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Art21: Borderlands
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A vast geography encompassing open deserts and densely populated metropolises, the borderland between the United States and Mexico has long been a site of not only political conflict and social struggle but also intense creative ferment. Taking a new curatorial and filmmaking approach, Art21: Art in the Twenty First Century connects and juxtaposes a group of acclaimed artists as they work along the U.S.-Mexico border, interweaving their stories to chronicle the creative responses to one of most divisive moments in the history of this area. From an epic interactive searchlight installation along the El Paso–Juárez divide to a deeply personal performance at the Tijuana border wall, these artists consider the border as an open wound, a theatrical stage, a political podium, a studio, and a contradictory landscape that features both ugliness and beauty. This episode explores how contemporary art can reveal the new and unexpected, asking viewers to question their preconceived notions of a place seemingly made familiar by mass media. Ultimately, the artists featured in this film, Tanya Aguiñiga, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Richard Misrach, and the Postcommodity collective, challenge themselves and audiences to embrace a more empathetic view of one of the most contested areas in North America.
Citation
Main credits
Wiland, Ava (film director)
Wiland, Ava (film producer)
Salazar Moreno, Rafael (film director)
Lozano-Hemmer, Rafael (on-screen participant)
Misrach, Richard (on-screen participant)
Aguiñiga, Tanya (on-screen participant)
Moore, Okema T. (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematography, Rafael Salazar Moreno; editor, Rafael Salazar Moreno, Russell Yafe; music, Joel Pickard.
Distributor subjects
Culture + Identity; Migration Studies; International Relations; Sociology; Visual Arts; LatinxKeywords
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♪uplifting music♪
00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:54.200
♪lively strings♪
00:01:39.233 --> 00:01:42.567
-[Rafael] Someone said that art,
it's the only profession that
00:01:42.567 --> 00:01:46.200
you could, you know, play
like a kid when you're,
00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.033
like, a grown 52-year-old.
00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:54.867
-[Kade] It's looking
pretty good out here.
00:01:54.867 --> 00:01:56.200
-[Cristóbal] It's looking good.
00:01:56.600 --> 00:01:58.900
This could be our,
uh, opportunity.
00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:00.700
-[Kade] Yeah, I
think this is it.
00:02:20.533 --> 00:02:22.700
-Um, we're starting
the lights today.
00:02:22.700 --> 00:02:23.400
-[man over radio] Okay, cool.
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:24.367
We're ready.
00:02:24.367 --> 00:02:25.700
-[Rafael] Okay, copy.
00:02:38.367 --> 00:02:39.867
-[Richard] Just follow me and
I'll let you know if I see a
00:02:39.867 --> 00:02:40.600
snake.
00:02:40.600 --> 00:02:41.600
-[man] Okay.
00:02:44.267 --> 00:02:46.767
-[Richard] On first look, a lot
of my work could look like it's
00:02:46.767 --> 00:02:48.700
documentary or
social documentary.
00:02:48.700 --> 00:02:52.200
But I go to great lengths to
make them really transcend just
00:02:52.200 --> 00:02:54.600
being a mere fact.
00:02:56.200 --> 00:02:57.200
[shutter click]
00:02:58.200 --> 00:02:59.867
I want to make them so
beautiful that you have
00:02:59.867 --> 00:03:01.700
to look and then
think about them.
00:03:03.600 --> 00:03:06.433
Just to really slow down and
consider and just think...
00:03:07.367 --> 00:03:08.867
"This doesn't look right.
00:03:09.867 --> 00:03:11.567
Is-- is it right?"
00:03:30.433 --> 00:03:35.433
♪Spanish-language
music playing from radio♪
00:04:07.100 --> 00:04:11.700
-[Tanya] I grew up in Tijuana
on the border with San Diego.
00:04:13.700 --> 00:04:15.933
I would cross the border
everyday to go to school in the
00:04:15.933 --> 00:04:16.933
US.
00:04:23.200 --> 00:04:28.200
As a child, I was constantly
being marked by my border
00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:29.400
identity.
