Border Art is a contemporary art practice rooted in the socio-political experience(s), such as of those on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, or frontera. Since its conception in the mid-80's, this artistic practice has assisted in the development of questions surrounding homeland, borders, surveillance, identity, race, ethnicity, and national origin(s).
Border art as a conceptual artistic practice, however, opens up the possibility for artists to explore similar concerns of identity and national origin(s) but whose location is not specific to the Mexico- United States border. A border can be a division, dividing groups of people and families. Borders can include but are not limited to language, culture, social and economic class, religion, and national identity. In addition to a division, a border can also conceive a borderland area that can create a cohesive community separate from the mainstream cultures and identities portrayed in the communities away from the borders, such as the Tijuana-San Diego border between Mexico and the United States.
Border art can be defined as an art that is created in reference to any number of physical or imagined boundaries. This art can but is not limited to social, political, physical, emotional and/or nationalist issues. Border art is not confined to one particular medium. Border art/artists often address the forced politicization of human bodies and physical land and the arbitrary, yet incredibly harmful, separations that are created by these borders and boundaries. These artists are often "border crossers" themselves. They may cross borders of traditional art-making (through performance, video, or a combination of mediums). They may at once be artists and activists, existing in multiple social roles at once. Many border artists defy easy classifications in their artistic practice and work.
History of Border Art specific to the Mexico-United States Border The first artwork relating to border art was a multimedia piece title Siluetas Encarnadas, or Incarnated Silhouettes, by Zopilote (Manuel Mancillas). This piece was performed by Zopilote an consisted of music, dance, and a bilingual spoken word. Although there was no direct reference to the U.S.-Mexico border, it portrays Zopilote's vision of the chaotic, cultural convergence of the borderland
Ila Nicole Sheren states, "Border Art didn't become a category until the Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo (BAW/TAF). Starting in 1984, and continuing in several iterations through the early twenty-first century, the binational collective transformed San Diego-Tijuana into a highly charged site for conceptual performance art ...The BAW/TAF artists were to link performance, site-specificity, and the U.S.-Mexico Border, as well as the first to export "border art" to other geographic locations and situations." A proponent of Border Art is Guillermo Gómez-Peña, founder of The Border Arts Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo.Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice. Ed. Gary L. Anderson and Kathryn G. Herr. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference, 2007. p627-628. The Border Arts Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo pioneered tackling the political tensions of the borderlands, at a time when the region was gaining increased attention from the media due to the NAFTA debates. The contradiction of the border opening to the free flow of capital but simultaneously closing to the flow of immigrants provided the opportunity to address other long-existing conflicts within the region.
Antonio Prieto argues that "As opposed to folk artists, the new generation belongs to the middle class, has formal training and self-consciously conceives itself as a producer of 'border art.' Moreover, their art is politically charged, and assumes a confrontational stance vis-à-vis both Mexican and U.S. government policies."
In their introduction to the exhibition, La Frontera/The Border: Art About the Mexico/United States Border Experience, Patricio Chávez and Madeleine Grynstejn state, “For the artists represented here, the border is not a physical boundary line separating two sovereign nations, but rather a place of its own, defined by a confluence of cultures that is not geographically bounded either to the north or to the south. The border is the specific nexus of an authentic zone of hybridized cultural experience, reflecting the migration and cross-pollination of ideas and images between different cultures that arise from real and constant human, cultural, and sociopolitical movements. In this decade, borders and international boundaries have become paramount in our national consciousness and in international events. As borders define the economy, political ideology, and national identity of countries throughout the world, so we should examine our own borderlands for an understanding of ourselves and each other.” Prieto notes that “While the first examples of Chicano art in the late sixties took up issues of land, community and oppression, it was not until later that graphic artists like Rupert García began to explicitly depict the border in their work. García's 1973 silkscreen "¡Cesen Deportación!," for example, calls for an end to the exploitative treatment of migrant workers who are allowed to cross the border and are then deported at the whim of U.S. economic and political interests.”
Prieto notes that for Mexican and Chicano artists, the aesthetics of rascuache created a hybrid of Mexican and American visual culture. While it does not have an exact English translation, the term, rascuache, can be likened to the artistic term, kitsch. It translates most closely from Spanish as "leftover" with a sensibility closest to the English term, kitsch.
