2014.53.21
1961, Mexico (Man Harvesting Onions)
Artist
Ken Heyman
(New York, New York, 1930 - 12/10/2019, New York City, NY)
Title
1961, Mexico (Man Harvesting Onions)
Creation Date
1968
Century
mid-20th century
Dimensions
10 1/4 in. x 13 1/2 in. (26.04 cm x 34.29 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
silver gelatin print on paper
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Nicholas
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2014.53.21
In this photograph a farm worker labors during an onion harvest. In the background, full white sacks of harvested onions stand out against the empty field and represent completed work, while the sack tied around his waist and the lines of unharvested crops in the foreground represent his ongoing efforts. The agricultural system captured in this photograph stands in contrast to the indigenous methods of farming, stressing not a quasi-industrial paradigm of “production,” but rather an ethos of ecological balance committed to maintaining the health of the soil over multiple generations. The photograph also prompts the viewer to contemplate the well-being of the laborer pictured. To what extent might such methods of agriculture exploit not only the land by robbing it of its nutrients, but also the vulnerable individuals, including the poor campesinos and indigenous people forced to mass-produce crops?
Eugen Cotei ’21
“Cae una gota de agua, grande, gorda . . . cae sola. Pero no hay ningua más. No llueve . . . y a la gota caída por equivvocacion se la come la tierra y desaparece en su sed. Para que sirve [el llanto].”
“A drop of water falls, big, fat . . . it falls alone. But no others follow. It does not rain . . . and the fallen drop is eaten by the earth and disappears in its thirst. What can this land be used for?”
Juan Rulfo
Nos han dado la tierra (1953)
