Untitled (Head) / Michael Lucero

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Record Details

Accession Number
2008/2.245
Title
Untitled (Head)
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
(1953 - )
Medium and Support
glazes on white earthenware
Object Creation Date
circa 1985
Object Creation Place
North America
American
Creation Place 1
North America
Creation Place 2
American
Style/Group/Movement
neo-surrealism
Dimensions
21.59 cm x 35.56 cm x 22.86 cm (8 1/2 in. x 14 in. x 9 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Ceramic
Primary Object Type
head
Secondary Object Classification
Painting
Secondary Object Type
landscape
Physical Description
White earthenware “sleeping” head lying on its right cheek (right ear omitted to lay flat) with a geometric section of crown removed. The cut at the head is painted terra cotta, the cut at the neck painted with a landscape of a tree at the edge of a cliff. A forest scene set against pink mountains covers the face, and desert rock formations in silhouette cover the back of the head.
Subject Matter
Part of Lucero’s Dreamers series, the artist has cut away the top of the head to allow the dreamer's thoughts to spill out onto his face.
“The surface imagery of the Dreamers is crowded with personal icons from Lucero’s life, including...images of Northwest Coast totem poles recalling his years in Washington State, and the characteristically red earth and rugged landscapes of New Mexico where he spent childhood summers and has a home. While he was making the series, Lucero was not aware of the dream symbolism. However, looking back, he has realized that many of the craggy landscapes and shaped rocks and cliffs derived both from childhood associations, such as Camel Rock, which terrified him as a child, and from youthful nightmares.” (Mark Richard Leach, Barbara J. Bloemink and Lucy R. Lippard, Michael Lucero: sculpture 1976-1995, p. 53)
Secondary Keywords
upward
biological components
buildings and the land
components
components and systems
components by specific context
cultural landscapes
cultural landscapes by location or context
descriptors
european
european styles and periods
events
heads
landforms
landforms and landform components
landforms by shape or position
landscapes (environments)
modern european fine arts styles and movements
modern european styles and movements
natural landscapes
object genres
object genres by material
objects we use
people and culture
personal life events
physical activities
physical activities by general context
plants
settlements and landscapes
styles and periods
styles and periods by region
the human body
upper body
vegetation and vegetation components
vegetation components
visual works
visual works by subject type
wilderness
woody plants
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
4032 x 2476
File Size
1 MB
Record
2008/2.245
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.245/2008_2_245_view1.jpg

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Full citation
"Untitled (Head); Michael Lucero." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-2.245/2008_2_245_view1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.
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