Son So & So

Painting

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Son So & So

Entry/Object ID

2016.14

Description

Letters and shapes painting in blues and reds on pressed board.

Artwork Details

Medium

Acrylic, pencil, flashe on wood

Context

"Son Cubano" is a style of music and dance that originated in Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century which embodies a popular mix of African rhythms/ percussion-think conga drums, trumpets, maracas--mixing with the structure of the Spanish canción to the beat of a distinctive "clavé" which is counting time. Over time it evolved into multiple forms including salsa, bolero, guaracha and mambo. "I enjoy word plays and I grew up in a household that treasured listening to music from Puerto Rico and Cuba. Although the title does not define the painting, it refers more to pictorial and linguistical pathways that come to mind in the studio setting. The act of "listening" in the studio is an action which allows me to concoct strategies or systems of working using personal details. If memory serves me well, I made this painting in a silent room. There was no music playing. "Son" refered to my son who was ten years old at the time, but also to the sounds of "Son" that punctuated a different kind of silence which I still enjoy--filling space with a volume of notes, beats and lyrics. The word "so" lives inside them both. It becomes a riddle of sorts." - Alvarez

Acquisition

Accession

2016.14-125

Source or Donor

Chuck Thurow

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Collection of DePaul Art Museum, Gift of Chuck Thurow

Made/Created

Artist

Alvarez, Candida

Date made

2001

Ethnography

Notes

North America United States

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Inscription Type: Candida Alvarez

Notes

Inscription Type: 2001

Lexicon

Getty AAT

Concept

Abstract (modern European style), European, typefaces (type forms), information form components, components (objects parts), identity, metaphysical concepts, philosophical concepts, memory (psychological concept), psychological concepts, social science concepts, Latin American, Americas, The

Hierarchy Name

Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), Components (hierarchy name), Associated Concepts (hierarchy name)

Facet

Styles and Periods Facet, Objects Facet, Associated Concepts Facet

Dimensions

Dimension Description

overall

Width

9 in

Length

7 in

Exhibitions

DPAM Collects: Happy Little Trees and Other Recent Acquisitions

LATINXAMERICAN

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

Candida Alvarez (American, b. 1955) Son So & So, 2001 Acrylic, pencil, flashe on wood Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Chuck Thurow 2016.14 For Candida Alvarez, who trained under conceptual painter Mel Bochner at Yale, visual and linguistic puns connect personal meaning to momentary thought- processes during the act of painting. The Son So & So title references her own son, who was playing in the studio when the work was made, and “son cubano,” a music style originating from Cuba that eventually led to today’s salsa and mambo genres. Alvarez clarifies that “I love word play, but title does not dictate the work. For me, the act of ‘listening’ in the studio is an action which allows me to concoct strategies or systems of working using personal details.”