Siren's Song
2004
21st Century
22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Anabelle Rodriguez,
American,
b. 1973
Published by
Serie Project, Austin, TX,
b. 1993
Object Type:
PRINTS
Creation Place:
North America
Medium and Support:
Screen Print
Credit Line:
Purchased with funds provided by the Art Angels
Accession Number:
16-G-3747
Label from Border Crossings: Immigration in Contemporary Prints, La Salle University Art Museum, March 16 - June 9, 2016:
Siren's Song illustrates a fantasy tale inspired by "La Sirena" of the Mexican lotería (“lottery”) game, reconfigured here as a Pre-Columbian water goddess. She sings a love song for Huitzilopochtli, the ancient Mesoamerican hummingbird deity of the sun and warfare, and ruler of the planet Venus, the harbinger of war.
Hovering in the sky above the siren are the sun, represented by a flaming El Corazón (“heart”), also from the lotería game, as well as the planet Venus, the Morning Star.
During the summer of 2003, when this serigraph was created under the direction of master printer Paul Fucik, a unique cosmic convergence brought Mars and Earth closest together in a "perihelic opposition" of about 56 million km. apart that had not taken place since the Neanderthals roamed the earth some 60,000 years ago.
The mysterious Maya glyphs incorporated in the upper portion of the print each represent the planets, Mars and Venus, and other celestial bodies, the Sun and the Moon, appearing in the sky during the time of the artist's Serie XI residency at Coronado Studio in Austin, Texas.
In preparation for the print's design and execution, I researched Aztec and Maya iconography, as well as Mexican pop references including La Lotería and the iconic Mexican stars, the "sirens" of the middle of the 20th century such as María Félix and La Lupe. At the bottom right corner an Aztec crab deity appears, and underneath the artist included her name spelled in Maya glyphs.
— Anabelle Rodriguez
Current Location:
In Storage
by Artist
by Artist
