Humanscape 62

Copied Melesio Casas, Humanscape 62, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 7397 in. (185.4246.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.37, © 1970, the Casas Family

Artwork Details

Title
Humanscape 62
Date
1970
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
7397 in. (185.4246.4 cm)
Copyright
© 1970, the Casas Family
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
acrylic on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Keywords
  • Object — foodstuff — brownie
  • Indian
  • Dress — uniform — scout uniform
Object Number
2012.37

Artwork Description

In the early 1970s, Chicano activists successfully lobbied the Frito-Lay Company to remove its cartoon mascot for Frito-Lay corn chips, the Frito Bandito, from public circulation. This figure is the centerpiece of Casas's pop-styled painting Humanscape 62. A grinning Frito Bandito, who appears to have been carved from semi-precious stone, is perched atop a skeleton and surrounded by 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 an Aztec mosaic -- critique the trivialization of Chicano culture by mainstream American advertising and allude to the rich cultures that stereotypes obscure.

Videos

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 24, 2013March 2, 2014
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.