DNA Study Revisited

Copied Roberto Lugo, DNA Study Revisited, 2022, urethane resin life cast, foam, wire, and acrylic paint, 66 × 27 × 17 in. (167.6 × 68.6 × 43.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2024.19

Artwork Details

Title
DNA Study Revisited
Artist
Date
2022
Location
Dimensions
66 × 27 × 17 in. (167.6 × 68.6 × 43.2 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
urethane resin life cast, foam, wire, and acrylic paint
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Figure male — full length
  • Abstract
Object Number
2024.19
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2024.19

Artwork Description

For this self-portrait, Roberto Lugo painted a resin cast of his own body. 
 
Each of the four patterns represents his ancestors: from head to toe, Taíno (Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean), Spanish, African, and Portuguese. The amount of space Lugo dedicates to each pattern is proportional to its percentage in his family's heritage.
 
Lugo's sculpture is an expression of pride and self-empowerment. It counters the dehumanizing historical practice by museums and universities of collecting body casts to classify individuals into the disproven belief of "biological races."

Label text from The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture November 8, 2024 – September 14, 2025