Label TextMuñoz’s work almost always involves the human figure and contains an implied narrative. He has described himself as a “storyteller”, although the stories his art tells are often mysterious. The relationship between the two men in this sculpture is open to interpretation, from one man helping the other to a physical representation of the psychological “baggage” that each of us carries. The awkward, tiptoe stance and rough surface of the sculpture add to its evocative tone.
Exhibition History"Commitment, Community and Controversy: The Des Moines Art Center Collections," Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, January 24, 1998 - May 10, 1998
Published ReferencesDMAC News, "Recent Accessions," July/Aug. 1997, ills. cover & p.2
DMAC News, "Calendar," Jan./Feb. 1998, p.8
AN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. & b/w detail p.204, color ill. p.205
Like most of Munoz's sculptures, Piggyback is slightly smaller than life-sized. The richly evocative image is open to many interpretations. These more often have to do with one person helping (carrying) another rather than, as in the story of Sinbad the Sailor, the person on top controlling the other beneath his will. Another interpretation is that both faces are the same person and the work is a metaphor for the "baggage"--psychological and physical--each of us carries.
Source: NEWS July August 1997
Exhibition History"Commitment, Community and Controversy: The Des Moines Art Center Collections," Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, January 24, 1998 - May 10, 1998
Published ReferencesDMAC News, "Recent Accessions," July/Aug. 1997, ills. cover & p.2
DMAC News, "Calendar," Jan./Feb. 1998, p.8
AN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. & b/w detail p.204, color ill. p.205
DimensionsOverall: 71 × 24 × 22 in. (180.3 × 61 × 55.9 cm)
Accession Number 1997.7
Classificationssculpture
Provenance(Marian Goodman Gallery, New York); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 1997]
Collections
