%C2%A9 Estate of Luis A. Jimenez%2C Jr. %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York
El Borracho (The Drunkard) I, II, 1992
Lithographs on Okawara paper, diptychexpand_more
The Richard Lewis Hillstrom Fundexpand_more 2011.76.2a,b
Not on Viewexpand_more
Familiar with vibrant street culture as well as the seamier elements of city life in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, Jimenez infused his work with urban spectacles like graffiti, low riders, drunks, and prostitutes. El Borracho playfully narrates a drunkard's graceless flirtation with death, who is masquerading as a prostitute. Her ghoulish figure resembles the macabre prostitutes in Orozco's work. But while Orozco's prostitutes symbolize his frustrations with modernity, the one in Jimenez's print is more of a lighthearted satire. Like the whimsical "calaveras" (skeletons) made famous by Mexican cartoonist Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913), she mocks the somberness of life and death. El Borracho is at once a spirited homage to Mexican icons and a self-conscious reflection on the negative stereotypes—like the "drunken Mexican"—that sometimes haunt the Mexican-American community.
Details
- Title
- El Borracho (The Drunkard) I, II
- Artist Life
- 1940–2006
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2011.76.2a,b
- Provenance
- Lawrence Lithography Workshop, Kansas City, Missouri (publisher); sold to MIA, 2011
- Curator Approved
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© Estate of Luis A. Jimenez, Jr. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York