Old Man Gloom
by Paul LeSage
Title
Old Man Gloom
Artist
Paul LeSage
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Before Burning Man, there was Zozobra in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since 1924, Zozobra ("Old Man Gloom") is a giant marionette effigy that is built and burned every autumn during Fiestas de Santa Fe.
As his name suggests, he embodies gloom; by burning him, people destroy the worries and troubles of the previous year in the flames. Anyone with an excess of gloom is encouraged to write down the nature of his or her gloom on a slip of paper and leave it in the "gloom box" in the weeks leading up to the burn.
At the festival, the papers from the gloom box are placed at Zozobra's feet to be burned alongside him. The festival is put on by the Kiwanis Club with attendance now approaching 50,000 people. The proceeds go to the many programs of the Kiwanis Club.
Uploaded
September 4th, 2016
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