Mexican American Art Since 1848 (MAAS1848) �� Ghost Bat �� Ghost Bat �� Mexican American Art Since 1848

Ghost Bat

Title: Ghost Bat
Creator: Vargas, Kathy
Website: https://artist-encuentro.elevator.umn.edu/asset/viewAsset/6a8c5814f7f4d574f1099544
Description: This photograph reflects Vargas’s interest in pre-Columbian art and was inspired by artifacts from Monte Alban and the Zapotec and Mixtec cult of the death bat. The bat is shown as a gray image on a white field. Gray indicates the bat fading away into the distance and into the past. The black nail is a reference to Christianity and the Crucifixion and the religion’s arrival to the so-called New World. The juxtaposition of the religions indicates a collision of cultures. The vertical black streak is a dead flower. Mixed media with hand-colored gelatin silver print and fabric. Dimensions: 20” x 16”
Subject: Photography; Chicana art; Conquest; Mixed media; Zapotecs; Mixtecs; Pre-Columbian; Double exposure; Bats; Fiber arts; Textiles
Date: 1984
Contributor: Kathy Vargas
Image: https://artist-encuentro.elevator.umn.edu/fileManager/bestDerivativeByFileId/6a8cab404c2258d5d702eca1
Collection: Summer 2026
Access Rights: © 1984, Kathy Vargas. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the written consent of the artist. The image may be used for educational personal individual uses and with credit to the artist.