Related artworks Border Tuner is a project by the Mexican-Canadian Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer that explores connections which exist between cities and people on either side of the Mexico - United States border. Situated in the El Paso / Juarez borderlands, this interactive work utilizes large searchlights as a means for participants on either side of the border to communicate with one another. When one beam of light interacts with another, a microphone and speaker automatically switch on allowing participants on both sides to communicate across the hardened infrastructure which divides their two countries. The searchlight, most commonly used in applications of surveillance and apprehension of migrants by the United States Border Patrol is one of the symbols which Lozano-Hemmer subverts in his work. Of this loaded symbol he says: “I find searchlights absolutely abhorrent, that’s why I must work with them.”
Photographer David Taylor focused on the U.S.-Mexico border by following monuments that mark the official borders of the United States and México outlined as a result of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. He quotes on his website, “My travels along the border have been done both alone and in the company of agents. In total, the resulting pictures are intended to offer a view into locations and situations that we generally do not access and portray a highly complex physical, social and political topography during a period of dramatic change.” In his project, Taylor has covered physical borders by documenting the environment and landscape along the border but also addresses social issues by engaging with locals, patrolman, smugglers, and many other people living in and being affected by the U.S.-México border. He also chooses to address political issues by focusing on the large issue of drug trafficking.
Borrando La Frontera (Erasing the Border) by Ana Teresa Fernandez challenges the materiality of the U.S./Mexico border through its erasure of the structure. In the film, Ana Teresa Fernandez hopes to “[turn] a wall that divides into the ocean and the sky that expands” into a symbol for potential future mobility. By making the border the same color as the sky, rendering it invisible, the artist draws attention to the naturalized sense of nation in opposition to the natural landscape. The artist creates new meaning for the sky's natural blue color, as she uses it to symbolize a geography with open borders and freedom of movement. By painting this idea over the border fence, Fernandez and her collaborators The film also emphasizes the natural elements of the scene The birds' and the water's movement, unfazed by the fence, attest to the redundancy of the fence and the politics of the U.S./Mexico border. Artesania & Cuidado (Craft & Care) by Tanya Aguiñiga serves as a collection of the artists work in activism, design, and documentation. Specifically, Aguiñiga's entry way to the gallery sets the tone for the exhibition. Aguiñiga is also responsible for AMBOS — Art Made Between Opposite Sides. The project consisting of artworks made that foster a sense of interconnectedness in border regions. The project is multifaceted and presents itself in the form of documentary, activism, community engagement, and collaboration to activate the U.S./ Mexico border, exploring identities affected by the luminal zone of the border and to promote healthy relationships from one side of the border to the other.
Another artist tackling the contentions of the United States/Mexico border is Judi Werthein, who in 2005 created a line of shoes titled, Brinco, Spanish for the word Jump. These shoes would be distributed, free of charge, to people in Tijuana looking to cross the border. Werthein explains, "The shoe includes a compass, a flashlight because people cross at night, and inside is included also some Tylenol painkillers because many people get injured during crossing." Additionally, the shoes featured removable soles with a map of the San Diego/Tijuana border, specifically indicating favorable routes to take. On the back of the ankle of the shoe is an image of Toribio Romo González, the saint dedicated to Mexican migrants. The shoes themselves were made cheaply and mass-produced from China, imitating the means of production abused by many American companies. These shoes would also be sold in small boutique shops in San Diego for $215 a pair, advertised to the higher class audience as "one-of-a-kind art objects." The profits of this venture would then be donated to a Tijuana shelter aiding migrants in need.
Jorge Rojas's performance art is complex in its approach of reflecting his cross-cultural experiences in both Mexico and America. Rojas was born in Morelos, Mexico, and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. This change in residence has informed the changes in his work regarding his feelings of home vs. homeland. His work examines this change in homeland in ways that highlight his foreignness and his awareness of both cultures. His performance pieces often combine Mexican cultural themes with a performance style that creates a new space to identify the constant change in cultural identity.
History of border art specific to Palestine-Israel
In June 2005, performance artist Francis Alÿs walked from one end of Jerusalem to the other performing The Green Line. In this performance, Alÿs is carrying a can filled with green paint. The bottom of the can was perforated with a small hole, so the paint dripped out as a continuous squiggly line on the ground as he walked. The route he followed was one drawn in green on a map as part of the armistice after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, indicating land under the control of the new state of Israel. Alÿs restricted his walking to a 15-mile stretch through a divided Jerusalem, a hike that took him down streets, through yards and parks, and over rocky abandoned terrain. Julien Deveaux documented the walk alongside Alÿs.
Artist invested in Palestine/Israel art: