From Discourse-3

DEAD TAKES FLIGHT

Big projects start in small ways, and so it was with this fall’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico. Almost two years ago, former Drachen Foundation employee Melissa McKelvey dashed through Seattle – to and from Mexico – and in her wake she left a Mexican kite, crudely framed and bridled, but with beautiful graphic treatment.

The kite was hand painted on a very heavy handmade paper, like the surface of a woven mat of reeds. The colors were earth- like green shades. The image was not just an illustrated bat, but an impression of a bat articulated by an artist.

Intrigued, Administrator Ali Fujino researched the kite online and learned that it came from renowned artist Francisco Toledo and the Instituto de Artes Graficas de Oaxaca (IAGO). She wanted to learn more!

At the same time, through a Drachen grant, Christopher Ornelas was in Guatemala, documenting the kites of Sumpango. Ali immediately sent him on a mission to Oaxaca to find the kite’s source.

The next steps in the story took some time. Christopher met the director of IAGO and learned that it had been established almost 20 years earlier by Francisco Toledo. Additionally, Toledo had started a paper factory located close by, and we learned that there were plans to do something special to celebrate the 20th and 10th anniversaries of both. What better, than to celebrate with kites!

For over a year, Ali, Christopher, and the IAGO staff worked to plan the kite exhibit that would be the center of the celebrations. Kites from nearby Guatemala were essential, as well as local kites made at the papel taller (paper factory) under the direction of Toledo. Two Drachen Foundation exhibits – The Artist and the Kitemaker, featuring Greg Kono and Nancy Kiefer, and SkyArt, with works by Jose Sainz, Nobuhiko Yoshizumi, and me – would be featured as well. The most exciting element of the show would be kites made by local Oaxacan and Mexican artists [2], using paper from the papel taller.

About one week before 2008’s Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Oaxaca, Greg Kono and I arrived at IAGO to supervise the installation of kites, give kite workshops to local children, and give workshops to IAGO artists. Both the Drachen Foundation exhibits and the Guatemalan kites were held up in Mexican customs, so we were committed first to finishing local artists’ kites. Our job was to use Japanese bamboo to finish the kites and make them flight- and exhibit-worthy.

Oh, did I tell you that when the Drachen exhibits cleared customs, hundreds of bamboo spars were confiscated?! It left us to finish the Mexican kites with the bamboo I had brought (or, evidently, smuggled) with me. It looked like we had about 75 kites to make. Well, call me naïve, because the 75 kites became 100, the 100 became almost 200, and with workshop commitments included, we worked our way through all but about 20 of my bamboo spars.

Through all of this, the exhibit was slowly taking shape. The paper sails from Guatemala were expertly sparred with local cane by Jose Sainz, Greg, Christopher, and me (see our contribution to Kitelife Magazine for details [1]). They became the boundaries for the exhibit in the huge space provided and gave us a direction for the layout. Local art kites were prepared by an enthusiastic group of middle-school students and were installed by the IAGO crew.

In the days before Dia de los Muertos, Christopher Ornelas presented a slide presentation about the Guatemalan kites of Sumpango. He was assisted by Guatemalan kitemakers Luis and Vitorino Tejaxun Alquijay, who were able to come to Oaxaca for just two days, before returning to finish their own kites for their Day of the Spirits celebration.

Masaaki Modegi presented a kite-making class using Japanese woodblock print techniques. With the help of his wife, Sachiko, Yoshizumi-san and his wife, Michiko, Sato-san, and Odagawa-san, local adults and children made kites. The entire group was treated to the privilege of flying kites at Monte Alban, one of the most important archeological sites in Mexico.

Throughout all of these activities, the magic of kites was demonstrated. Toledo, the most famous artist in Mexico, was interviewed while having no luck flying his kite. The largest kite exhibit ever staged by the Drachen Foundation opened successfully at IAGO. Oaxacan Day of the Dead festivities provided the cultural backdrop for the IAGO and Papel Taller anniversaries.

IAGO EXHIBIT AND A CONSERVATION PROBLEM

In every exhibit venue there are compromises that must be made in order for a successful kite exhibit to be launched. Sometimes it involves the venue’s restrictions: low ceilings, bad light, or non- existent tie-points. Other times it is a restriction of time: “You have 8 hours to install the show.” Very infrequently, an opportunity arises that offers a venue with almost unlimited space, dramatic light, interesting architectural details, and plenty of time to accomplish the vision of the exhibit. That’s what the Drachen Foundation had at IAGO. What we didn’t expect was a very interesting archival problem!

The featured attraction of the exhibit was four Guatemalan barriletes gigantes, traditionally used to celebrate the “Day of the Spirits,” much like the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. Christopher Ornelas and I were faced with the problem of framing these huge paper sails – one, a 20- foot diameter circle, another about 30 feet across and 20 feet high – so they would provide the backdrop for the entire exhibit. Because Christopher works at San Antonio, Texas’ Museo Alameda, and will likely bring these same kites to San Antonio, we realized that what we did in Mexico would likely have to be repeated in the US.

I suggested that we use the local reed that was readily available to construct frames. These light and brittle stalks could never hold up to the real stresses on a large kite, but could at least give the appearance of authenticity and provide enough structural support for hanging. But how to connect them to the fragile paper sails without altering them? I suggested a solution and let Christopher, the museum professional, make the final call. After consulting with his registrar in San Antonio, our strategy was set.

On the backs of the paper sails, we adhered 1-foot squares of clear tape at each spar end-point. I can attest to the fact that the tape was exactly like that used originally on the backs of the kites: very thin, poor adhesive, and impossible to find the end! To each of these square areas, we then taped the spars in place, using additional spars for support where needed. We found that this method would allow us to simply cut away the spars without any alteration of the sail; no additional holes, tears, or paper.

Over time and a series of venues, this method will serve to reenforce the entire outer edge of the kite sail without visible changes to the front of the kite. Original tears in the backing paper or in the sails themselves will be left alone to show the original treatment of the sails. If the sails were to be restored to their original condition, it would be a simple task to remove the backing paper under the tape sections and re-tile backing paper on the entire sail. The fragile artwork on the front of the sail would be left undisturbed.

Needless to say, with the barrilletes gigantes in place, the IAGO exhibit was a great success. Close to two hundred artists submitted artwork, including Francisco Toledo, founder of IAGO and the Papel Taller. The final exhibit included almost three hundred kites. Installation was accomplished by Christopher Ornelas, Greg Kono, Jose Sainz, Ali Fujino, and myself, with help from local middle-school students and IAGO staff.

1. “Drachen Archives: Making Kites Fly” in Kitelife Magazine: www.kitelife.com/magazine/issue63/drachen63/content.php
2. View more Oaxacan artist kites on the Drachen website: www.drachen.org/special_events_oaxaca-images.html