The Lowriders: Portraits from New Mexico Portfolio Box
Artist
Meridel Rubenstein
(American, born 1948)
Date1980
Mediumvelvet, sequence, fabric, cardboard, silver metalic paper
DimensionsStorage: 15 × 18 1/2 × 1 3/4 in. (38.1 × 47 × 4.4 cm)
ClassificationsPortfolio
Credit LineGift of Harvey Mudd
Object number2020.13.13
DescriptionRed velvet portfolio box specially built to house "The Lowriders: Portraits of New Mexico" photography series. There is a red velvet button at the center of the llid. Box has two tassels attached to lid and base with fabric dice attached. Dice dots are made from sequence. The interior is lined with a silver metalic paper.eMuseum Notes
Rubenstein was fairly new to New Mexico when a patron challenged her to include portraits of lowriders in her series celebrating the craftspeople of the state. At the time this picture was taken, many people saw lowriders and their clubs in a negative light and some cities banned the cars. Though initially hesitant to make contact with lowriders, Rubenstein quickly found common ground with them as fellow artists. Her resulting series of portraits and a 1980 exhibition of them, held on the Santa Fe Plaza, brought lowriders and their passion for customizing cars to a broader public and contributed to a slow shift in attitude toward appreciation and civic pride.
On View
Not on view
Herbert Matter
1965-1978
