Diana's Huipil with Una Talla and Handwoven Labels
Artist:
Marilyn Lanfear
(American, 1930 - 2020)
Date: 1987
Medium: Lead, wood, cast iron
Dimensions:
57 x 29 x 21 in. (144.8 x 73.7 x 53.3 cm)
Credit Line: Anonymous donation
Object number: 95.11
Copyright: © Marilyn Lanfear
Inscribed: stamped "Alamo Iron Works" on base
Label Text
I was never very graceful with fabric, but I can cut patterns and make a graceful object out of lead. —Marilyn Lanfear
This work is part of the artist’s Lead Blouse series, which commemorates important people in her life. Lanfear creates a portrait of her friend Diana Rodriguez Gil by replicating an article of her clothing, a huipil. Rodriguez Gil wears this garment, traditional to Indigenous women in central Mexico and Central America, as homage to her heritage. By transforming a soft, handwoven blouse into the contrasting material of lead, Lanfear calls attention to clothing’s function as a shield or suit of armor—that which protects us from the elements also communicates our identity to the rest of the world.
(Lana Meador, 2018)
This work is part of the artist’s Lead Blouse series, which commemorates important people in her life. Lanfear creates a portrait of her friend Diana Rodriguez Gil by replicating an article of her clothing, a huipil. Rodriguez Gil wears this garment, traditional to Indigenous women in central Mexico and Central America, as homage to her heritage. By transforming a soft, handwoven blouse into the contrasting material of lead, Lanfear calls attention to clothing’s function as a shield or suit of armor—that which protects us from the elements also communicates our identity to the rest of the world.
(Lana Meador, 2018)
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.