00:04:30.200 --> 00:04:33.200
Not belonging to
anybody, not belonging to,
00:04:33.200 --> 00:04:35.033
like, the US or Mexico.
00:05:01.700 --> 00:05:05.867
-[Tanya] A lot of my work is
about visibility and is about
00:05:05.867 --> 00:05:09.567
more representation and having
more people see themselves or
00:05:09.567 --> 00:05:12.267
their struggles mirrored.
00:05:17.033 --> 00:05:19.933
I think the
Borderlands mean, like,
00:05:19.933 --> 00:05:21.867
really opposing
things to people.
00:05:21.867 --> 00:05:25.933
For a lot of us that have grown
up there and kind of seen the
00:05:25.933 --> 00:05:29.367
effects of living next to the
border on the Mexican side,
00:05:29.367 --> 00:05:32.733
I kind of experienced it a
lot as a place of death.
00:05:34.700 --> 00:05:37.033
Like, a desecration of land.
00:05:37.567 --> 00:05:39.867
As a place that
divides families.
00:05:40.233 --> 00:05:44.733
As a place that, sadly, a lot
of people perish at 'cause of
00:05:44.733 --> 00:05:47.533
their thought of the Borderlands
as being a place of hope.
00:05:48.033 --> 00:05:49.733
Like, the Promised Land.
00:05:50.033 --> 00:05:54.267
This place where you make a
migration north and you end up
00:05:54.267 --> 00:05:56.700
in this place that is more
beautiful than anything you've
00:05:56.700 --> 00:05:58.033
ever imagined.
00:05:58.700 --> 00:06:02.367
But for the most part, people
kind of get smacked with just
00:06:02.367 --> 00:06:04.733
the reality of the border wall.
00:06:05.867 --> 00:06:09.200
♪melancholic music♪
00:06:09.200 --> 00:06:11.267
And I think that
constant influx of
00:06:11.267 --> 00:06:15.200
new groups of people coming into
the border makes the Borderlands
00:06:15.200 --> 00:06:20.200
a really experimental place
for how societies can recreate
00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:22.867
themselves.
00:06:42.867 --> 00:06:46.200
[electrical hum]
00:06:59.967 --> 00:07:02.067
-[Richard] I think
photography is a magical,
00:07:02.067 --> 00:07:03.367
powerful medium.
00:07:04.233 --> 00:07:07.400
We all take pictures of our
loved ones and vacations and
00:07:07.400 --> 00:07:08.667
things like that.
00:07:08.667 --> 00:07:12.200
But then, when you use it in a
way that transcends that level,
00:07:12.200 --> 00:07:14.600
it does bear witness
like no other medium.
00:07:17.400 --> 00:07:19.367
Over the years, I've
photographed many different
00:07:19.367 --> 00:07:22.733
kinds of cultural activities
where nature and culture
00:07:22.733 --> 00:07:23.733
collide.
00:07:24.100 --> 00:07:28.067
♪delicate piano♪
00:07:28.767 --> 00:07:31.033
And it wasn't
until I worked in the
00:07:31.033 --> 00:07:34.067
open American desert that I
felt like I found my niche.
00:07:35.867 --> 00:07:39.700
In a funny way, our culture
stands out in very clear relief
00:07:39.700 --> 00:07:40.700
in the desert.
00:07:42.567 --> 00:07:45.933
I discovered things like
military bombing ranges...
00:07:46.267 --> 00:07:47.867
the nuclear test site...
00:07:48.367 --> 00:07:49.900
space shuttle landings...
00:07:50.567 --> 00:07:51.767
man-made fires...
00:07:52.267 --> 00:07:53.567
man-made floods.
00:07:55.867 --> 00:07:58.600
I started working on these
projects of just photographing
00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:02.267
the landscapes with traces
of human civilization in it.
00:08:04.067 --> 00:08:06.733
I was constantly reconciling
this idea of the beauty of the
00:08:06.733 --> 00:08:11.100
place and ugliness exists
side-by-side in the American
00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:12.100
desert West.
