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Title
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Broken Column: Mother
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Description
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This work was originally exhibited at ArtPace, a San Antonio, Texas, foundation for contemporary art, and was part of an installation addressing life, death, and spirituality. It was part of a three piece installation called “State of Grace: Angels for the Living/Prayers for the Dead.” “Broken Column: Mother” was the central work and dealt with the death of Vargas’s mother, Susie Salcedo Vargas (1915-1996). Here, photographs have been placed in a cruciform manner. At the very top is Susie’s face. The central panels represent her torso. The lower image shows her legs and feet. Flanking the central column are superimposed images that include the mother’s hand on the left and, on the right, a picture of Susie holding her child’s hands. The child’s gaze falls on her mother’s body, as if to acknowledge the body’s eventual failure. To take the photograph, Vargas asked her mother’s permission. Her mother responded that the artist could do anything that would help her daughter process the mother’s death. Hand-colored gelatin silver print. Approximate dimensions: 96” x 60”
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Image
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https://artist-encuentro.elevator.umn.edu/fileManager/bestDerivativeByFileId/6a8c589a8aeffac19a00de82
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Collection
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Summer 2026
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Access Rights
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© 1997, Kathy Vargas. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the written consent of the artist. The image may be used for educational personal individual uses and with credit to the artist.
