Untitled (chain mouth)

Label

Gispert successfully exploits the use of exaggerated motifs to subvert expectations and American cultural stereotypes. The traditional cheerleader uniform, a recognizable symbol of mainstream American culture, is juxtaposed with opulent gold jewelry, alluding to the influence of hip-hop on Latinx culture. The subject's makeup, hair, and costume are styled to reference chongas, a term which gained prominence in the twenty­first century that coded Latinx women as hyper-visible, provocative, and aggressive. Yet, the compositional elements of the photograph, which position the woman against the green chroma-key background, serve to exalt her power and Latinx youths' attempts to defy mainstream epresentations.

The gold chain coming from the woman's mouth references artist Bruce Nauman's Self Portrait as a Fountain (1967-70), in which Nauman uses his own body to imitate the nude male statues of Greek and Roman ornamental fountains. Unlike Nauman, however, Gispert mimics this gesture using a long gold chain that is pictured coming from the young woman's mouth.

[llustrated with: Bruce Nauman, Self Portrait as a Fountain, 1966-1967, printed 1970]

From the 2023 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 112, Social Surrealism and the Exploration of Identity, curated by Paulina Marinkovic Camacho ’23, Levinson Intern

Course History

LATS 03, Introduction to Latino Studies, Marcela Di Blasi, Fall 2021

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue 112, Social Surrealism and the Explortion of Identity, Paulina Marinkovic Camacho, ’23, Levinson Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 22 - June 24, 2023.

Influence, Anxiety and Gratitude, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, May 8 - July 5, 2003

Luis Gispert, Miami, April 11 - June 27, 2009

Provenance

Audiello Fine Art, New York, New York, date unknown; Anonymous gift; given to present collection, 2018.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu

Subjects