El Patio de Mi Casa

María Brito, El Patio de Mi Casa, 1990, mixed media including acrylic paint, wood, wax, latex, gelatin silver prints and found objects, overall: 95 1⁄2 x 68 1⁄4 x 65 in. (242.6 x 173.4 x 165.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1997.71A-G, © 1991, María Brito

Artwork Details

Title
El Patio de Mi Casa
Artist
Date
1990
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall: 95 1⁄2 x 68 1⁄4 x 65 in. (242.6 x 173.4 x 165.1 cm)
Copyright
© 1991, María Brito
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
mixed media including acrylic paint, wood, wax, latex, gelatin silver prints and found objects
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — kitchen
  • Object — furniture — cradle
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — patio
Object Number
1997.71A-G
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.71A-G

Artwork Description

While preparing this installation Brito remembered the well-known children’s song called El patio de mi casa (The Backyard of My House). In Brito’s backyard, nature struggles to survive the uprooting of migration, here symbolized by the constricting cradle, barren tree shadows, and the cracked ground. Rain collects at the top of the wall and channels down into the sink, giving a tree sapling a chance to thrive. Brito’s humble Cuban American kitchen is a site of remembrance, transformation, and growth.

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

Mientras preparaba esta instalación, Brito recordódaba la conocida canción infantil El patio de mi casa. En el patio de la casa de Brito, la naturaleza lucha por sobrevivir al desarraigo de la inmigración, simbolizado aquí por la cuna aprisionante, las sombras de los árboles desnudos, y el suelo agrietado. La lluvia se acumula en la parte superior de la pared y se canaliza hasta el fregadero, dándole al joven arbolito la oportunidad de crecer. La humilde cocina cubano americana de Brito es un sitio de recuerdo, transformación y crecimiento.

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

Works by this artist (2 items)

Image Not Available
Windflower
Artist
Date2022
white glaze over black clay
On view
Image Not Available
Wildflower
Artist
Date2022
black clay
On view

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      This audio podcast series discusses artworks and themes in the exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In this episode, artist María Brito talks about her installation El Patio de Mi Casa

       

      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.

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