00:08:14.867 --> 00:08:17.867
To me, that was a part of
America that anything that
00:08:17.867 --> 00:08:21.067
showed up there told you
about larger American issues,
00:08:21.067 --> 00:08:23.700
and global ones,
for that matter.
00:08:24.533 --> 00:08:26.100
[blast]
00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:38.367
Essentially, what I'd do
over the years is I'd just
00:08:38.367 --> 00:08:42.900
travel the American desert and
wander around and look for new
00:08:42.900 --> 00:08:44.400
projects, new ideas.
00:08:44.867 --> 00:08:48.233
And I just saw this photograph
of this blue barrel and the blue
00:08:48.233 --> 00:08:49.867
flag in the middle of nowhere.
00:08:49.867 --> 00:08:50.567
I just photographed it.
00:08:50.567 --> 00:08:52.033
I didn't even know what it was.
00:08:52.400 --> 00:08:55.267
It wasn't until many years
later I learned that different
00:08:55.267 --> 00:08:58.733
humanitarian groups would put
water out for migrants coming
00:08:58.733 --> 00:08:59.967
across the border.
00:09:00.333 --> 00:09:02.267
I decided to do a
whole series of them.
00:09:02.267 --> 00:09:04.433
And I would find
these in every state.
00:09:04.433 --> 00:09:06.200
You know, California,
Arizona, New Mexico,
00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:07.433
and Texas.
00:09:07.433 --> 00:09:11.533
So this photograph was the first
one that gave me the idea that
00:09:11.533 --> 00:09:14.567
kind of became
the Border Cantos.
00:09:15.567 --> 00:09:16.867
♪melancholic music♪
00:09:16.867 --> 00:09:20.600
So I spent the next five years
traveling along the US-Mexico
00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.233
border from the coast
where the wall goes into the
00:09:23.233 --> 00:09:27.200
ocean all the way to
the Texas Gulf of Mexico.
00:09:28.533 --> 00:09:32.200
One of the things I've learned
from this series is that until
00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:35.367
you go see this place yourself,
you have no idea what's really
00:09:35.367 --> 00:09:36.733
going on there.
00:09:44.367 --> 00:09:45.867
-[Kade] When I look
at the Borderlands,
00:09:45.867 --> 00:09:50.867
I see a-- a clear
demarkation of colonization.
00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:55.200
That's the underlining
meaning of that border.
00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:57.333
♪wistful music♪
00:09:57.333 --> 00:10:02.200
Postcommodity was founded as
an interdisciplinary indigenous
00:10:02.433 --> 00:10:03.700
artist collective.
00:10:04.933 --> 00:10:08.600
We've got to start including
an indigenous worldview in
00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:10.933
relationship to the border.
00:10:16.033 --> 00:10:18.533
-[Cristóbal] The idea of the
balloons is to intersect the
00:10:18.533 --> 00:10:23.533
US-Mexico border that signified
a suturing or connecting of--
00:10:24.767 --> 00:10:26.867
of the Americas together.
00:10:28.367 --> 00:10:31.700
-[Kade] In indigenous cultures,
this eye means an open eye,
00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:35.033
an eye that's aware, an
eye that's knowledgeable,
00:10:35.033 --> 00:10:37.767
but also an eye
that is accountable.
00:10:38.767 --> 00:10:41.533
-And these are places where
indigenous children from all
00:10:41.533 --> 00:10:45.900
throughout Latin America have
journeyed to on their own in
00:10:45.900 --> 00:10:49.200
search of some kind of
safety, only to find themselves
00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:50.433
imprisoned...
00:10:51.233 --> 00:10:54.433
in some of the most
unsafe spaces on Earth.
00:10:56.033 --> 00:10:57.067
-Fully-dehumanized.
00:10:57.067 --> 00:10:58.367
-Fully-dehumanized.
00:10:58.367 --> 00:11:00.433
Just-- just like our ancestors.
