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This web site presents
the work of Esther Parada accompanied by texts taken from her writings.

Site Unseen: fragments of an American burial
1976

The work is based on photographs made at the indian burial site of Dixon Mounds, Lewistown, Illinois, and is an effort to juxtapose these anonymous lives from the past—their remains and artifacts—with the living and their 20th century artifacts. [Slide number 2] indicates a dance improvisation performed by two women from the moMing company within the space of the hangings. The costumes I designed for this performance incorporate an elaborate photogram of "poptops"—as quintessential 20th century artifacts—arranged in a pattern which parallels the spine of the Indian skeletons.

— Excerpt from a written statement by Esther Parada


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