Pa-lan-te

Miguel Luciano, Pa-lan-te, 2017, neon, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Marianna and Juan A. Sabater, 2020.25.2, © 2017, Miguel Luciano. photo: Jason Wyche
Miguel Luciano, Pa-lan-te, 2017, neon, overall: 120 × 24 in. (304.8 × 61 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Marianna and Juan A. Sabater, 2020.25.2, © 2017, Miguel Luciano. photo: Jason Wyche

Artwork Details

Title
Pa-lan-te
Date
2017
Dimensions
overall: 120 × 24 in. (304.8 × 61 cm)
Copyright
© 2017, Miguel Luciano. photo: Jason Wyche
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by Marianna and Juan A. Sabater
Mediums
Mediums Description
neon
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — letter
Object Number
2020.25.2

Artwork Description

Two cherry-red Schwinn bicycles, decked out with horns and American and Puerto Rican flags, are joined to form one three-wheeled, double-headed creature.

The word pa'lante, Spanish slang meaning "forward," glows above. The term became famous as the name of a civil rights newspaper in Puerto Rico in the 1960s. In following years, it has evoked Puerto Rican independence and statehood and become a mindset of strength and resilience in the face of hurricanes and other hardships.

Paired with a bicycle that can go in two directions at once--and so goes nowhere--the word also takes on an ironic meaning. Luciano's sculpture brims with Puerto Rican pride while acknowledging the difficulties that hinder the island's forward motion.

Works by this artist (22 items)

Robert S. Duncanson, Mountain Pool, 1870, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Richard Frates, 1983.95.173
Mountain Pool
Date1870
oil on canvas
On view
Robert S. Duncanson, On the St. Annes, East Canada, 1863, 1865, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Drown, 1983.95.170
On the St. Annes, East Canada
Date1863, 1865
oil on canvas
On view
Robert S. Duncanson, Waterfall on Mont-Morency, 1864, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Norbert Fleisig, 1983.95.161
Waterfall on Mont-Morency
Date1864
oil on canvas
On view
Robert S. Duncanson, Loch Long, 1867, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald J. Shein, 1983.95.171
Loch Long
Date1867
oil on canvas
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
The Runaway Match
Date1877
oil on canvas
Not on view
John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
Dateca. 1890-1900
oil on canvas
On view
Unidentified (Italian), Saint, 19th century, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.157
Saint
Artist
Unidentified (Italian)
Date19th century
oil on canvas
Not on view