00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:08.600
This work is testimony that
indigenous people presupposed
00:11:08.933 --> 00:11:11.567
this hard-edged border.
00:11:13.067 --> 00:11:15.233
Suturing is remembering.
00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:16.567
-[Kade] And healing.
00:11:16.567 --> 00:11:18.033
-[Cristóbal]
You're reasserting...
00:11:19.367 --> 00:11:21.767
one's place on the land.
00:11:22.867 --> 00:11:26.367
The idea that you can
take a site of contest,
00:11:26.367 --> 00:11:31.367
conflict, and controversy and
reimagine it into a place of
00:11:32.233 --> 00:11:37.233
curiosity, where people can
sense the world and share those
00:11:37.933 --> 00:11:41.567
experiences with one another,
00:11:41.567 --> 00:11:46.567
that's what overrides that
baser hunger for justice.
00:11:52.367 --> 00:11:57.367
[paper bags crinkling]
00:12:24.867 --> 00:12:29.700
♪ethereal music♪
00:12:29.700 --> 00:12:32.567
-[Rafael] Many of my works
involve this process of taking,
00:12:32.567 --> 00:12:35.033
like, a portrait
of a participant,
00:12:35.033 --> 00:12:38.033
for example, like, of their face
or their fingerprint or their
00:12:38.033 --> 00:12:38.900
heartbeat...
00:12:38.900 --> 00:12:40.600
[heartbeat]
00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:43.367
and then making
it into a landscape.
00:12:44.767 --> 00:12:47.367
Because it-- it's
beautiful to see your heartbeat,
00:12:47.367 --> 00:12:50.900
but it's more beautiful to see
it in relationship to all these
00:12:50.900 --> 00:12:51.900
others.
00:12:52.267 --> 00:12:55.867
That's the kind of complexity
that I'm interested in evoking.
00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:58.700
♪ominous music♪
00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:02.400
-[Rafael] We're living in a
society where these technologies
00:14:02.400 --> 00:14:04.033
are inescapable.
00:14:04.900 --> 00:14:08.700
In the context of the border,
having surveillance systems or
00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:12.700
the searchlights of the Border
Patrol choppers looking for
00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:13.700
migrants.
00:14:16.067 --> 00:14:19.767
A lot of the work that I do
with technology is a perversion,
00:14:19.767 --> 00:14:23.900
a perversion of their original
intent to create critical or
00:14:23.900 --> 00:14:25.700
poetic responses.
00:14:29.367 --> 00:14:31.933
I'm a Mexican
immigrant in Canada,
00:14:31.933 --> 00:14:35.733
but when I would hear when
Trump Administration talk about
00:14:35.733 --> 00:14:40.200
Mexicans being rapists, using
Mexicans as this escape valve
00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:42.433
for all this
hatred, you feel that,
00:14:42.433 --> 00:14:44.033
you feel that personally.
00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:53.200
Now, more than ever, when
this nationalism's come in,
00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:55.200
is when art is required.
00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:57.400
It is required to
establish dialogue,
00:14:57.400 --> 00:15:00.700
to ask questions, to
bring people together,
00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:01.867
you know?
00:15:01.867 --> 00:15:04.033
And it sound a little bit naive,
but in the history of art,
00:15:04.033 --> 00:15:05.233
it's always been the case.
00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.733
And I felt, "Okay, this is time
to come up with a work that can
00:15:10.733 --> 00:15:12.533
make a contribution in the area.
00:15:12.533 --> 00:15:13.700
-[Rafael] Oh, that's cool.
00:15:14.533 --> 00:15:15.767
-[Rafael] The work
that I'm doing now,
00:15:15.767 --> 00:15:20.233
"Border Tuner," which present
this continuous symbolic bridge
00:15:20.233 --> 00:15:24.867
across El Paso into
Juarez using searchlights,
00:15:24.867 --> 00:15:26.900
not to look for
individuals, but rather,
00:15:26.900 --> 00:15:29.933
to look for relationships
between individuals.
