Border Lands

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It is About Art to Communicate Thoughts and Feelings Associated with Immigration and The Border Wall

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Abstract

Art is a powerful tool for communicating experiences and evoking emotions. It is one of the oldest forms of human communication, used to express thoughts and feelings about big and small things. The earliest known cave paintings date back more than 30,000 years. Today, art continues to express complex emotions and experiences, from the joy of seeing a beloved person to the fear of being separated from family members. This essay demonstrates that art such as murals and installations have the power to communicate, spark change, and exhibit resistance and resilience by claiming spatial ideologies through the construction of visual subjectivity. Furthermore, it aims to add layers of visual discourse by validating the role of digital photography in transforming borders. Through digital photography, the act of resistance seizes and holds the capacity to spread art beyond the place it was created and produced. Thus, photography can be part of the force to transform space and place beyond the physical borderland.

Images do not only serve as a visual to interpret subject matter regarding marginalized issues. Still, they should be viewed through multiple lenses, models, and approaches as they get produced through multi-layered scuffles, lived experiences, and generational memory. Through the use of relevant literature, the essay also discusses images of artwork that were created on the U.S-Mexico border wall between 2011 and 2017 in response to migratory policies and further militarization of the border.

Introduction

The boundary between the United States and Mexico has long been a site of political contention, with the two countries jostling over the right to control it. But the borderlands between the two countries, though they are physically distinct, are not just political or geographical spaces: they are also artistic (Rivera, 2020). The borderlands are a series of sites where artists have explored the borderlands' human, political, and cultural complexity. And the borderlands have become a place where artists have sought to make sense of the world around them and help us understand the complexity of our world and our place in it. However, much of the stuff people remember from art across borders is the outright protest art that vehemently tackles themes like human rights, immigration, and bi-national policies. Even the fence itself has been used as a canvas for influential paintings and installations. Nevertheless, border art has continued to use the wall and the people who cross it as a concept, developing performances pieces or other multimedia works meant to challenge perceptions of the international border (Garcia, 2018). The nexus between arts, culture, and immigration have long been studied in cultural studies and the humanities. The use of art to spearhead social change and spur inventive problem-solving skills is nothing new in today's society. For instance, in the city of Boston, many local artists have recently been using art to express their feelings, thoughts, and concerns about the issue of immigration as it affects so many of us (Bentz, 2020).

According to Gloria Anzaldua, borders are historic colonization sites where dominant forces have been enacted, represented, and misinterpreted historical truths. Borders are viewed as psychological as much physical as they are, and this is because they are formed through hegemony, sexual orientations, and subjugation (Sheren, 2021). They are also seen as spiritual, social, sexual, metaphorical, and economic sites as they are the limits by which people are forced to live (Mehlomakulu, 2017). Through the use of digital photography, plenty of art images have circulated on social media platforms and traditional broadcasting outlets urging individuals to view the wall as a normalized division that holds an untold certainty. Artists exploit the U.S. and Mexico border as a form of art, such as paintings, to counterattack the power organizations (Marlin-Bennett, & Marlin, 2019). The wall made at the Southern border of the U.S. is perceived as a symbol of xenophobic abuses that is often used to demonize and dehumanize the brown bodies that cross it.

History of border art

The emergence of border art can be categorized into many ways that utilize numerous mediums. However, this essay examines art created on the U.S. and Mexico borderland (Heidenry, 2017). The background of this art can be attributed to its attempts to develop a façade and installations that would connect the two physical places and an illusion to eliminate the border entirely. The first artist to use art to protest against the border wall was Ana Teresa Fernandez, a performing artist and painter. Ana was born in Tampico, Mexico, and at the age of eleven, her family moved to the United States. She has used her knowledge of art to strive to transform spaces in ways that challenge individuals' understanding of art. The second artist Marcos Ramirez of Mexico, who migrated to the United States in 1983, has accomplished many things by participating in programs that promote the utilization of art in resisting migratory regulations.

In addition, decorative borders have been used as an artistic device since ancient times, when they were carved into stone, pottery, and other objects. Also, civilizations such as the Romans and Chinese used to practice border drawing and painting as an art form. In the middle Ages, European artists such as Tiepolo, Rubens, and Rembrandt assimilated borders into their artwork. It is, therefore, crystal clear that these artistic depictions of borders reflect a transformation in political climate and alterations in global borders and identities. Conversely, border themes have ranged from the most accurate interpretation; the division between nations, continents, and seas, to a symbolic connotation seen as a separation between good and evil, a divider between life and death, the passage between night and day, and the passage between the living and the dead. In recent years we have seen a surge in what could be termed artivism, which is bringing art and activism together to protest the inequalities created by the border wall (Bristol, 2020). These activists use art to address key concerns by involving the community and other artists. They use new media technologies that facilitate their engagements with various groups. Most of the interesting examples in artivism focus on the US-Mexico border, a space that has always been under tight scrutiny recently. The work of these artists is to express the non-nation state identity and provide a critique of the late capitalist conditions of the border economy.

