María’s Great Expedition

Christina Fernandez, María’s Great Expedition, 1995-1996, five gelatin silver prints, one chromogenic print, one inkjet print, and bilingual narrative , Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.11A-H, © 1996, Christina Fernandez
Christina Fernandez, María’s Great Expedition, 1995-1996, five gelatin silver prints, one chromogenic print, one inkjet print, and bilingual narrative , dimensions variable, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.11A-H, © 1996, Christina Fernandez

Artwork Details

Title
María’s Great Expedition
Artist
Date
1995-1996
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
dimensions variable
Copyright
© 1996, Christina Fernandez
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
five gelatin silver prints, one chromogenic print, one inkjet print, and bilingual narrative
Classifications
Object Number
2012.11A-H
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2012.11A-H

Artwork Description

Fernandez’s installation mimics a museum display that recounts the story of early explorers of the Southwest. Fernandez photographed herself in the guise of her great-grandmother María González, the first member of her family to migrate to the United States from Mexico. The accompanying narrative details how González and other Mexican Americans settled in places such as Arizona, Texas, and California. The artist’s fictive photographs, which reflect the shifting conventions of early to mid-twentieth-century photography, highlight the constructed nature of all historical accounts.


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

La instalación de Fernandez imita una exhibición de museo en la que se narra la historia de los primeros exploradores del suroeste de los Estados Unidos. Fernandez se fotografió con el atuendo de su bisabuela, María González, la primera persona de su familia que emigró desde México a los Estados Unidos. El texto que acompaña a las imágenes explica cómo María González y otro mexicano americanos se establecieron en lugares como Arizona, Texas y California. Estas fotografías ficticias de la artista reflejan los cambios en las convenciones de la fotografía de la primera mitad del siglo XX, y resaltan el proceso de construcción de los relatos históricos.

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

Works by this artist (1 item)

Maria Alquilar, Maquette for Bien Venida y Vaya Con Dios, 1985, ceramic, copper foil, wire, paint and plastic, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1990.69A-B
Maquette for Bien Venida y Vaya Con Dios
Artist
Date1985
ceramic, copper foil, wire, paint and plastic
On view

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      In this series, E. Carmen Ramos, curator of Latino art, discusses the exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This episode looks at the series Maria's Great Expedition by Christina Fernandez. 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. The exhibition is drawn entirely from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's pioneering collection of Latino art. It explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture.

      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 25, 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.