Civilizacion y Barbarie (Civilization and Barbarism)
Entry/Object ID
MG.034
Description
US Imperialism
Collection
Juan R. Fuentes
Made/Created
Artist
Tirso G. Araiza
Date made
2003
Dimensions
Height
31-1/4 in
Width
25-1/4 in
Depth
1-1/2 in
Dimension Notes
Paper: 30x22. Image: 25.5x18.25
Interpretative Labels
Label Type
Cultural/Historical Context
Label
Juan R. Fuentes included Araiza in a portfolio wherein each artist chose a poem to accompany their print. Araiza chose a poem by Elba Rosario Sánchez in which she uses a Nahuatl word for broken pottery as a metaphor for the history of colonialism.
A Mayan artist, Araiza uses grim imagery reminiscent of the Mayan Codices, particularly in the central panel. Created during the early part of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, print depicts George W. Bush with bat wings and Mickey Mouse ears, military torture, and a sado-sexual church. Araiza’s dark humor and cartoonish folk imagery gives a lightness of spirit to an otherwise gruesome scene.
