Gregory (Piñata Series)
Artist:
Chuck Ramirez
(American, 1962 - 2010)
Date: 2003
Medium: Ink jet print (aluminum backing)
Dimensions:
height: 60 in. (152.4 cm)
width: 48 in. (121.9 cm)
depth: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Michael D. Maloney with conservation assistance from Patricia Ruiz-Healy
Object number: 2010.28.14
Copyright: © Estate of Chuck Ramirez
Label Text
This photograph of a battered piñata is one way that Chuck Ramirez used his art to evoke dialogue about crime and violence, capital punishment, abusive behavior, racism, and homophobia. Bearing the title “Gregory” and a likeness to Hello Kitty, the image further plays with our notions of femininity and masculinity. Ramirez was a gay HIV-positive man who had experienced the prejudices that stem from the assumptions people make based solely on appearance; he developed his art in hopes of stimulating creative thinking beyond such simplistic readings. He employed the style of advertising because of its familiar and seductively accessible nature to present everyday objects in provocative images.
(Anna Stothart, 2016)
(Anna Stothart, 2016)
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.
