Illegal Alien’s Guide to the Concept of Relative Surplus Value

Copied Enrique Chagoya, Illegal Alien's Guide to the Concept of Relative Surplus Value, 2009, color lithograph on Amate paper, 15 x 80 in. (38.1 x 203.2 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.26, © 2009, Shark's Ink

Artwork Details

Title
Illegal Alien’s Guide to the Concept of Relative Surplus Value
Artist
Printers
Publisher
Shark's Ink
Date
2009
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 x 80 in. (38.1 x 203.2 cm) irregular
Copyright
© 2009, Shark's Ink
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
color lithograph on Amate paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — fragment — skeleton
  • Cartoon — comics — Popeye
  • Object — art object — painting
  • Travel — water — ship
  • Architecture — vehicle — truck
  • Animal — fish
  • Travel — water — canoe
Object Number
2010.26
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2010.26

Artwork Description

Chagoya’s lithograph resembles a pre-Columbian Maya codex, an accordion-like book printed on Amate paper and traditionally read from right to left. His contemporary rendition blends references to several apocalyptic moments – the conquest of the Americas, transatlantic slavery, deadly tsunamis, and the disastrous economic downturn of 2008. By juxtaposing historical images and comic-book figures, Chagoya conceives of an ironic history in which non-European peoples survive turbulent events of the past and present.

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

La litografía de Chagoya se asemeja a un códice maya precolombino, un libro en forma de acordeón impreso en papel amate que tradicionalmente se lee de derecha a izquierda. Esta versión contemporánea del artista combina referencias a varios momentos apocalípticos ―la conquista de las Américas, la esclavitud transatlántica, los tsunamis destructores y la desastrosa crisis económica del 2008. Mediante la yuxtaposición de imágenes históricas y personajes de tiras cómicas, Chagoya crea una historia irónica en la cual los pueblos que no son de origen europeo sobreviven a los turbulentos eventos del pasado y el presente.

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

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.