As it’s the week of Valentines I thought I might introduce a work that reflects many treats of the holiday, as well as one of our favorite collection artists.

Celia Munoz is a contemporary artist who hails from El Paso, Texas. Her artwork is conceptual, photography-based mixed-media. She often draws from her experiences living near the US-Mexico border, with her work addressing tensions between linguistic, cultural, and political worlds.  Visuals that reflect ambiguous signs and signifiers where cultures meet–  and text including word-play, puns and double meanings. 
Additional reflections of contradictions and dualities are found in imagery that blend her home, family, school and work identities.

Let’s take a closer look at one of her works below.

Sweet Nothings, 2000. CELIA MUÑOZ. Color lithograph on paper. 2013.018

You might be familiar with Saint Anthony from Judeo-Christian tradition. He is the Patron Saint of things that are lost and stolen. (Petitions are made to this saint by people who are seeking something.) The text in this work reflects the belief that St. Anthony would help a person find ANYTHING they prayed for (in this case- boyfriend) provided that person prayed for nine weeks. 

So this piece does reference a romantic relationship. But with an examination for further detail you will also find imagery of contraceptives as well as a celebratory “It’s a Boy!” cigar. This imagery alludes to pregnancy and new parenthood- mixed right in amongst a pile of candy.

Now, the visual of candy has a typically juvenile or adolescent association- it leads most to think of childhood celebrations. So what we observe is a blend of childhood and pregnancy imagery. Between this and the text that alludes to a search for a boyfriend..we might assert that the artist is addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy and perhaps single female parenthood. 

This would certainly reflect the genre of contradictions, dualities and double-meanings that Munoz’s work is well known for. Even the title of the work, Sweet Nothings, seems a play with ideas of romance, candy and the absence of something desired.


This work remains a tour favorite at the museum during Valentines Week and beyond. In addition to its fun and accessible visuals, it inspires a hunt for detail- we often find visitors taking a second look to decipher text and find brands of candy.

But I think the deeper impressions are made in its audience through its elements that surprise, and the thoughtful conversations that follow. This work often inspires a powerful, often cross-generational dialog of opinion, feeling and memory that is unique within our collection.

Erin Whitmore

Education Director