Political Prisoner

Rupert García, Political Prisoner, 1976, pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rupert García and Sammi Madison-García, 1978.107, © 1976, Rupert García
Rupert García, Political Prisoner, 1976, pastel on paper, sheet: 48 x 36 in. (122.0 x 91.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rupert García and Sammi Madison-García, 1978.107, © 1976, Rupert García

Artwork Details

Title
Political Prisoner
Artist
Date
1976
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 48 x 36 in. (122.0 x 91.5 cm)
Copyright
© 1976, Rupert García
Credit Line
Gift of Rupert García and Sammi Madison-García
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — head
Object Number
1978.107
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.107

Artwork Description

In 1975, García, who was a Vietnam veteran, was drawn to a Newsweek cover story about the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in the United States. To create this pastel, García focused on one figure in the picture: a young woman who wails with closed eyes. He isolated and enlarged her face, placed a gag over her mouth, and situated her in a sea of radiating blue. Garcia’s compelling image invites viewers to confront the injustices of our day.

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

En 1975, García, que era veterano de Vietnam, se interesó en una noticia ilustrada en la portada de Newsweek sobre la llegada de refugiados vietnamitas a los Estados Unidos. Para crear esta pintura al pastel, García se concentró en una de las figuras de la fotografía: una joven que grita con los ojos cerrados. El aisló y amplió su cara, le puso una mordaza sobre la boca, y la situó en un mar de azul radiante. La impactante imagen de García invita a los espectadores a confrontar las injusticias de nuestro tiempo.

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

Works by this artist (42 items)

View all artworks
Rupert García, Tala-Arawang Bayan / 1982 People's Calendar, 1981, offset lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald D. Kohs), 2020.20.95, © 1981, Rupert García
Tala-Arawang Bayan / 1982 People’s Calendar
Artist
Date1981
offset lithograph
Not on view
Rupert García, San Jose Museum of Art New Wing Inauguration, 1991, silkscreen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald D. Kohs), 2020.20.101, © 1991, Rupert García
San Jose Museum of Art New Wing Inauguration
Artist
Date1991
silkscreen
Not on view
Rupert García, ¡LIBERTAD PARA LOS PRISONEROS POLITICAS!, 1971, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Margaret Terrazas Santos Collection, 2019.52.2, © 1971, Rupert García
¡LIBERTAD PARA LOS PRISONEROS POLITICAS!
Artist
Date1971
screenprint on paper
Not on view
Rupert García, Down with the Whiteness, 1969, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2020.42.1, © 1969, Rupert García
Down with the Whiteness
Artist
Date1969
screenprint on paper
Not on view

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.

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