The Immigrant's Dream: The American Response
Primary
Malaquías Montoya
(Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1938–Davis, California, present)
Date2003
MediumAcrylic on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 75 x 51 x 2 3/8 in. (190.5 x 129.5 x 6 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gilberto Cárdenas Collection, Museum Acquisition Fund, 2022.29
Rights Statement
Collection AreaLatino Art
Object number2022.29
On View
Not on viewCollection Highlight
A pioneer of the Chicano Art Movement, Malaquías Montoya has developed his practice with the goal of maintaining a close connection with working-class Mexican-American communities, exhibiting his works in spaces most accessible to them and voicing their most pressing issues. In this painting, Montoya boldly portrays the plight of those undocumented immigrants who arrive in the United States with dreams of a better future but find a nightmarish reality. The very flag that is often held as a symbol of freedom, here holds the body captive in an existential and political limbo. Part shroud, part body bag tagged for deportation, the flag complicates the immigrant’s individual identity by hiding them from view. By choosing such potent title and provocative symbolism, the artist grounds his work on the ideals of the Chicano Art Movement, in its historic struggle for social justice.
Exhibitions