Totem Negro XVI

María Martínez-Cañas, Totem Negro XVI, 1992, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1997.68, © 1992, María Martínez-Cañas
María Martínez-Cañas, Totem Negro XVI, 1992, gelatin silver print, sheet and image: 53 129 38 in. (135.923.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1997.68, © 1992, María Martínez-Cañas

Artwork Details

Title
Totem Negro XVI
Date
1992
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet and image: 53 129 38 in. (135.923.8 cm.)
Copyright
© 1992, María Martínez-Cañas
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1997.68

Artwork Description

Born in Cuba, raised in Puerto Rico, and now living in Miami, Martínez-Cañas assembled the pieces of her multifaceted identity into a totem by using a complex photographic process. She drew cubist patterns and abstracted natural forms on large-scale negatives, incorporated images drawn from Cuban colonial maps and pre-Columbian art, and printed them in black-and-white. These hybrid forms announce her multiple cultural connections and recall the paintings of Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013

Description in Spanish

Nacida en Cuba, criada en Puerto Rico, y actualmente viviendo en Miami; Martínez-Cañas ensambla las partes de su identidad multifacética para formar un tótem usando un proceso fotográfico complejo. Dibuja diseños cubistas y abstracciones de formas naturales en negativos de gran formato, incorpora imágenes tomadas de mapas coloniales de Cuba y del arte precolombino, y los imprime en blanco y negro. Estas formas híbridas anuncian sus múltiples vínculos culturales y recuerdan la obra del artista cubano Wifredo Lam.

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

Works by this artist (97 items)

Reginald Marsh, Locomotives, Jersey City, 1934, oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Felicia Meyer Marsh, 1979.127.1
Locomotives, Jersey City
Date1934
oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard
On view
Reginald Marsh, Untitled, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1979.127.4
Untitled
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Star Burlesk
Date1933
etching on paper
Not on view
Reginald Marsh, Untitled, 1927, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1979.127.3
Untitled
Date1927
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view

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      • Our America Audio Podcast - Maria Martinez-Canas, "Totem Negro XVI" (English) Our America Audio Podcast - Maria Martinez-Canas, "Totem Negro XVI" (English)
      • Audio podcast, Nuestra America - Maria Martinez-Canas, "Totem Negro XVI" (espanol) Audio podcast, Nuestra America - Maria Martinez-Canas, "Totem Negro XVI" (espanol)
      • Meet the Artist: Maria Martinez-Cañas Meet the Artist: Maria Martinez-Cañas

      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, 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.

      More Artworks from the Collection

      Franklin Lafayette ("Fate") Becham, Double-Handled Whiskey Jug, before 1918, alkaline glaze stoneware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.29
      Double-Handled Whiskey Jug
      Datebefore 1918
      alkaline glaze stoneware
      On view
      Unidentified (American), Five-Gallon Home Brew Jar, ca. 1880, glazed stoneware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.40
      Five-Gallon Home Brew Jar
      Artist
      Unidentified (American)
      Dateca. 1880
      glazed stoneware
      On view