Marisol, Women and Dog, 1964

Narrator: Pop quiz: Which of the four people in this playful sculpture represent the Venezuelan artist, Marisol?

Answer: All of them!

That’s right: the black-and-white photo of the woman with the green skirt is. . .Marisol. The two women with multiple faces? They’re topped with plaster casts of the artist’s own face. And the child? Also Marisol. She used her own image in her sculpture a lot. Some people described these works as being autobiographical. But Marisol said that it was just easiest to be the model herself—she was always available!

These fancy ladies are really dressed up. Take a moment to walk around their blocky bodies. Notice that Marisol hasn’t created all of their clothes and features in the same way. Some are painted, some are sculpted—did you notice that one woman’s bottom? Marisol even used some real things—like the girl’s bow, and the taxidermied dog’s head. The sculpture is like a kind of puzzle: notice how real things and images fit together.