A MEXICAN IN EVERY KITCHEN
This body of work concerns Mexican kitchen workers - the Cocineros who staff nearly every restaurant in New York City. Kitchen exhaust hoods are part of the imagery used to explore this topic of immigrant labor. The Hood Drawings symbolize the hidden layers of struggle and success inherent in the complex lives of those individuals who travel, and cross border frontiers to find work. Beyond the United States trope of wide open vistas and unlimited potential this work shows America grounded in a hard reality. The hidden working class provides the essential backbone of this economy's labor needs. These art works show a link between America’s insatiable need for growth and prosperity supplied by a migrant labor force. During the great depression of the 1930's President Hoover's campaign slogan said that every American should have: "A chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage." America would not have it's Chicken in Every Pot without the hidden working class to provide it.
