Morbid Musing at MOLAA: A Museum That Will Inspire
Do you ever walk into a museum and come out with an existential crisis? No? Me neither.
NOTE: This is a post inspired by #FlashbackFriday, where I reminisce about my past experiences for nostalgia, and also to practice my (rusty) writing skills. The events, prices, and other details mentioned are not necessarily accurate when reading. It’s best to assume the events, prices, and other details are from my previous personal experience unless I state otherwise that it is accurate at the time of writing.
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Girls’ Day at MOLAA
If I’m being completely honest with myself, if it wasn’t for homework or the lure of extra credit, I probably wouldn’t have gone to so many museums. But then again, I probably would’ve enjoyed them more too, so there’s that.
Ah, well, life is a give and take.
One thing I know for sure though, is that having to do essays on museum pieces or experiences has forced me to go to places I otherwise wouldn’t go to.
Not that I have anything against the museum experience, per se, but after art classes 4 days out of the week, I was generally more inclined to do and experience other things during my (sparse) free time.
One such place I normally wouldn’t have thought to go see was the Museum of Latin American Art (or MOLAA, for short), located in Long Beach California. It did – and still does- boast a display of modern and contemporary Latin American & Latino art.
Now, I was more into Asian art myself (predictably), but I didn’t exactly get to pick my homework. Anyway, as I usually did when faced with a chore (no matter how enjoyable it may or may not turn out to be), I decided to make a day out of it.
So I went with my then-roommate J, and 2 other girlfriends and turned it into a fun, yet educational girl’s day, ‘cause why not?
Día de los Muertos Exhibit
We went back in November 2017, so predictably, there was an exhibit dedicated to Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. For those who have never heard of it, it is a remembrance that celebrates and honors departed family & friends.
It is unlike the typical Western custom of wearing black for mourning, and (some parts of) Asia’s custom of white for funerals. What makes Día de los Muertos stand out is how colorful & lively it is.
The liveliness was something that I’ve always appreciated, even before seeing this exhibit. Mainly because it’s closer in tone to what I would hope my loved ones take after my death.
In the future, I would prefer to be remembered fondly, for the meaningful & happy moments I have shared with my loved ones, rather than being mourned for no longer being there.
If it helps, at least I would no longer be forced to socialize with anyone I have no wish to socialize with. Which honestly, would be my happiest state anyway.
On that note, it wasn’t all doom & gloom at the museum – quite the opposite, actually! I wasn’t just being clickbait-y (I know it’s not a word, but it feels like it should be) when I said I did not, in fact, walk out with an existential crisis.
Honestly, my main takeaway from the Día de los Muertos exhibit was a celebration of a life well-lived, and how beautiful it is to be remembered so vibrantly.
I appreciated the affirmation that death doesn’t have to end in despair, as in Día de los Muertos we get to experience all stages of grief, including the acceptance of death.
Comparing Latin American Art to Southeast Asian Art
Artistically speaking, it was also interesting to compare & contrast how different Latin American Art is to the Southeast Asian Art that I was accustomed to. Granted, MOLAA exhibited a more contemporary offering than the traditional pieces I had grown up seeing.
I was used to seeing more traditional & organic materials, for one. For another, I was used to seeing artwork that was a lot more… reverent, in a sense. If it wasn’t a reverence for religion, due to Spanish occupation (at least in the Philippines), then it was a reverence for tradition & culture.
Not that I was a stranger to the use of art as satire, or as a vehicle for commentary either for or against a current government. But from my experience, those types of artworks were generally sparse in the museums I visited, at least as a kid. Plus, the latter type of artistic commentary was typically only put on display if it, you know, worked.
This wasn’t to say that any of the current exhibits at MOLAA back when I visited were irreverent. But they were more experimental & exploratory than I was expecting.
However, the one thing that did not surprise me was the social commentary nature of some of the exhibited work. It has been something that I felt has been more and more prevalent and outspoken, given the multitude of socio-political issues we have been facing. Given that they boasted contemporary works, I had guessed that some of the artists would be close to my age, who grew up with more exposure to current social issues.
One of the main things I truly appreciated about Latin American art as a whole was their use of bold, vibrant colors. Whether it served to highlight a joyful tone or to deliberately contrast against a darker message, I loved both the liveliness and the juxtaposition. As a side note, it makes for a very colorful Instagram feed!
When I was walking around the exhibits at MOLAA, I felt invited to be a part of the exhibit as an audience experiencing the highs and lows of their culture, instead of a viewer of times gone past.
It all felt wonderfully contrary to the reverence of traditional Southeast Asian art (whose strongest colors typically lean towards shades of red and gold), and the natural or pastel colors of Classical European paintings.
At the end of the day,
I enjoyed my stroll – and impromptu musing – at the museum, and I’m glad that I was fortunate enough to have professors who encouraged us to experience more outside of the classroom.
Of course, I was less glad to leave and go back to the reality of finals and upcoming project due dates. But that’s just student life, I suppose. Now that was a time in my life that was heavy enough to give me an existential crisis, but maybe I’ll leave that for another blog…
Regardless, MOLAA is a museum I wouldn’t mind recommending to anyone who has an interest or even just curiosity about Latin American Art. While they boast a fascinating work of art at every corner, it was small enough that guests could see all of it in half a day or even less.
