The Art of Fairs, Festivals, and Fire
This course provides a close look at the artistic responses to popular festivities and how their visual language offers unique insight into the way culture and societies are shaped. Spanish fairs and festivals (events such as Las Fallas, El Corpus, El Miracle, the correfocs, and the muixerangas) have become examples of the visual language of the community, their specific aesthetics and narratives, and how these representations have changed throughout history. The influence these events still have on current societies is being addressed in the global conversation by the creation of UNESCO’s "Oral and Intangible Heritage" category. In order to study these phenomena, we will examine the creation and sustainability of fairs and festivals, their work as a social cohesive tool, and their link to history, identity and community. Following this objective, we will be looking at costumes, ephemeral constructions, floats, theater representations and even the presentation of traditional holiday foods.