--- title: Tracing the Contours of Race in Sculpture date: 2025-02-21T05:30:00-05:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/tracing-the-contours-of-race-in-sculpture" section: Articles --- # Tracing the Contours of Race in Sculpture *February 21, 2025* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10) > UMD Alumna Curates Landmark Smithsonian Exhibition *Lugo DNA Study Revisited Photo by Albert Ting 1920x1080 — A new exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, co-curated by UMD alum Grace Yasumura Ph.D. '19, explores the intersection of sculpture and race. "DNA Study Revisited," by Roberto Lugo (left), is one of the pieces on display.* From the reliefs on the coins in our wallets to the knickknacks in our homes and the busts that adorn civic buildings, sculpture is pervasive in American life—omnipresent to the point of becoming almost quotidian. A current exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, co-curated by University of Maryland graduate Grace Yasumura Ph.D. ’19, focuses on the ways in which that omnipresence has shaped and reflected American thinking on race. “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” featuring 82 works created from 1792 to 2023, is “the first exhibition of its kind to examine the intertwined histories of the making of race and the making of sculpture,” she said. Sculpture, more than other visual art forms, has “an immediate attachment to the body,” said Yasumura. “We recognize ourselves in the work in this really palpable way.” That immediacy, she said, also has the effect of imbuing with authority hierarchies about bodies and physicality—many of which are related to race. “This is an exhibition that really believes in a public conversation about race in this country and the role that sculpture has played in the establishment and perpetuation of devastating racial hierarchies,” said Tess Korobkin, assistant professor of American art at UMD. This semester, Korobkin is teaching a course that ties into the exhibition; students are visiting the museum several times to meet with curators and conservators to learn how the exhibit came together. Here, Yasumura walks Maryland Today through some of the pieces on display. *sculpture of man riding horse* --- *colorful sculpture of man* --- *sculpture of man climbing tree* --- *woman views platinum plantain in class case* **Miguel Luciano, “Pure Plantainum,” 2006, green plantain plated in platinum and velvet cushion** Puerto Rican artist Miguel Luciano uses the plantain—central to Caribbean cuisine and culture—as an irreverent, platinum-covered symbol of pride in this piece. Puerto Ricans in New York City were often derisively referred to as “plátanos,” the word for plantain, during the huge wave of immigration in the middle of the 20th century. Still, “the plantain has also been this symbol of pride in Latin communities,” said Yasumura. Here, Luciano has subverted stereotypes of Puerto Rican immigrants by gilding the beloved plantain in platinum, turning it into a precious object both monetarily and emotionally. --- *sculpture of cowboy holding two guns, riddled with bullet holes* **Bob Haozous, “Apache Pull Toy,” 1988, painted steel (above, far left)** In this piece, artist Bob Haozous, a citizen of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, plays with the American trope of cowboys and Indians. Historically, Indigenous people have been “turned into mascots and toys to be shot at as part of the fantasy of the old West,” said Yasumura. Here, Haozous turns the cowboy into a plaything riddled with bullet holes. “He’s playfully questioning how damaging these histories are, and he’s thinking about how generations of American children were taught to think about Indigenous people.” **Sidebar note:** “The Shape of Power” is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through Sept. 14. The museum is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. --- This is one of a series of Maryland Today features during Black History Month celebrating Terp faculty, staff, students and alums. **Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture), [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people) **Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [Visual Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/visual-arts), [Black History Month](https://today.umd.edu/topic/black-history-month), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts) **Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)