Requiem
Artist:
Vincent Valdez
(American, born 1977)
Place made:United States
Date: 2012
Medium: Pencil on paper
Dimensions:
42 x 83 in. (106.7 x 210.8 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Emory and Helen Hamilton
Object number: 2013.4
Copyright: © Vincent Valdez
Provenance: Purchased from the artist
Label Text
"This drawing is from a series of works that pay tribute to the people who are sacrificed in the name of society (soldiers, strikers, fighters of all sorts). Rarely do we present or acknowledge such a magnificent and mighty symbol in a state of such fragility, vulnerability and utter defeat."
- Vincent Valdez
Valdez's interest in the heroism of the common individual was inspired in part by the troubled experiences and subsequent demise of one of his old school friends who had served a tour of duty in Iraq. This work is from his series of drawings, entitled America's Finest, which includes portraits of the artist's friend as well as images of military funeral processions and vintage immigrant American boxers. In this example, Valdez presents one of America's most prominent symbols — the bald eagle — shown convincingly dead against a stark background.
Adopted as the national symbol for freedom in 1782, the bald eagle is commonly featured on U.S. currency. In Valdez's skillfully drawn realistic version, the eagle has become a dramatic symbol for another type of currency — the disruptions and losses of human lives that the artist considers to be the real costs of American patriotism.
- Vincent Valdez
Valdez's interest in the heroism of the common individual was inspired in part by the troubled experiences and subsequent demise of one of his old school friends who had served a tour of duty in Iraq. This work is from his series of drawings, entitled America's Finest, which includes portraits of the artist's friend as well as images of military funeral processions and vintage immigrant American boxers. In this example, Valdez presents one of America's most prominent symbols — the bald eagle — shown convincingly dead against a stark background.
Adopted as the national symbol for freedom in 1782, the bald eagle is commonly featured on U.S. currency. In Valdez's skillfully drawn realistic version, the eagle has become a dramatic symbol for another type of currency — the disruptions and losses of human lives that the artist considers to be the real costs of American patriotism.
Not on view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
