The lovely skulls

Calaveras have never looked so glamorous. That is, skulls, not the county—although frog-jumping competitions were quite fashionable for some time. Anyway, Sacramento photographer Amanda Lopez’s straightforward studio-lit portraits of live models with elaborate makeup designed to look like the skulls (or calaveras, en español) used in Day of the Dead celebrations showcase the work of makeup artist Jenni Tay and hairstylist Justina Downs. Lopez originally collaborated with the two to do only a few of these portraits for a Día de los Muertos-themed group show in Oakland in 2009, but she decided to expand the series. The results will be exhibited at Upper Playground this month. But don’t expect any jumping frogs to be there.