Three Must-See Luis Alfonso Jimenez Works at Crystal Bridges

Explore the work of Luis Alfonso Jimenez this Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15th-October 15th, at Crystal Bridges!

Taking place annually from September 15th to October 15th, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the rich history and culture of Hispanic communities throughout the United States. This year’s theme, “Honoring Our Past, Defending Our Future,” prompts us to reflect upon the roots of Hispanic culture while acknowledging the community’s struggle for dignity and recognition. The work of celebrated sculptor Luis Alfonso Jimenez (1940-2006) highlights these traditions and honors the evolution of Hispanic culture.

Born to an American mother and Mexican father in El Paso, Texas, Jimenez grew up in the Southwest United States amongst a mixture of American and Hispanic culture. As a young man working in his father’s neon sign shop, Jimenez discovered his passion for sculpture art. His work reflects his Chicano identity – blending American iconography with Mexican and Native American imagery to reflect the shared histories of America and celebrate his Hispanic heritage. At Crystal Bridges, multiple works of Jimenez’s vibrant art are on display – here are three to be sure not to miss during Hispanic Heritage Month.

VAQUERO

Few symbols of the American West are more prominent than the cowboy. This 16-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture, named after the Spanish word for “cowboy,” emphasizes the Hispanic roots that shaped American perception of cowboys. “It was a way of reminding the Mexican American community that they had made that contribution,” Jimenez said. One of his most celebrated pieces, this work provides a reinterpreted take on traditional equestrian sculptures by featuring a Mexican American rider inseparable from his horse.

Vaquero, like much of Jimenez’s work, features bright colors and glossy textures that contrast the classic iconography referenced in his work. Jimenez frequently incorporates Hispanic symbols, such as the cactus underneath the horse, to symbolize the lineage of cultures in America and the Southwest. Vaquero is now on view in a freshly renovated space on the North Forest Trail.

EAGLE

Like Vaquero, Eagle represents the shared elements of Hispanic and American cultures. Jimenez perches a striking bald eagle – a bird synonymous with the United States – atop a prickly cactus with a rattlesnake slithering below – both symbols represented on the Mexican flag.

“This fabulous Eagle sculpture ties the symbol of freedom in the United States with the history of the Mexican Republic and flag.” – Alice Walton

In utilizing symbols of both American and Mexican culture, Jimenez invites viewers to consider the connections between the two. “In some ways, we can look at this at least metaphorically as a kind of self-portrait,” Dr. Steven Zucker, executive director of Smarthistory said. “This is a work that is taking very powerful symbols of national identity but then making them deeply personal.” If you were to create a self-portrait sculpture, what symbols would you include? Eagle is on view in our collection galleries.

SOUTHWEST PIETA MAQUETTE

This maquette – a smaller, preliminary model for a sculpture – depicts an Aztec warrior, Popocatepetl, mourning his lover, Iztaccihuatl, after returning from battle. Native Americans in the valley of Mexico believed that the gods felt sympathy for the two lovers and transformed them into two volcanoes located outside Mexico City. Jimenez was inspired by this tale when he was commissioned to create a public art installation for the City of Albuquerque, resulting in a large sculptural work titled Southwest Pieta.

Jimenez continues his recurring theme of reinterpreting classic symbols with a Hispanic twist – the pose in which his subject holds his lover and the title are directly reminiscent of Michaelangelo’s Madonna della Pietà (part of the Vatican collection in Rome, Italy), which depicts Mary holding Jesus’s body after his crucifixion. Once again using imagery of rattlesnakes, cacti and eagles, Jimenez blends Hispanic symbolism into his work to represent the multitude of cultures in the Southwest United States. Southwest Pieta Maquette is on view in the Crystal Bridges Library.