Political Prisoner

Media - 1978.107 - SAAM-1978.107_1 - 5141
Copied Rupert García, Political Prisoner, 1976, pastel on paper, sheet: 4836 in. (122.091.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rupert García and Sammi Madison-García, 1978.107, © 1976, Rupert García

Artwork Details

Title
Political Prisoner
Date
1976
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 4836 in. (122.091.5 cm)
Copyright
© 1976, Rupert García
Credit Line
Gift of Rupert García and Sammi Madison-García
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female — head
Object Number
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

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.