Enrique Chagoya
(Mexican, born 1953)
Estragos de la guerra, from the portfolio Homage to Goya II: Disasters of War
Object Details
Artist
Enrique Chagoya
Date
1983-2001 (published 2003)
Medium
Etching with rubber stampingPrinter’s proof
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 × 15 inches (33 × 38.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Paul Ehrenfest, Class of 1932, by exchange
Object
Number
2006.005.002
A museum experience changed the course of Enrique Chagoya’s work, and perhaps his life. In 1983, h(…)
A museum experience changed the course of Enrique Chagoya’s work, and perhaps his life. In 1983, he enrolled in a history of printmaking course at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. It was from this encounter with the collection that prompted his first work responding to Francisco Goya. Chagoya acknowledged, “I wish I could be as impartial as Goya. But sometimes I aim at elusiveness of meaning as a way to create multiple narratives that lead to no specific point.” The relationship between mentor and student and tradition and invention is important to discuss at museums as well as college campuses. Chagoya explained, “The main change happens within one’s cultural richness when becoming exposed to different cultures…. Sometimes our differences are seen as aspects of our richness; other times our differences are used against us.” (“This is no Less Curious: Journeys through the Collection” cocurated by Sonja Gandert, Alexandra Palmer, and Alana Ryder and presented at the Johnson Museum January 24 – April 12, 2015)
