Rings of Life

Work on Paper

-

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Rings of Life

Entry/Object ID

2003.52

Artwork Details

Medium

Lithograph

Acquisition

Notes

Collection of DePaul Art Museum, Art Acquisition Endowment

Made/Created

Artist

Huerta, Benito

Notes

Creation Date: late 20th century

Ethnography

Notes

United States North America, United States

Lexicon

Getty AAT

Concept

popular culture, culture-related concepts

Hierarchy Name

Associated Concepts (hierarchy name)

Facet

Associated Concepts Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Economic & social conditions

Search Terms

Latinx

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Lithograph

Class

WORKS ON PAPER

Dimensions

Dimension Description

image

Width

17.78 cm

Length

21.59 cm

Exhibition

LATINXAMERICAN

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

A duck, a Mexican mask, domino, and a rabbit are interlocked with an ouroboros, an ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tail. Benito Huerta connects seemingly unrelated yet deeply personal images to create a new meaning of “wholeness” and “rebirth,” as well as create a new aesthetic for Mexican empowerment. According to the artist, these images are “about my hybrid Anglo-Latin heritage as well as my relationship to popular culture, friends, family, and even the students I teach.” They also embody survival and defiance of artistic convention and negative socioeconomic considerations of race and class.