Estragos de la guerra (Ravages of war), Plate 30 of “The Disasters of War”

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)