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Empire Series
Crossing
From Emmanuel Letuze's Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851)
manually stitched thread on denim
84"x 60"
Westward Course
From Emmanuel Letuze's Westward Course of Empire Takes its Way (1860)
manually stitched thread on denim
84"x 60"
Tomorrow is Another Day
An heirloom anticipating optimism
manually stitched thread on denim
40"x 32"
Niagara (Falls)
From Frederic Edwin Church's Niagara (1857)
manual stitch and screen-printed images on canvas interlaced on denim
60"x 45"
Stripes
Screen print, Canvas, Denim, and Thread
35”x20”
America Is Hard to See
The title of Robert Frost's 1951 poem and the 2015 new Whitney's inaugural show
Manual Stitch on Denim
60” X 45”
Now / Won
Manual Stitch on Denim
50” X 32”
One and Done
Manual Stitch on Denim
18”x18”
Departing, Parting (ii)
Acrylic and thread on denim
7”x13”
Of Course, Empire
Images from Thomas Cole's The Course of Empire Series (1833-36)
Manual Stitch on Denim within a Tambour Frame
8"x8"
MAN
LEGEND
MYTH
Denim Heirlooms
Visual Works Concerning Ghosts, Texas, and Dreams
A Biography of Forefathers in Three Chapters
I. Autonomous/Anonymous
(Unit)ed, Untied
For the Three in a Father's Photograph
manually stitched image as denim heirloom
3’x 3’
Backside of (Unit)ed, Untied
manually stitched heirloom
memorializing a photograph
3"x 3"
From left to right:
a family friend, my great grandfather,
and grandfather
circa 1960, from father's archive
3"x 3"
II. He was Once 'Miguel'
Heads and Tails (Tales)
My Grandfather’s Green Card
manually stitched denim
3’x 3’
III. A People's Play
Death of a Myth
My Grandfather’s Retablo Stage
denim heirloom, quilted with a cathedral window pattern
3.5’x 5’
my grandfather, little caballero
circa 1965,
from father's archive
3"x 3"
Death of a Myth (Pants for Walking Man)
white paint and denim from El Paso. manually sewn retablo and handmade jeans
3.5’x 5’
Pants for Walking Man
handmade jeans with embossed cathedral pattern
2’x 4’
BOOK II
Dam(ned)nation
I. Janky Jeans (Genes)
El Paso Street Texas Exes
Jeans for all those Texas Exes
repurposed jeans from El Paso's Salvation Army adorned with hand-shaped patches
2’x 3’
Source Material from Texas Ave.
sun-bleached signs from El Paso
screenshots from Google Maps
digital works
II. Waive, Waving, Wavering
A Waving Flag Wavers
Pleated denim relief referencing Italian Futurism
seamed denim, jeans sourced from El Paso's Salvation Army
2’x 3’
III. Rough Riding Rodeo
'Bunting' Flag (Two Definitions of the Verb)
referencing records from the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo circa 1983
oil on cut canvas
2’x 3’
BOOK III
Man-Made Myth
I. Genesis Story
Honky-tonk Donkey
If a Horse Walked into a Bar...
repurposed jean collage
6’x 5’
II. Denim George (Brother of the Velvet Elvis)
Wall of Feigned Fame
Three Singing Buckaroos
oil on canvas images finished with handmade fringe
5’x 9’
Livin' on Love, A Lot About Livin'
And a Little 'bout Love
oil on canvas encircled by handmade denim fringe
3’x 5’
The Cowboy Rides Away
George Strai(gh)t
oil on canvas encircled by handmade denim fringe
3’x 5’
How Do you Like me Now?
oil on canvas images surrounded by handmade denim frame
3’x 5’
III. WPA Works
Under the Same Sky
Reconstituted details from Texas WPA Mural
paint and manually-stiched thread on denim
various sizes under 8"x6"
Detail from Early Texans,
Nicholas Lyon
courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
11’x 28’
Encore: Portent of a New Season
Cowboy Already (Always) Away
manual stitch on painted canvas with a handmade denim border
11’x 8’
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