- Created by
- Sánchez, Juan, American, born 1954
- Subject of
- Colón, Carmen Maria, Puerto Rican, 1919 - 1987
- Date
- 2013
- Medium
- mixed media: paper, acrylic paint and oil paint on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 35 1/2 × 37 1/4 in. (90.2 × 94.6 cm)
- Description
- This is a mixed media collage by Juan Sánchez to memorialize his mother. The overall collage is bordered in black. Along the left and right vertical borders are two red lines framing the collage. The background of the collage is black and gray images of a woman’s upper torso with her bare breasts exposed and her face covered with a faded blue/gray Puerto Rican flag, as representations of vulnerability and U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico.
- Centered within the collage and near the top is an imperfectly rectangular-cut white, floral lace pattern. At the center of the lace is a black and white photograph of the artist’s mother’s calves and feet, wearing worn, open toe sandals while standing on cracked pavement. Underneath the image is a poem written by Sánchez on paper with pencil. It has multiple erasure marks and uses past and present tense. The handwritten poem reads: [Your sad eyes always radiates(d) / smiles. Your hands always heal(ing) / and your soul (for)ever forgives(ing). / Your feet (always)righteously grounded / I was (am)so blessed But(now) / I’m missing you now mommy I / am so thirsty now / all that you are is(was) gone (the) joy].
- Centered and to the bottom is a sideways heart thinly drawn in red, yellow, green and blue. It is filled with a mosaic of red, yellow, green, blue, black, and brown squares. A few of these squares are outside of the heart. At the center of the heart is an imperfectly arch cut red, floral lace pattern with a prayer card depicting Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a title of the Virgin Mary. The prayer card belonged to his mother and sat near her bed. Underneath it is a row of five cowrie shells, an Afro-Caribbean spiritual symbol.
- Cultural Place
- Puerto Rico, United States, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Portfolio/Series
- UNKNOWN BORICUAS
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Type
- collages
- multimedia works
- Topic
- Art
- Catholicism
- Colonialism
- Families
- Motherhood
- Multilingual communication
- Photography
- Poetry
- Prayer
- Religion
- Spirituality
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
- Object number
- 2021.71.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Juan Sánchez, Guariken Arts Inc
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.