Artist Wayne Hilton Announces Hermosos Huesos, a Traveling Art Installation Inspired by Dia de Los Muertos

Hermosos Huesos, which poetically translates to beautiful bones, is a thirteen piece art installation featuring intricately hand-crafted, mixed-media figures called Las Calaveras Catrinas. These figures, a nod to famed Mexican illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada, have been created by Hilton from recycled, reclaimed and antique materials. Each Catrina stands 14 to 17 inches high and is portrayed in its own unique environment which is housed within an artistic case.

Hilton will officially launch Hermosos Huesos this Thursday, October 10th at a private event in Las Cruces, New Mexico. His first complete public installation will be unveiled just in time for this year’s Dia de Los Muertos holiday at the El Paso Museum of Art. Subsequent installations will be part of a traveling exhibit launching in 2014.

“As the project has grown, the importance of the education and outreach behind the work has become significant, almost as much as the art itself,” said Hilton. “Through this work, I want to both stimulate the observer and inspire the artist.”

Initially, the project was supported by Hilton’s own resources, but has since developed on a larger scale, garnering national press and interest from multiple museums around the nation, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Due to the interest and success of the project, Hilton will launch a 50-day crowdfunding campaign at bit.ly/HermososHuesos. Tax deductible donations will allow the project to begin its three-year nationwide tour beginning November 2, 2014—at the Mulvane Art Museum in Topeka, Kansas. The fundraising efforts will be used to underwrite a three-year museum tour, documentary film and book.

Contribution levels range from $10 to $25,000. Those who donate $35 or more will receive a special Catrina mask to participate in a social media campaign—50 States in 50 Days— where followers can post a photo wearing the mask using the #HermososHuesos hashtag for a chance to win official merchandise. Other donor incentives include: signed prints, tote bags, eco-friendly guitar picks, shirts and VIP tickets to the premier gala and showing of Hermosos Huesos.