Chagoya is renowned for his biting political and social satire that exposes foibles, shortcomings, and corruption in contemporary life. In much of his early work, he invoked the imagery of Goya's eighteenth-century prints, such as in The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters from The Return to Goya's Caprichos. Published in 1999 (two centuries after Goya's publication), in the print fighter jets, missiles, and a helicopter replace Goya's bats and owls. They perhaps refer to the NATO bombing campaign in the Balkans during that year or, more likely, serve as a general warning of the dangers of militarism and the futility of war.

Karin Breuer