Originally commissioned by Artpace | San Antonio
Whatacup was part of Chuck Ramirez’s “Bean & Cheese” exhibition, which came from his 2002 Artpace, San Antonio Artist in Residency Program. “In his 2008 interview with David Rubin, which occurred before a live audience, Ramirez addressed some of his canonical works, including the chocolate trays he illuminated and photographed. He took particular care to explore one of his other personal favorites: Whatacup. He explained that the legend it bore drew him to this particular object in addition to its formal elements. “That little first-person statement said, ‘When I am empty, please dispose of me properly.’ And it just seemed to typify everything I was trying to talk about — about this consumption. It seemed like an epitaph for something, for this cup.” Much has been and should be made of the theme of mortality running through Ramirez’s work. Having been diagnosed with HIV in 1990, he labored under the sentence until the late ’90s, during which time protease inhibitors and other post-AZT cocktail treatments began lengthening the lives of the positive. But even beyond this lived memento mori, Ramirez struggled with the tensions between disposability and value in his life and larger human culture.” Fisch, Sarah. “Chuck Ramirez Career Retrospective Spans Venues, Decades, and Distance,” San Antonio Current, September 13, 2017.