Gotta Catch ‘Em All
2016
Michael Menchaca
Michael Menchaca (American, b. 1985)
Prints
Gotta Catch ‘Em All, 2016. Michael Menchaca (American, b. 1985), Julia Samuels (American), Overpass Projects (American, 2015-). Color screenprint; image: 60.5 x 44.1 cm (23 13/16 x 17 3/8 in.); sheet: 70 x 51.9 cm (27 9/16 x 20 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Donald and Toni Scherzer in honor of Jack and Linda Lissauer 2021.185 © Michael Menchaca Texas-based artist Michael Menchaca uses the stacked forms and flattened compositions of Mayan codices—the earliest books in Latin American culture—to comment on current social issues. This print’s title references the popular video game Pokémon but connects its emphasis on capturing with violence on the border and against Black Americans by featuring a group of uniformed men with guns drawn surrounding Mesoamerican bird-headed figures. Michael Menchaca is influenced by the aesthetic of video games; for example, the red, white, and blue round form at upper right is adopted from the Japanese gaming franchise Pokémon.
- Maker/Artist
- Michael Menchaca
- Classification
- Formatted Medium
- color screenprint
- Medium
- color, screenprint
- Dimensions
- Image: 60.5 x 44.1 cm (23 13/16 x 17 3/8 in.); Sheet: 70 x 51.9 cm (27 9/16 x 20 7/16 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: signed and dated, lower right, in pencil: Michael Menchaca 2016; inscribed, bottom center, in pencil: Gotta Catch 'Em All; inscribed, lower left, in pencil: 13/25; embossed, lower right: chopmark of Overpass Projects Inscription: In graphite, recto, center: “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!” Inscription: In graphite, recto, lower left: “13/25” Inscription: Embossed lower right
- Departments
- Prints
- Accession Number
- 2021.185
- Credit Line
- Gift of Donald and Toni Scherzer in honor of Jack and Linda Lissauer
- Rights Statement
- Copyrighted undefined
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