00:15:29.933 --> 00:15:34.933
♪bittersweet music♪
00:15:51.867 --> 00:15:55.400
♪ambient music♪
00:15:55.400 --> 00:15:58.700
-[Tanya] When I started
thinking about a new project,
00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:00.533
I just kept
thinking about, like,
00:16:00.533 --> 00:16:05.033
the heaviness of bearing witness
to these really horrible things
00:16:05.033 --> 00:16:06.200
on the border.
00:16:07.367 --> 00:16:12.067
I wanted to make a piece to
physically expel these things
00:16:12.067 --> 00:16:15.367
that I had unearthed
and this scar that I,
00:16:15.367 --> 00:16:18.033
you know, keep digging
open and digging open.
00:16:19.233 --> 00:16:21.533
The glass pieces make up a suit.
00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:27.367
The headpiece is inspired
by Mesoamerican imagery.
00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:33.233
The huarache is
designed to fail,
00:16:33.233 --> 00:16:36.600
so it's designed so
that as I walk in it,
00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.867
um, it starts to-- to break.
00:16:44.567 --> 00:16:49.567
When I was little, I never
knew that art was a career path.
00:16:50.400 --> 00:16:52.200
I never knew that that was
something that you could really
00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:53.533
do. [laughs]
00:16:54.233 --> 00:16:57.367
It wasn't until I was
in community college and I met
00:16:57.367 --> 00:17:00.367
my mentor, Michael Schnorr, who
was one of the original founders
00:17:00.367 --> 00:17:02.200
of the Border Art Workshop.
00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:05.533
Michael had been working to
make a stance against Operation
00:17:05.533 --> 00:17:06.733
Gatekeeper.
00:17:07.267 --> 00:17:10.033
-We are a nation of immigrants
and we should all be proud of
00:17:10.033 --> 00:17:10.867
it.
00:17:10.867 --> 00:17:13.400
But we're also a nation of laws.
00:17:14.600 --> 00:17:17.533
-[Tanya] Operation Gatekeeper
was the strategic reinforcement
00:17:17.533 --> 00:17:19.367
of the US-Mexico border.
00:17:19.867 --> 00:17:23.900
-We're beginning to see a
movement of the traffic away
00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:27.600
from the urban area
itself out to the perimeter.
00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:29.267
That is our objective here.
00:17:29.933 --> 00:17:33.067
-[Tanya] And it forced migrants
to cross through the desert,
00:17:33.067 --> 00:17:35.567
rather than jumping across
and running through residential
00:17:35.567 --> 00:17:36.600
areas.
00:17:38.733 --> 00:17:41.867
The first year that they
enacted Operation Gatekeeper,
00:17:41.867 --> 00:17:44.933
more people died crossing the
border than the entire 75 years
00:17:44.933 --> 00:17:46.867
of Border Patrol history.
00:17:48.033 --> 00:17:53.033
♪mournful music♪
00:17:54.867 --> 00:17:57.267
Michael was showing
us how people were
00:17:57.267 --> 00:18:02.267
using art to make political
statements to change society,
00:18:02.267 --> 00:18:06.900
but then also talking about the
physical space of the border as,
00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:09.233
like, a theater for discussion.
00:18:13.033 --> 00:18:17.533
I started thinking more
about taking back the fence and
00:18:17.533 --> 00:18:22.200
changing it from being a
space of pain and trauma into a
00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:24.400
generative place
that we could reclaim.
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:30.200
♪soft acoustic guitar♪
00:18:34.233 --> 00:18:37.233
After I left San
Diego/Tijuana for a
00:18:37.233 --> 00:18:40.933
long time, I thought about
how to help shape the narrative
00:18:40.933 --> 00:18:44.400
about the border that was
currently happening during the
00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:46.033
2016 election.
00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:52.533
So I founded AMBOS, which stands
for Art Made Between Opposite
00:18:52.533 --> 00:18:53.567
Sides.
