FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2021 (San Antonio, Texas)

ROBERT CLARE (San Antonio, TX)
Raising The Dead
Curated by Brian St. John
Exhibition essay by Dr. Margaret Cantú-Sánchez
Saint Mary’s University
Louis J. Blume Library
One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX, 78228
(210) 436-3441 | https://stmarytx.edu
Opening reception: Friday, September 17, 2021, 3 – 5 pm
Exhibit on display: September 17 – November 2, 2021
Viewing hours: https://lib.stmarytx.edu/home/hours
Contact: Brian St. John (210) 473-8331 | bstjohn@stmarytx.edu
Robert Clare (210) 260-6311 | rclare1@mac.com
Free and open to the public

Robert Clare has been involved with photography for more than 40 years. He has worked as a photographer, photographer’s assistant and photo lab manager and is now retired. He began personal photography in 1976, working exclusively in black and white until switching exclusively to digital in 2006, when he started working only in color. He is married to Victoria Vaughan. They live in San Antonio with their poodle, Zeus, and six adopted feral cats.

This project began after he switched from black and white film photography to digital technology and started as an exploration of Mexican-American cemeteries for purely color photographic possibilities. Even though the images are primarily an exploration of the medium of photography, the cultural and historical significance of these unique spaces cannot be ignored. The Day of the Dead is the most recognized Mexican tradition celebrating the lives of lost loved ones, but it is not the only way that Mexican-American community honors its dead. In many cases, their memory is celebrated year round. There are the traditional decorations of flowers, but they can also include objects symbolic of things important to the deceased, as well as references to holidays or seasons, and religion. Thus these tributes are not only mourning the loss of someone loved but serve to pay homage to the life that person lived. As a result some of these memorials are uniquely beautiful and approach the level of folk art.