Madonnas Love Tamales

Deb's enlightening comments about public art prompted me to google "austin art lamar bridge blue." I've always hated those goofy blue panels that are mounted on the walls of the Lamar/1st underpass. I'd heard a long time ago that they're an art installation. I always thought, "Eh? Ugh."

But it turns out the artist doesn't like 'em either. The description of what he *conceived* is very cool. It's a shame they ran out of the time & money to complete the project.

http://austin.metblogs.com/archives/2005/01/blue_panels_on.phtml

i could totally write a 20 page paper on this one painting. i love non-goverment-sanctioned, not-for-sale, public art. there's way too much shitty art up in public places (attn: all austin coffeeshops)that people are supposed to like because there's a price tag on it. murals like this, graffitti, etc. can actually mean something because their only purpose is to act within the dialog of visual culture. if only people actually looked at this stuff. so, thanks, alison, for looking. also, i love the idea of biting into a tamale and seeing the Virgin Mary in there.

Wow, Deb. Is someone working on a thesis paper? good stuff.

Nerd Alert! I know someone who is foregoing SXSW for the Mayan conference. You go, deb!

actually, in several indigeneous mesoamerican cultures, a tamale represents a person. (get it? meat inside, skin on the outside). large tamales are the centerpieces of birth ceremonies in Tzeltal communities as a symbol of the baby. (not to represent cannibalism, per se, but rather the display of plenty and the notion of maize as a life-giving plant). the Huastec similarly use tamales in celebrations. some are baby-sized, containing the meat of an entire chicken. here, the use of the madonna within the husk halo, sanctifying the tamale that you are about to buy, provides multiple layers iconographic and cultural meaning. you've stumbled upon a very intriguing melding of indigenous and christian beliefs relocated in austin and displayed in a public space. thanks for sharing this image!

madonna is also playing coachella this year, evidently.

i thought Madonna liked burritos. But at one point was dabbling in her love for fish tacos. I could be wrong.