Artwork Details
- Title
- Humanscape 62
- Artist
- Date
- 1970
- Location
- Dimensions
- 73 x 97 in. (185.4 x 246.4 cm)
- Copyright
- © 1970, the Casas Family
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
- Mediums Description
- acrylic on canvas
- Classifications
- Highlights
- Subjects
- Object — foodstuff — brownie
- Dress — uniform — scout uniform
- Indian
- Object Number
- 2012.37
Artwork Description
A central figure of the Chicano arts movement, Casas created Humanscape 62 the year Frito-Lay began to phase out its use of the character in response to lobbying by Chicano activists. The painting both documents the character's existence and confronts the power of mass media to shape and perpetuate cultural stereotypes.
Works by this artist (2 items)
Videos
In this series, E. Carmen Ramos, curator of Latino art, discusses the exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This episode looks at the painting Humanscape 62 by Melesio Casas. 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. The exhibition is drawn entirely from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's pioneering collection of Latino art. It explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture.