Montando a la Escoba Voladora (Riding the Flying Broom)

Juan de Dios Mora, Montando a la Escoba Voladora (Riding the Flying Broom), 2010, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Frank K. Ribelin Endowment, 2019.35.2, ©2019, Juan de Dios Mora
Copied Juan de Dios Mora, Montando a la Escoba Voladora (Riding the Flying Broom), 2010, linocut, image: 17 × 26 in. (43.2 × 66 cm) sheet: 22 1⁄2 × 29 7⁄8 in. (57.2 × 75.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Frank K. Ribelin Endowment, 2019.35.2, ©2019, Juan de Dios Mora

Artwork Details

Title
Montando a la Escoba Voladora (Riding the Flying Broom)
Artist
Date
2010
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 17 × 26 in. (43.2 × 66 cm) sheet: 22 1⁄2 × 29 7⁄8 in. (57.2 × 75.9 cm)
Copyright
©2019, Juan de Dios Mora
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Frank K. Ribelin Endowment
Mediums Description
linocut
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure
Object Number
2019.35.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2019.35.2

Artwork Description

Juan de Dios Mora's prints emerge from his close observation of immigrant life in the border town of Laredo, Texas. His scenes of vaqueros (cowboys) riding flying brooms or driving exaggerated, powerful motorcycles, combine fantasy and realism to honor how Mexican immigrants make do and affirm their culture against the odds. The artist's father, who routinely repaired things with discarded scraps of metal and wood, inspired Montado a la Escoba Voladora (Riding the Flying Broom). "Even when you don't have the right tools or technology," the artist said, "you can still be clever and creative." Mora's works also reconceive representations of the cowboy, showing how Southwest ranch culture is indebted to Mexico.   

Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea, 2023