00:18:53.567 --> 00:18:55.033
[clang]
00:18:58.100 --> 00:18:59.600
[clang]
00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:04.700
[clang]
00:19:05.933 --> 00:19:07.767
-[Tanya] I wanted to work
collaboratively with other
00:19:07.767 --> 00:19:11.867
people using the border as
a starting point for that
00:19:11.867 --> 00:19:13.100
conversation.
00:19:13.533 --> 00:19:16.267
And we did a project
called "The Border Quipu."
00:19:38.267 --> 00:19:42.900
-The Andean Pre-Colombian system
of the quipu were calendars,
00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:45.033
counting system, language.
00:19:45.033 --> 00:19:47.533
But I wanted to use it to
visualize our connection to each
00:19:47.533 --> 00:19:51.700
other, report our, like,
daily migrations to the north,
00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:56.067
and also physically represent
the bodies of all the people
00:19:56.067 --> 00:19:58.267
that participated
in the project.
00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:03.100
"What are your thoughts
when you cross this border?"
00:20:07.733 --> 00:20:10.367
"Sometimes, I think about
how much time I spend here,
00:20:10.367 --> 00:20:12.400
or if my son will
have to do this too."
00:20:21.367 --> 00:20:25.533
We ended up having close to
10,000 people participate in
00:20:25.533 --> 00:20:26.733
"The Border Quipu."
00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:33.233
That taught me so much about the
vastness of our community on the
00:20:33.233 --> 00:20:38.233
border, but also the many ways
that governments -- not just in
00:20:38.867 --> 00:20:43.233
US and Mexico but, you know, all
over -- have failed to protect
00:20:43.233 --> 00:20:44.367
people.
00:20:45.533 --> 00:20:50.533
♪bittersweet music♪
00:21:02.567 --> 00:21:06.367
-[Richard] When you look at the
border wall in Tijuana on the
00:21:06.367 --> 00:21:08.767
Mexico side,
people are partying,
00:21:08.767 --> 00:21:11.867
they're-- they're swimming,
they're building sand castles,
00:21:11.867 --> 00:21:14.767
they're having barbecues,
they're just very festive.
00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.700
And on the US side, nobody
uses this beautiful beach.
00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:21.867
So there was a lot of irony
in-- in this photograph for me.
00:21:22.533 --> 00:21:25.367
It looks like a
prison cell, but,
00:21:25.367 --> 00:21:28.733
um, we're on the wrong side of
the wall or the prison cell.
00:21:37.367 --> 00:21:40.433
When I first started
making serious photographs,
00:21:40.433 --> 00:21:43.600
I wasn't thinking about social
documentary or political work.
00:21:43.600 --> 00:21:46.533
But because I was exposed
to everything around me,
00:21:46.533 --> 00:21:49.733
in the late '60s, when the
whole world was just going wild
00:21:49.733 --> 00:21:54.533
with politics, I saw this kind
of idea of taking these tools,
00:21:54.533 --> 00:21:57.700
this language of
fine art photography,
00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:00.233
and applying it to the street.
00:22:01.033 --> 00:22:03.867
I lived in Berkeley right
off of Telegraph Avenue.
00:22:03.867 --> 00:22:07.200
One night, I got my camera
and my tripod that I used for
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:10.733
landscape work and then I just
started photographing people.
00:22:11.367 --> 00:22:15.367
♪crunchy guitar riff♪
00:22:16.867 --> 00:22:19.733
And I began the "Telegraph
3 AM" project that way.
00:22:24.533 --> 00:22:29.200
But once the book came out, I
started realizing that I thought
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.867
I was gonna change the world
with this work by showing people
00:22:31.867 --> 00:22:33.867
things that they
hadn't seen before,
00:22:33.867 --> 00:22:36.100
but in fact, it
just helped my career.
00:22:36.567 --> 00:22:38.700
That just felt--
that felt wrong.
00:22:39.533 --> 00:22:44.533
♪tense delicate music♪
00:22:45.767 --> 00:22:48.033
After "Telegraph
3 AM," when I was
00:22:48.033 --> 00:22:50.367
kind of disillusioned
with my own work,
00:22:50.367 --> 00:22:52.767
I said, "I'm not
gonna photograph people."
