Jose Pulido

Photography by Charlotte Pridding, Work by Jose Pulido 

9/7/12 – The work of artist, Jose Pulido

I have been updating and writing on this blog for at least 4 months now and I just realised that I have an image of a skull sitting right next to my beside table in my room.

The skull or the skeleton is an original print from artist, Jose Pulido and my parents had bought me the artwork as a graduation gift. The print was purchased from a store in Sydney also known as Holy Kitsch, which sells Mexican skulls and Day of the Dead products.

According to the artist’s website, Jose Pulido’s work combines representations from the Mexican Day of the Dead with fictional characters from movies, video games and comic books. Pulido has also appropriated Frida Kahlo’s work and the images feature a skeletal representation of Kahlo herself.

Pulido’s work features a humorous twist and the images are quite original in regards to the style or the design. Perhaps Pulido’s work becomes a parody of popular culture, mass media or the consumer culture.

The image that I have is a Mexican skeleton graduating from school or university and perhaps Pulido’s work mimics everyday experiences or activities, which is very similar to the Day of the Dead festival. There are artists such as Jose Posada for instance whose work features skeletal figures partaking in everyday chores or activities.

One could argue that Pulido’s work is a contemporary appropriation or representation of death within the modern culture. Pulido also creates very cool t-shirt designs, which are available on etsy.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82151321/special-2-t-shirts-for-32-dollars-mens

Images from Jose Pulido’s website, http://www.misnopales.com/artabout.html

Marchi, Regina.M. The Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a Cultural phenomenon.  New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2009 p. 26