Through the artivists' collaborations, there have been numerous festivals and interventions on the border, such as the Border-hack festival that began in 2002. It aims to protest the inequalities and hazardous conditions faced by Mexican immigrants. The Tijuana Calling online exhibition also uses new technologies to discover concerns around the border. One of such exhibitions that use new technologies is the Turista Fronterizo which collaborates between multimedia artist Coco Fusco and Cuban-American performance and media activist Ricardo Dominguez (Kroth,2019). The electronic board game slightly resembles the monopoly format, except its properties spaced along the San Diego-Tijuana border. The game, which can be played online show on the board, comments on the socio-political realities associated with each particular location. This kind of work encourages individuals to critique the structural inequalities developed by the border economy and helps them take the best cause of action (Taylor, 2017). Another example is Ricardo Miranda’s work, his project A Geography of Being, an interactive installation consisting of a video game accompanied by sculptures that have electronic circuits capable of reacting to the game. Miranda's game narrates the experiences of a young undocumented immigrant by positioning the player in the role of undocumented youth who needs to learn about the hardships faced by other young persons.

Using art to communicate about immigration

It always takes a creative eye and an audacity in order to draw the lines and turn a symbol meant for divisions into a unifying message. Over the last decade, the world has seen many border walls that have been used as protests tools through the use of art (Peng & Selvachandran, 2019). It is, therefore, correct to say that Donald Trump was not the only president to dream of building a border wall; there have been other walls ranging from the berlin border wall to the present-day West Bank. Border walls have been used to shut out people whose religion, race, ideology, or economic status does not match that of the elites. For artists, the case is different; wherever the anti-immigration departments see opportunity, artists, on the other hand, see a canvas. For instance, two professors from California have transformed part of the U.S-Mexico border into a place where people can interact rather than viewing it as an obstacle.

Art is a medium that, in its various forms, constitutes distinguished means of communication that allows dialogues in formal, informal, and culturally plural contexts within society. It has opened windows through which people have come to understand social connections (DiGiugno, & Sewall, 2019, December). Art has been used to communicate ideas and feelings about immigration throughout history. The Irish Catholics were the first people to use the word immigrant back in 1768 when it was applied to refer to people barred from owning land. In the 19th century, artists used art to document and explore the immigrant experience in the United States. In the 20th century, artists such as David Salle used art to discover immigration in Europe and the Americas. Art has a long history of being used to express political and social beliefs. In the United States, many artists have used their work to capture, explore and express their experiences with immigration. One of the most high-profile examples is the artist collective Undocumented Nation, which uses art to demonstrate the experiences of immigrants who live in the United States without legal authorization. The collective uses art to explore the experiences of those affected by the border wall, a major symbol of the US-Mexico divide in immigration debates.

Expressing feelings and thoughts about the border wall through art

For a very long time, the border wall has been a place used by artists to express themselves through murals, paintings, sculptures, and much more. For instance, the exhibition entitled "Art on the Border,” which featured original artwork from artists from both the United States and Mexico, served as a key reminder of the diverse issues at the border (Herzog, 2021). The exhibition has been on view at the Museum of the Border at the Brownsville Southwestern University campus in Brownsville, Texas, since September 28, 2018. The major purpose why the wall was built by the U.S. government was to keep people out. Nonetheless, some people have still found ways to climb over it, see the other side, or walk around it.

Using this space, artists such as Laura Nelkin traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border and back, authenticating the data she gathered and how the wall affected her feelings and thoughts. Nelkin used photographs, paintings, and installations to communicate her feelings about the wall and the issues it raises. She further states that the wall is more than just a physical barrier between two countries; it is also a symbol of political division. The wall, which the Trump administration proposed to prevent illegal immigration, has generated controversy and protests (Villazor & Johnson, 2019). A good example is Artist J.R., who uses art to communicate political and social messages about the border wall and the political climate of the United States. From JR's lessons, the wall exhibits: ‘The Wall in context with the current political climate and J.R.'s artistic practice.'

