I am Albert's Hard Times
Artist:
Albert Alvarez
(American, born 1983)
Date: 2007
Medium: Acrylic on panel
Dimensions:
48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor
Object number: 2010.21
Copyright: © Albert Alvarez
Label Text
"This painting is a personal insight into the construction of the ego self, the self most of us are familiar with. This is the man-made personality.The work describes events that I personally have thought to inform my cultural presence in this society."
- Albert Alvarez
In this candid self-portrait, Alvarez examines events that he experienced growing up in the Mexican-American community on San Antonio's south side. Painted in a style based on the self-portraits of Joe Coleman, an artist who has greatly influenced Alvarez, the work depicts a large central self-image surrounded by small narrative vignettes. For his own likeness, the artist styled his hair after the 16th century German master Albrecht Dürer's locks in a late self-portrait. Included among the many narratives that envelop him are images of the arrest of the artist's father for a DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol), his uncle shown on his deathbed from a heroin overdose, and a knife plunged into a metal trashcan lid, an occurrence that Alvarez remembers seeing when he was a young child. In addition to scenes based on personal experience, there are also vignettes addressing the widespread prevalence of hatred and violence in the larger culture, such as the suicide of the rock star Kurt Cobain and the murder of the rap star Tupac Shakur.
For Alvarez, making this painting was a cathartic experience that allowed him to confront and overcome a variety of emotions, such as fear, guilt, and shame relating to his difficult beginnings.
(David Rubin, 2010)
- Albert Alvarez
In this candid self-portrait, Alvarez examines events that he experienced growing up in the Mexican-American community on San Antonio's south side. Painted in a style based on the self-portraits of Joe Coleman, an artist who has greatly influenced Alvarez, the work depicts a large central self-image surrounded by small narrative vignettes. For his own likeness, the artist styled his hair after the 16th century German master Albrecht Dürer's locks in a late self-portrait. Included among the many narratives that envelop him are images of the arrest of the artist's father for a DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol), his uncle shown on his deathbed from a heroin overdose, and a knife plunged into a metal trashcan lid, an occurrence that Alvarez remembers seeing when he was a young child. In addition to scenes based on personal experience, there are also vignettes addressing the widespread prevalence of hatred and violence in the larger culture, such as the suicide of the rock star Kurt Cobain and the murder of the rap star Tupac Shakur.
For Alvarez, making this painting was a cathartic experience that allowed him to confront and overcome a variety of emotions, such as fear, guilt, and shame relating to his difficult beginnings.
(David Rubin, 2010)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
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.
