Santa Chingada: The Perfect Little Woman

Kukuli Velarde, Santa Chingada: The Perfect Little Woman, 1999-2000, ceramic and mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of Clemmer and David Montague, 2021.61.5
Kukuli Velarde, Santa Chingada: The Perfect Little Woman, 1999-2000, ceramic and mixed media, 25 in. × 18 in. × 11 12 in. (63.5 × 45.7 × 29.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of Clemmer and David Montague, 2021.61.5

Artwork Details

Title
Santa Chingada: The Perfect Little Woman
Date
1999-2000
Dimensions
25 in. × 18 in. × 11 12 in. (63.5 × 45.7 × 29.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift from the collection of Clemmer and David Montague
Mediums
Mediums Description
ceramic and mixed media
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female
Object Number
2021.61.5

Artwork Description

Kukuli Velarde portrays her inherited memories and emotions. Her series of squatting ceramic figures, called Isichapuitu, were inspired by a Peruvian myth about a priest who used vessels called Manchaypuitu (male) and Isichapuitu (female) to summon spirits from the past. This Isichapuitu embodies a “Perfect Little Woman,” after the Virgin Mary of Sorrows, a mournful figure with seven daggers piercing her heart. This woman has no power over her own body: she is pregnant but wears a chastity belt, and she wears a mask of an idealized white woman. Velarde crafts a charged moment, as if the woman has woken up and realized her confinement. She removes the mask to show herself as a fierce Indigenous woman. 


Velarde wrote the text around the sculpture’s edge:  I open my arms to you, saying “I am yours.” Nail your thorns on me. I will be the one who heals your wounds and relieves you from your sorrows. I do not ask for anything in return. If something, maybe a little of your love . . .  If something, maybe just to know I am your savior, the sacrificed mother of your children . . .  Any offense you inflict on me is welcome as my token . . . For your veneration . . .


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (3 items)

Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Sollie 17, 1979-1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2001.58, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Sollie 17
Date1979-1980
mixed media construction
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Untitled, n.d., encaustic on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia Colleen McCall, 1982.125
Untitled
Daten.d.
encaustic on fiberboard
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Drawing for Sollie 17, 1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of G & W Investments, 2001.59A-D, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Drawing for Sollie 17
Date1980
mixed media construction
Not on view

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.

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