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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
Westmont 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 Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where deceased family members return to visit the living. 

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