Week 24 at MCLM

Last week was marked by the First Annual Volunteer Outing! A group of about ten volunteers, including myself and Cara, visited The California African American Museum. We were guided thorough the exhibit, The African Diaspora in the Art of Miguel Covarrubias: Driven by color, shaped by Cultures, the items displayed were enthralling! Covarrubias, although Mexican, depicted many African Americans and Africans in his numerous art works, books, caricatures and collages. The most dynamic piece was the 12 x 24 foot collage that depicted the different cultures of the world. The medium used for the piece was lacquer on canvas, but Covarrubias manipulated the lacquer it to make it appear as if it was colored pencil.

Last week, I also discovered an amazing piece of ephemera in the "secret room." It is the face of a mammy archetype, measuring 1.5 x 1ft. It is possibly apart of a float or statue judging from the makeup of the face, some sort of papier-mâché. In this same room I happened across a framed image of a slave sitting in front of her cabin. Both of these items I selected to be digitally photographed and included on the new MCLM website, which is to be launched soon!