Border Art in the United States/Mexico frontier

In the ۲۱st century, humans constantly face barriers and frontiers in their living space (۱). Borders are profoundly controversial and, in most cases, provoke some clichés about migrants and bigotry. Men of authority have long fortified these notions and taken advantage of them in order to legitimize and maintain the contrasts between countries (۲, ۳). Ironically, while borders initially focus on separation, they have gathered individuals together and have provided various opportunities, similar to what Ralph Waldo Emerson claimed: every wall is a door (۴, ۵). A margin allows neighboring nations to converse and offers people a chance to express antagonism. In this case, art could be utilized as a suitable tool so as to showcase this resistance (۶, ۷, ۸). It is obvious that the location in which an artist lives influences the resulting artwork and this is also the case for artists of border regions, who are mainly engaged in theories of patriotism, dual nationality and marginalization (۹, ۱۰). Out of the opposition, hostility and outbursts of anger, which are endemic in borderlands, a novel form of art—Border Art—has arisen. This term refers to the art created on borderlands acting as an anti-border method (۱۱, ۱۲). Border Art is targeted at politics, culture and society and criticizes them (۱۰).This presentation centers on the art made in the United States/Mexico border and the encompassing regions, where one developing and one developed country lie next to each other and witness clashes every day (۲). The construction of the Secure Fence commenced in ۲۰۰۶ and it turned out that the Wall was the biggest building project of the ۲۰۰۰s, consuming millions of dollars. A group of architects designed a plan to incorporate sustainable energy and social facilities into the wall and make it much more efficient and pleasant but the authorities did not accept it, which explains why it has turned into a symbol of interrupting the landscape, nature and culture (۵, ۱۳). Nowadays, if one wants to study the art of this area, history is an influential element and should definitely be considered (۱۴). In ۱۸۴۸, a contract was agreed upon by both nations called the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty which laid the foundation of a frontier between the two states, recognized today as the United States/Mexico Barrier, the Great Wall of Mexico, Border Fence and Border Wall (۲, ۱۳). Ever since this phenomenon has been a debatable topic, however, from the ۱۹۸۰s the first official artistic movements started to appear in order to critique the American government and their policies regarding the barriers (۱۵). The reputed Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo, which was a community and consisted of artists who originated from the twin cities of San Diego and Tijuana, was founded in ۱۹۸۴ (۱۶). Patterns of banishment and diaspora could be witnessed in all members of the group and they all agreed that this Workshop was a chance for them to investigate connections between their homeland and the United States, the two languages and two cultures by means of writing, installation and performance (۱۶, ۱۷). Later on, an exhibition called La Frontera/The Border: Art about The Mexico/United States Border Experience was held in ۱۹۹۳, in which artists endeavored to transform the line or frontier into a figurative notion (۱۴). This presentation and its premise gained publicity and soon after, the number of artworks being produced in the borderlands skyrocketed (۱۱). Valeska Soares created an installation named—Picturing Paradise ۲۰۰۱—in the San Diego/Tijuana region. He enfolded the fence with stainless steel and shone it so that it could reflect the wishes and annoyance of the inhabitants and make a delusion of ideal heaven with no barriers (۳, ۸). Another renowned artwork is the Snow Globes: Souvenirs or Recuerdos— this word refers to two meanings in Spanish, one is the objects which could be bought from tourist shops and two is a reminiscence —by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello. The concentration is on the fact that these Recuerdos may be poignant but they are realistic and stem from real happenings. In addition, the architectural definition of a wall has been questioned in this collection (۱۸, ۵). This anger toward the boundary could also be seen in other forms of art such as music. The band Tijuana NO! adopted an anti-imperialist approach in its songs such as La Esquina Del Mundo. Its members considered the frontier as an illusion of the American authority, which is not effective at all, as a hurdle in everyday life and they shouted for the opening of the barrier (۱۹, ۲۰) It could be inferred that Border Art has the potential to exhibit injustice and breach of human rights. Moreover, suggests that the stability of the wall needs to be compensated by a flexible sort of reply (۱۱, ۲۱).The issues of borderlands are now understood by an abundance of people thanks to Border Artists and the advancement of transfrontier megacities such as San Diego/ Tijuana or El Paso/Ciudad Juarez (۲۲). However, the concept of the border for American citizens is still extremely different than that of Mexicans. In the US it is often conceived as an unclosed border that could be passed without much effort while on the southern parts of the barrier people see it as a site of struggles and conflicts (۱, ۲۳). Art should combat those anti-migration mindsets since artists and curators possess the power to raise awareness and challenge fixed stereotypes and common beliefs about margin, countries and ethnicity (۲۴, ۲, ۲۵). There is only one unanswered question left which asks are all artists qualified to present these hardships and be engaged in this critical activity? is Border Art a subject which anybody can assert its ownership and claim as their possessions? Or is it restricted to overlooked individuals, who are living nearby margins, and belong to them (۱۶)?

Keywords:

Border Art , borderland , the United States , Mexico , Tijuana