Sun Mad

Object Details

Date
1982
Artist
Ester Hernandez, born Dinuba, CA 1944
Exhibition Label
In Sun Mad, Hernandez reconfigures the cheerful branding of the Sun-Maid raisin company into a grim warning. In response to her family's exposure to polluted water and pesticides in California's San Joaquin Valley, Hernandez sought to unmask the "wholesome figures of agribusiness," such as the Sun Maid. The skeletal figure draws attention to the dangers and adverse effects of the various chemicals listed in the print's lower register.
¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now, 2020
Exhibition Label in Spanish
En Sun Mad, Hernandez reconfigura la imagen jovial de la empresa productora de pasas para transformarla en una lúgubre advertencia. En respuesta a la exposición de su familia al agua contaminada y a los plaguicidas en el Valle San Joaquín, en California, Hernandez trató de desenmascarar a "las figuras saludables de las agroempresas", como la Sun Maid. La figura de un esqueleto dirige la atención hacia los peligros y los efectos adversos de las diversas sustancias químicas mencionadas en el extremo inferior del grabado.
¡Imprimir la revolución! Auge e impacto de las obras gráficas chicanas, desde 1965 hasta hoy, 2020
Topic
Landscape\celestial\sun
History\United States\labor history
Allegory\civic\injustice
Figure\fragment\skeleton
Object\fruit\grape
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Graphic Arts
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tomás Ybarra-Frausto
Copyright
© 1982, Ester Hernández
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Object number
1995.50.32
Type
Graphic Arts-Print
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Medium
screenprint on paper
Dimensions
image: 20 x 15 in. (50.7 x 38.1 cm) sheet: 22 x 17 in. (55.9 x 43.2 cm)
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk748ea106a-7b31-41e2-97ff-4d3c2d7e1937
Record ID
saam_1995.50.32