Cecilia Vicuña: Quipu Viscera
Cecilia Vicuña, Quipu Viscera, 2017, version 2025, site-specific installation of dyed and unspun wool, dimensions variable, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2023.28A-B, © 2023, Cecilia Vicuña
Cecilia Vicuña’s site-specific installation Quipu Viscera is made of hanging skeins of red, brown, and pink unspun wool. As its title suggests, it evokes the body, specifically the female form.
Description
Internationally renowned artist Cecilia Vicuña (b. 1948, Santiago, Chile) creates works that engage with deep histories of place, particularly the coastal traditions and ecology of her homeland of Chile.
Quipu Viscera is made of hanging skeins of red, brown, and pink unspun wool. As its title suggests, it evokes the body, specifically the female form. The muted pinks on its exterior give way to more saturated tones toward the center, so that the wool becomes a sort of skin that contains the organs and life within.
The word quipu, meaning "knot," comes from the Quechua language that originated in Peru. It refers to the ancient system of record-keeping using hanging, knotted strings developed in the Andes over 5,000 years ago. When the Spanish colonized the region in 1532, they outlawed the use of quipus. Vicuña is interested in quipus as a form of forbidden knowledge, passed through generations of Indigenous culture.
The work was acquired by the museum in 2023 for its permanent collection.
The installation is organized by Sarah Newman, the James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.