Object Details
Artist
Cruz Ortiz, born 1972
Sitter
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, born 1938
Exhibition Label
Born New Braunfels, Texas
Art historian, scholar, and professor Tomás Ybarra- Frausto has expanded the American art canon by championing the contributions of Chicano and Latino artists. Ybarra-Frausto initiated his work as a cultural leader in El Movimiento, the 1960s movement for the empowerment of Mexican Americans. He once stated, “Latino art is American art plus.”
Artist Cruz Ortiz pays homage to the fellow Texan by visually connecting Ybarra-Frausto to the region he calls home. Ortiz pictures him next to a blue agave plant in a Southwestern setting. The title references Aztlán, the mythical origin of the Aztec people and the symbolic land of Chicanos.
Nacido en New Braunfels, Texas
Historiador de arte, investigador y profesor, Tomás Ybarra-Frausto ha ampliado el canon del arte esta- dounidense difundiendo los aportes de los artistas chicanos y latinos. Se inició como líder cultural dentro del movimiento chicano que en la década de 1960 luchó por empoderar a los mexico-americanos. Ha dicho que “el arte latino es arte estadounidense y más”.
El artista Cruz Ortiz honra a su paisano de Texas plasmando su conexión con la región que es su hogar. Ortiz presenta a Ybarra-Frausto junto a un agave azul en un entorno del suroeste del país. El título alude a Aztlán, mítico lugar de origen de los aztecas y tierra simbólica de los chicanos.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the National Museum of the American Latino.
Date
2018
Object number
NPG.2020.146
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Cruz Ortiz
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 243.8 × 182.9 cm (96 × 72")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
21st Century Americans: 2000 to Present
On View
NPG, South Gallery 341
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Headgear\Hat
Nature & Environment\Plant
Equipment\Walking stick\Cane
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Imaginary
Exterior\Landscape\Desert
Nature & Environment\Sun
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto: Male
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Art historian
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2020.146