Discussion Questions

Unidentified Migrant Worker Brought to the Valley for the Last Harvest, from the series Death of a Valley

Pirkle Jones

November 2018

Pirkle Jones, Unidentified Migrant Worker Brought to the Valley for the Last Harvest, from the series Death of a Valley, 1956, printed 1960; collection SFMOMA, gift of an anonymous donor in memory of Merrily Page; © The Pirkle Jones Foundation

  1. What adjectives would you use to describe the figure in this work? Why did you choose those words?
  2. Does this work of art express an idea or emotion? What do you see that that makes you say that?
  3. Assume the pose of the figure in this work of art. Act out what you think might happen next.
  4. Does anything you see happening here remind you of another story you know? If yes, what is that story, and what about the work reminds you
    of it?
  5. If you were telling the story of this work, what would you call it, and why?