Artist
René Peña González(Cuban, born 1957)Cuban, born 1957
CultureCuban
Titles
- from the series Ritos II
- from the series Rites II
Date1995
PlaceCuba
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 17 15/16 × 11 15/16 in. (45.6 × 30.3 cm)
Sheet: 19 13/16 × 15 15/16 in. (50.3 × 40.5 cm)
Sheet: 19 13/16 × 15 15/16 in. (50.3 × 40.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Clinton T. Willour in honor of Jake and Betty Mooney
Object number98.90
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 314
Exposé
Explore Further
Department
PhotographySpecial Collections
Object Type
Since the early 1990s, René Peña has used the nude male body, often his own, to address issues of sexuality, machismo, spirituality, and his role as an Afro-Cuban man in society. The simply composed close-ups of his Rites series translate rituals and icons into a personal, erotic system of meaning. Animal motifs imitate religious sacrifices as they speak to a time in Cuba when the private breeding of small animals was legalized to counter the island’s food crisis.
Provenance[FotoFest International, Houston]; purchased by MFAH, 1998.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso bottom left in pencil " De la senè Ritos II 194 P/A "
bottom right below signature " Rene Pena Gonzales "
bottom right below signature " Rene Pena Gonzales "
verso bottom right in pencil " René Peña "
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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