New Mexico wants home of famous sculptor recognized
ALBUQUERQUE — Artist Luis Jimenez is credited with helping transform the definition of public art in the U.S. with his larger-than-life, debate-provoking fiberglass sculptures.
Now, state preservation officials are pushing to get the home and studios of the late artist in southern New Mexico on the National Register of Historic Places after the sites were added to the state’s list of significant cultural properties earlier last week.
“Even though his work is relatively recent, there’s really a consensus among art historians and museum curators and art critics on his importance in late 20th century American art,” said Steven Moffson, state and national register coordinator with the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division.
New Mexico has forwarded the nomination to the National Park Service.
A decision is expected before the end of the year.
Known for his colorful and massive sculptures of Mexican cowboys, fiesta dancers and wild mustangs, Jimenez helped open the door for other MexicanAmerican artists.
He was sought out by dozens of cities to create public art, and now he’s represented everywhere from a busy walkway at the University of New Mexico to the steps of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
The son of an award-winning craftsman, Jimenez helped fabricate and paint the neon signs his father’s shop sold to businesses throughout the U.S. But it was the trips he took to Mexico City with his family when he was young that started his artistic wheels spinning.
“He was always amazed how art was accessible to everyone,” said his widow, Susan Jimenez. “That really helped, I think, to form his opinion of art, that it doesn’t have to be locked up in a museum. It can be on the street and it can influence people in a positive way.”
Jimenez found success with the New York gallery scene during the 1960s and became a master at blending his Mexican-American heritage with the political and social issues of the day.
But it wasn’t until he moved back to the Southwest that he began creating his large sculptures. More than 40 cities commissioned his art.
During his more than 20 years living and working in Hondo, Jimenez created nearly all his public sculptures in the studios, including his largest and last piece, “Mustang,” a blue horse with fiery eyes that sits outside Denver International Airport. A portion of that sculpture fell in his studio and killed him in 2006.