Existing comment:
Eric J. García
born Albuquerque, New Mexico 1977
Chicano Codices #1: Simplified Histories: The U.S. Invasion of Mexico 1846–1848
2015
offset lithograph on paper
Using the codex format -- an accordion-style book associated with pre-Columbian civilizations -- García satirizes the events and aftermath of the Mexican-American War. He personifies the United States as Uncle Sam and Mexico as a welcoming and gullible short-stature man unaware of Uncle Sam's ambitions. The artist's portrayal of Uncle Sam recalls political cartoons produced in the early twentieth century, a period of U.S. imperialist expansion in the Caribbean and Pacific. García's final scene includes a portrait of the artist standing alongside a screaming baby, suggesting how current Chicanx generations critically recall the past.
Museum purchase through the Lichtenberg Family Foundation, 2020.21.1R-V |