Curator Talk: Altars, Saints, and Sacred Forms Across the Americas
IN PERSON
Patrick A. Polk, Lilly Endowment Curator of Art and Religion, will lead an in-depth exploration of three Fowler Museum’s kiosks focused on devotional practices in Mexico, Haiti, and Guatemala. Together, these installations present the artistic traditions underlying the religious objects in the museum’s collection and reflect living belief systems of the communities that sustain them.
The Mexican Trees of Life and Death are intricately crafted ceramic sculptures that combine pre-Hispanic and Catholic imagery. Traditionally associated with weddings and Day of the Dead celebrations, they extend ritual traditions into broader visual narratives addressing creation, mortality, and contemporary social justice.
The walk-through will also consider the Vodou kiosk, which presents an altar assembled by oungan and Haitian art specialist Jean-Daniel Lafontant in honor of the fiery Petwo spirits. Their enduring presence evokes themes of transformation, resistance, and resilience within Haitian religious and artistic traditions.
Finally, Polk will discuss the kiosk featuring San Simón, the folk saint venerated in both Guatemala and Los Angeles. Using photographs and sacred objects, this installation reveals the complex blending of Indigenous and Catholic belief systems, as well as the vibrant ritual life that surrounds this powerful and often misunderstood figure.
Through these immersive displays and Polk’s expert commentary, the program will showcase devotional art as a living, dynamic force that connects people across generations, geographies, and cultural identities.
Patrick A. Polk’s research interests encompass material religion and visual piety, faith and healing, popular devotion in North and Latin America, and African diasporic sacred arts. He has curated several Fowler exhibitions, including: The House Was Too Small: Yoruba Sacred Arts from Africa and Beyond; Botánica Los Angeles: Latino Popular Religious Art in the City of Angels; Sinful Saints and Saintly Sinners at the Margins of the Americas; and Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis.
Image credit: Antoine Oleyant, flag (drapo),1991-92; beads, cloth; Fowler Museum at UCLA, X93.5.2; Museum purchase, Manus Fund
