(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) There's a buzz in the American art community about Chicano art. And there's an example on display every day in St. Joe, at the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art.
Eric Fuson is Executive Director of the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art. He says, "We do have a work by Luis Jeminez, who is a Chicano artist. He is a graphic designer and sculptor as well as print-maker, just a very interesting artist."
One of the reasons Jiminez is famous is for his Denver Airport, demonic horse sculpture, nicknamed "Blucifer." It was his last work, and when creating the piece, part of the giant beast crushed the artist to death and his family had to complete the project.
Cheech Marin has been a collector of Chicano art most of his life and he spoke about it at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City as only he could with warmth, and of course, humor. "It all came down to, you gotta’ have a lot of money to do this." exclaimed Cheech as the crowd burst into laughter.
Marin's love for collecting Chicano art eventually led to the birth of his museum, The Cheech, in Riverside, California.
I'm grateful to be able to share the art with visitors, from now all over the world. It's almost a blessing and we hope to make it a "must see" destination when you're anywhere in the LA area.
The Cheech is a wonderful celebration of all things Chicano. Marin’s Chicano art collection grew so large, he wanted to share it with the world.
Fuson added, "Chicano art is made by Mexican artists but they're American born and so their heritage is from Mexico, but they're American born artists."
And that's the one thing that Cheech wants everyone to remember. "Chicano art is American art." added Marin, "It's homegrown."
If you’re planning a trip to Los Angeles, check out The Cheech. and of course, visit the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art to see their impressive collection. Memberships to the Albrecht Kemper are as low as $35 for an entire year.