Saint No. 1, from the Ephemeral Memorial Series

Sculpture

-

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Saint No. 1, from the Ephemeral Memorial Series

Entry/Object ID

2021.22

Description

Sculpture of a man with three dogs, two at his feet and one around his shoulders. The man holds his hands out in from of him with an open-mouthed expression on his face. There are two holes on the statue, one on the figure's arm and the other on his chest. The man and dogs stand on astroturf.

Artwork Details

Medium

porcelain, Marble, Metal, Wood, astroturf

Context

Chicago-based Mexican artist Rodrigo Lara creates memorials. Based on the Catholic iconography that covered the churches, chapels, and cemeteries of his childhood hometown, Lara’s sculptures combine classical figurative poses with the playful aesthetics of self-taught doodles and smiley faces. Superimposing these images on top of one another, the artist fuses together memories, in much the same way that we recall dreams or moments from the past. His use of found materials within his compositions, such as fake grass, tile, animal hide, and percussion instruments is reminiscent of the aggregate components found at temporary gravesites in Mexico, or at the site of tragedies in the States: lovingly placed personal items that create portraits of the deceased as memorialized by their loved ones. These artworks, however, are a rebuilding or restructuring of general bodies through the materials. As we constantly grow and reinvent ourselves, individually and as a human race, these ephemeral materials set in contrast to the longevity of the artist’s clay sculptures become memento moris, or “reminders of death,” prompting us to celebrate the complexities of our ephemeral lifetimes and their lasting impacts.

Acquisition

Accession

2021.22-24

Source or Donor

Lara, Rodrigo

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Credit Line

Courtesy of the artist

Made/Created

Artist

Lara, Rodrigo

Date made

2019

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sculpture

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

sculpture (visual works), visual works (works)

Hierarchy Name

Visual Works (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name)

Facet

Objects Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Catholicism, Sculpture

Dimensions

Height

11 in

Width

7 in

Depth

5 in

Exhibition

LATINXAMERICAN