirez (b. 1967) make up the collaborative group, The Date Farmers. The duo explores the Mexican-American experience in California, investigating the transitive identity of living between cultures. Glow in the Dark is filled with baubles, cheap souvenirs, small toys, and religious trinkets – symbols of the vanities of life. This collection of odd luminescent things takes on a mystical aura linking them to the afterlife. Though the central skeletal figure appears wounded and tormented, it could also be a reference to the Mexican celebration of El DÃa de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where deceased family members return to visit the living.