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Avarice

Fernando Mastrangelo

Contemporary Art

On View:
Fernando Mastrangelo appropriates one of Mexico’s national symbols, the Aztec Calendar Stone, which dates from about 1500 and symbolizes the creation of the Aztec universe. Retaining the central skeletal face of Tonatiuh, the Sun God, Mastrangelo fills the surrounding areas with contemporary consumer products such as pharmaceuticals, soft drinks, candy, sparkplugs, and toothpaste.

The depiction of corn-based products draws attention to Mexico’s mass cultivation of corn to meet energy needs (via ethanol) and foreign consumer demands. At the same time, an iconic Aztec image suggests parallels between the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish, centuries ago, and the present-day exploitation of local Mexican corn production by North American agribusiness.
MEDIUM White corn, white and yellow corn meal, epoxy, fiberglass, wood, metal
DATES 2008
DIMENSIONS Diameter: 8 × 104 in., 650 lb. (20.3 × 264.2 cm, 294.84kg) (with mount): 12 × 104 in., 850 lb. (30.5 × 264.2 cm, 385.56kg)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 2009.5
CREDIT LINE Mary Smith Dorward Fund and Designated Purchase Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Fernando Mastrangelo (American, born 1978). Avarice, 2008. White corn, white and yellow corn meal, epoxy, fiberglass, wood, metal, Diameter: 8 × 104 in., 650 lb. (20.3 × 264.2 cm, 294.84kg). Brooklyn Museum, Mary Smith Dorward Fund and Designated Purchase Fund, 2009.5. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2009.5.jpg)
EDITION Edition: 2/3
IMAGE overall, CUR.2009.5.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT © Fernando Mastrangelo
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Fernando Mastrangelo (American, born 1978). <em>Avarice</em>, 2008. White corn, white and yellow corn meal, epoxy, fiberglass, wood, metal, Diameter: 8 × 104 in., 650 lb. (20.3 × 264.2 cm, 294.84kg). Brooklyn Museum, Mary Smith Dorward Fund and Designated Purchase Fund, 2009.5. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2009.5.jpg)