SOCIOLOGY OF THE FAMILY
How do we define family in the 21st century? How are realities of our lives influence who we are close with, whom we rely on, who defines our identity as citizens and individuals? What are some of the seminal events that define and sometimes challenge family ties? These are some of the questions asked by the works in this portfolio – by looking at the experience of immigration and forced separation; co-existence without understanding or assimilation; traditional family and gender roles; and family histories. Sacrifices for family members and the pain caused by loss are also explored.
Jose A. Figueroa (Cuban, b. 1946)
One of a series of photographs titled “Exile,” this work explores the struggle of migration. Families experiencing are photographed together on the terrace of the artist’s 17th Street studio the day they left Cuba, revealing the personal side of exile, loss, alienation, and family bonds. These personal stories are presented within the broader history of exiles and refugees from Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
Accession Number: 2014.1.51.3
Title: De la serie Exilio. Despedidas en calle 17. La Habana (part 3)
Date: 1965-67
Medium: Silver gelatin print
Rights: © José A. Figueroa. Image courtesy of the artist.
KEYWORDS
family; immigration; exile; displacement; memory; Cuba.
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Jay Lynn Gomez (American, b. 1986)
Gomez questions the very definition of “affluent families” by adding to images of luxury living from the pages of glossy magazines the figures of those too often invisible –landscapers, nannies, and other unrecognized workers. The artist is highlight the fact that without them, the family would function differently.
Accession Number: 2013.41
Title: Portrait of an Affluent Family
Date: 2013
Medium: Acrylic on magazine paper
Rights: © Jay Lynn Gomez
KEYWORDS family, immigrants, domestic workers, labor, income inequality, stereotypes.
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OBJECT FILE
Francisco
Zuniga (Mexican, born Costa Rica, 1912-1998)
Representingasmallfamilyaroundthetable,Zuniga’s work offers an intimate glimpse into a moment of respite for supper. The quite scene captures the dignity of work and the importance of family, two constant themes in the artist’s work.
Accession Number: 2015.7
Title: La Comida
Date: 1979
Medium: Color lithograph
Rights: Public domain
KEYWORDS
family; labor; gender relations; Latin America; domestic space; food.
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Einar and Jamex de la Torre (Mexican, b. 1963 and 1960)
This sculpture connects family history (a kidney donation by one of the artists to save a relative) with notions of devotion and belonging. Objects symbolizing different religions and cultures personally relevant to the artists and representing the two countries (Mexico and the US) where they live and work offer an often contradictory, at once humorous and profound, worldview.
Accession Number: 2019.3
Title: Organ Exchange
Date: 2011
Medium: Blown glass and mixed media
Rights: Image Courtesy of the artists and Koplin Del Rio Gallery
KEYWORDS
family; health; postcolonial; religion; popular culture; consumerism; blown glass; Christianity; pre-Columbian religions.
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William Williams (American, 1727-1791)
Williams depicts the Denning family in an informal conversational gathering – a composition known as a “conversation piece.” The parklike setting is their home on Wall Street, a mostly a rural in the years just before the Revolution. The function of such portraits (to signal the sitters’ wealth and position in society) is clearly evident, as is the gendered posing of the figures.
Accession Number: 2022.33
Title: The (William) Denning Family
Date: 1772
Medium: Oil on canvas
Rights: Public domain
KEYWORDS family; American portraiture; colonial history; conversation piece, New York City; elite.
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Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867–1945)
Most of Käthe Kollwitz’s works illustrate condition of the working class in early 20th century Germany, emphasizing the suffering caused by poverty and war. The family carrying a small dead child epitomizes this suffering, inviting us to both empathize and question the societal conditions that lead to it.
Accession Number: 2001.4.9
Title: Untitled (“Mob [Family] with Dead Child”)
Date: undated
Medium: Dry point etching
Rights: Public domain
KEYWORDS family; death; war; loss; empathy; pacifism.
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Unknown Artist (Dutch, 17th century)
Emblematic of pictorial conventions used to represent a family in the 17th century, this portrait illustrates the new access to commissioning art by the Dutch middle-class, a privilege previously reserved for nobility only. Here, the picturesque setting – possibly a country estate – suggests the family’s wealth, while their plain black clothes indicate their piety.
Accession Number: 1960.16
Title: Portrait of a Family, thought to be Governor Pieter Both, his Wife and Children
Date: ca. 1660s
Medium: Oil on panel
Rights: Public domain
KEYWORDS family; Dutch republic; bourgeoisie; Protestantism; portraiture.
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ADDITIONAL WORKS
Sadie Barnette, Untitled (Family Style), 2017
Sadie Barnette, Untitled (FBI, Racial Matters), 2016
David Hilliard, Wiser than Despair, 2012
Michael Buhler-Rose, The Secret, Alachua, FL, 2006
