Humanscape 62

Melesio Casas, Humanscape 62, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, © 1970, the Casas Family, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.37

Exhibition Label

In the early 1970s, Chicano activists successfully lobbied the Frito-Lay Company to remove the Frito Bandito from public circulation. This figure, which was the advertising mascot for Frito-Lay corn chips, became the centerpiece of Casa’s pop-styled painting Humanscape 62. Here he surrounded the Frito Bandito with a series of “brown” references drawn from American and indigenous cultures. Such incongruent juxtapositions – which include a tempting plate of brownies, a junior Girl Scout, a Native American in profile, and quotes of masterworks such as a turquoise Aztec mosaic – critique the trivialization of Chicano culture and allude to the rich cultures that stereotypes obscure.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013

Title

Humanscape 62

Artist

Melesio Casas

Date

1970

On View

Not on view.

Dimensions