Totem Negro XVI

María Martínez-Cañas, Totem Negro XVI, 1992, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1997.68, © 1992, María Martínez-Cañas
Copied María Martínez-Cañas, Totem Negro XVI, 1992, gelatin silver print, sheet and image: 53 1⁄2 x 9 3⁄8 in. (135.9 x 23.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1997.68, © 1992, María Martínez-Cañas

Artwork Details

Title
Totem Negro XVI
Artist
Date
1992
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet and image: 53 1⁄2 x 9 3⁄8 in. (135.9 x 23.8 cm.)
Copyright
© 1992, María Martínez-Cañas
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Keywords
  • Abstract
Object Number
1997.68
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.68

Artwork Description

Born in Cuba, raised in Puerto Rico, and now living in Miami, Martínez-Cañas assembled the pieces of her multifaceted identity into a totem by using a complex photographic process. She drew cubist patterns and abstracted natural forms on large-scale negatives, incorporated images drawn from Cuban colonial maps and pre-Columbian art, and printed them in black-and-white. These hybrid forms announce her multiple cultural connections and recall the paintings of Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013
Description in Spanish

Nacida en Cuba, criada en Puerto Rico, y actualmente viviendo en Miami; Martínez-Cañas ensambla las partes de su identidad multifacética para formar un tótem usando un proceso fotográfico complejo. Dibuja diseños cubistas y abstracciones de formas naturales en negativos de gran formato, incorpora imágenes tomadas de mapas coloniales de Cuba y del arte precolombino, y los imprime en blanco y negro. Estas formas híbridas anuncian sus múltiples vínculos culturales y recuerdan la obra del artista cubano Wifredo Lam.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

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Related Books

OurAmerica_500.jpg
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture. This beautifully illustrated volume presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge. Our America includes works by artists who participated in all the various artistic styles and movements, including abstract expressionism; activist, conceptual, and performance art; and classic American genres such as landscape, portraiture, and scenes of everyday life. 

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 24, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.