Los Amigos Americanos (Our American friends) [miniature scene depicting two Americans at home]

Los Amigos Americanos (Our American friends) [miniature scene depicting two Americans at home] , 1985–1995

Where object was made: Oaxaca, Mexico

Material/technique: paper; glass; wood; paint; ceramic

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 6.5 x 10 x 4.5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 2 9/16 x 3 15/16 x 1 3/4 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Argersinger Fund

Accession number: 2007.4280

Not on display

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Label texts

Visible and Divisible America: In Conversation with the 2019–2020 KU Common Book

In Tales of Two Americas, Dagoberto Gilb recalls spending time with a fruit vendor in Oaxaca and admiring the satisfaction she derived from her labor and her life. Gilb contrasts this experience to the unappreciated privilege he often encounters among Americans. In these examples of folk art associated with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the working-class world of typical Oaxacans is sharply contrasted to the leisurely lives of “Americanos.”

Visible and Divisible America: In Conversation with the 2019–2020 KU Common Book

Archive label, Watkins Museum exhibit, date unknown:
Although this piece portrays a typical American family, it is also a portrait of a typical middle-class Mexican family. It suggests that well-off Mexicans have sold out to the yanquis (Yankees). The mirror reflects the viewer's face, asking, "Are you one of them?