Coyote Tales No. 1 (from the series Coyote Tales)
Artist
Cara Romero
(American, Chemahuevi, born 1977)
Date2017 (printed 2018)
Mediumpigment print
DimensionsImage: 35 × 35 in. (88.9 × 88.9 cm)
Support: 41 1/8 × 41 1/8 in. (104.5 × 104.5 cm)
Mat: 42 × 42 1/8 in. (106.7 × 107 cm)
Support: 41 1/8 × 41 1/8 in. (104.5 × 104.5 cm)
Mat: 42 × 42 1/8 in. (106.7 × 107 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Loren G. Lipson, M.D., 2018
Object number2018.10
DescriptionThree young people standing near a white car outside a building that bears a neon sign reading “SAINTS AND SINNERS” and one reading “CERVEZA SOL.” The woman at far left wears two long braids, chandelier earrings, and a dark coat with a black-and-white patterned dress underneath; she leans against the front of the car with her right hand in her coat pocket and her ankles crossed. The center figure is wearing jeans, black converse sneakers and a plaid jacket in addition to a coyote tail and a bowler hat with coyote ears; he is holding a bunch of red flowers behind his back. The figure at right is wearing jeans, suede boots with silver decorations and a stylish, highly adorned waist-length jacket; she wears necklaces and her hair is piled on top her head. Female figures at left and right look obliquely at viewer.eMuseum Notes
The photograph was made in Espanola, New
Mexico. “Saints and Sinners” is a liquor store located at 503 S. Riverside Dr., Española, NM 87532. The artist writes that the idea for the
picture “came from the crossover lowrider subculture that transcends the
geography of both the Santa Fe area to Phoenix all the way over to SoCal, as
well as transcends the culture of both Chicano and Natives. I am beginning to
show how these subcultures look from a Native lens. I used Coyote in the
photograph to represent the beloved trickster, our naughty Coyote character
from our stories who is always making questionable choices and often mistakes,
but we love him nonetheless. We often learn from him and his mistakes. By
having Coyote in this photo we can both celebrate the subculture while
acknowledging our human nature to choose naughty over nice (without judgment).
Everyone in the photo is meant to evoke omniscience. We are all Saints and
Sinners.” In
a conversation with Katherine Ware about this piece, the artist says that the
image is meant to be lighthearted and about being less judgmental about the
decisions you make in life. She notes that the women in the picture are “going
into it with eyes open.”
On View
Not on viewCollections
William Penhallow Henderson
circa 1910