The wall is also a canvas on which artists from both countries paint murals, stage performances, and install exhibits that explore the complex themes of immigration, globalization, and the human condition. For instance, the Border Wall Mural Project is a collaboration between the Museum of the Border and the Museo de la Ciudad in Tijuana, Mexico and is preserved at the Museum of the Border in San Ysidro, California (Juárez, 2020). The exhibition consists of 20 murals that tell the border wall story from different perspectives and provide an opportunity for audiences to experience the impact of this divisive artifact in person. The wall has become a symbol of the current political climate, with some individuals using it to demonstrate their political beliefs. Other people use the wall to express their emotions about the political situation. This project explores the role of art in communicating messages about the wall (Khanlou, et al., 2018). It uses art to communicate feelings and thoughts about the wall and explore how people use and perceive it.

Artists and activists also use the border wall to protest politics.

Possibly, one of the most fundamental roles played by the artists and activists is the way they use art to protest the neoliberal policies enforced on the border region by the U.S. government (Strehovec, 2021). For years, the U.S. acquired cheap labor from the south of the border, and most of it came from Mexican immigrants (Tellez & Ramirez, 2018). One of the reasons it became easy to get cheap labor is the U.S. policies enacted through NAFTA, which drove poor Mexicans from their land and forced them to look for jobs in the local factories owned by foreigners (Taylor, 2017). This turned out to be a compelling factor that brought together artists who lived around the border regions and from other places to fight the U.S. government's harsh policies imposed on the people. Their work is to provide nuanced and complex takes on the situations of those who live around the border region.

How the use of art has impacted the people along the border wall

The border between the United States and Mexico is 2,000 miles long, but the border begins in their living rooms for many Americans. The countless murals, sculptures, paintings, and other works of art that line the US-Mexico border tell stories about the people, the history, and the culture of the two countries. These works of art are often installed by organizations that work to raise awareness about the border and its importance to the United States, Mexico, and the world. But these large-scale art installations have also impacted how people interact with the border (McKenna, 2019). The goal of these installations was to increase awareness of the border region, increase tourism, and improve the quality of life for border residents.

The scale and scope of these works were unprecedented and created a unique form of public art that was on display to thousands of people every day. The murals often feature international solidarity and cross-border exchange scenes, and the sculptures frequently depict migrants and the environment. In some cases, art on the US-Mexico border is explicitly political, with installations and performances exploring the history of the US-Mexico border, the current state of border security and immigration, and the role of the U.S. in the world. The presence of art on the US-Mexico border has changed people's perceptions and ideas about the region and, in some cases, has led to increased interest in the natural, human, and environmental dimensions of the US-Mexico borderlands.

Future directions on the use of art in activism

In every debate over who an immigrant is, perspective is very fundamental. According to people's perspectives, depending on one's vantage point, an undocumented immigrant can be a dreamer, a fugitive, or a refugee. On the other hand, a border wall can be viewed as a shield or a needless division that splits families apart (Rivera, 2020). With most of the anti-immigrant sentiments coming from the upper political class, barriers in the way of immigration reforms are inevitably real. Therefore, observing how the wider community participates in border art can provide a critical direction for the future. The future work on border art considers the opinions of how others would interpret the artwork and understanding of who the audience for that work is.

Another future direction would involve creating art pieces on the border with a community of artists collectively coming together and deciding what visual layers they should contribute to border art. Such contributions would be performing those art pieces or developing installations. Future articles will explore how the art installations have inspired activism and how they have been used to raise awareness about social issues in the region and the world (National Communication Association, 2020). Art at the Crossroads aims to promote an inclusive understanding of the past, the present, and the future of the US-Mexico border region and its people.

Conclusion

Artists have continued to expose the cracks and the border wall’s vulnerability, including Chicano's work, who installed a huge eraser at the border in the early 1980s, Guillermo's public performance, and the Trojan horse that Tijuana-based artist Ramirez erected. These are some of the most prominent art installations as they aimed to integrate the people of the two nations. The work has sought to alter perceptions of the border and its role in the world. The installations often feature prominent themes of migration and border security, often in the context of a security or surveillance state. In some cases, the installations have become a major draw for visitors to the region, serving as a reminder that the US-Mexico border is an active place with ongoing human and environmental impacts. The installations have also served as a platform for artists and activists to raise awareness about issues such as the militarization of the border and the effects of U.S. immigration policies on the region.

Art changes people’s perceptions and ideas about the world. It can help to break down stereotypes, open people’s minds, and spark conversation about complex topics. Art is a powerful tool for social change. In the past, activists have utilized installations, performances, and street theatre to raise awareness and encourage political action. In the digital age, this tactic is even more effective. Today, we have the ability to use digital art to create experiences that are impossible in the physical world. Many social activists use art installations to encourage people to think about the day's political issues and reflect on how their actions can affect the world around them. Thus, art has always been and will continue to be a historical account of events and cultural events. The impacts of art on social change can engage people when they occur and become agents of an era of shifting ideologies.

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