00:22:52.767 --> 00:22:56.367
And I was looking kind of
in search of the miraculous.
00:22:59.700 --> 00:23:02.533
Rather than thinking
about the political world,
00:23:02.533 --> 00:23:05.867
I wanted to go and remove myself
from it all and just go on
00:23:05.867 --> 00:23:07.767
this-- this journey.
00:23:13.267 --> 00:23:17.067
I just got this idea one night:
a cactus with these mystical
00:23:17.067 --> 00:23:20.033
forms in the desert and that I
was gonna go and photograph it.
00:23:20.033 --> 00:23:23.700
And I started photographing
at night and experimenting.
00:23:28.933 --> 00:23:30.867
-Not yet, but soon.
00:23:33.867 --> 00:23:35.233
-[Richard] I really
liked working at night.
00:23:35.233 --> 00:23:38.033
It gave me a fresh language that
very few people had ever used in
00:23:38.033 --> 00:23:39.367
photography.
00:23:48.767 --> 00:23:50.067
That was that moment.
00:23:50.367 --> 00:23:51.233
That was it.
00:23:51.233 --> 00:23:53.200
And I'm getting
chills, actually.
00:23:55.367 --> 00:24:00.367
For me, that became a place
where my mind just-- just took
00:24:00.767 --> 00:24:01.767
off.
00:24:03.233 --> 00:24:05.700
I had fallen in
love with the desert.
00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:07.267
But I was in my mid-20s.
00:24:07.267 --> 00:24:10.067
I didn't know, at that point,
that I would ever be thinking
00:24:10.067 --> 00:24:13.367
about the political
consequences of the desert.
00:24:14.533 --> 00:24:17.700
And then, some years later, I'm
back in that same territory but
00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:21.433
looking at border issues, issues
that were facing and threatening
00:24:21.433 --> 00:24:22.767
the very same landscape.
00:24:25.033 --> 00:24:28.200
The desert was a vast stage
where everything that happened
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:31.267
there kind of projects
onto the rest of America.
00:24:32.033 --> 00:24:37.033
♪wistful music♪
00:24:59.067 --> 00:25:04.067
♪ambient music♪
00:25:06.233 --> 00:25:08.700
-[Cristóbal] I grew up in
North Central New Mexico.
00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:12.433
More specifically, the
upper Rio Grande Valley,
00:25:12.433 --> 00:25:14.200
which is a high desert.
00:25:14.767 --> 00:25:19.767
My primary discourse
is in the land itself.
00:25:20.433 --> 00:25:25.433
And so, being away from the
Borderlands is being diasporic.
00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:31.433
And it's hard to be
diasporic in the world.
00:25:42.367 --> 00:25:44.200
-Wow, it's pretty sick to watch.
00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:45.233
-[laughs] Yeah.
00:25:45.233 --> 00:25:47.033
-You know, it's
like a little dance.
00:25:47.533 --> 00:25:52.200
♪delicate music♪
00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:56.533
-We're in the middle of one
of the largest migrations of
00:25:56.533 --> 00:26:00.567
peoples from the
south to the north.
00:26:00.567 --> 00:26:03.933
Here, in Chicago, there are
currently over 750,000 people in
00:26:03.933 --> 00:26:07.200
the county who are
of Mexican descent,
00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.867
and that number is
growing, will continue to grow.
00:26:11.233 --> 00:26:15.200
So the expectation is that
the landscape is gonna be
00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:17.367
transformed
culturally, politically,
00:26:17.367 --> 00:26:18.700
socially.
00:26:19.267 --> 00:26:22.400
We wanted to build a
piece to mark that time
00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:24.767
that this
transformation is happening,
00:26:24.767 --> 00:26:27.033
this migration is happening.
00:26:28.533 --> 00:26:30.267
-[Lekha] Any second now.
00:26:30.267 --> 00:26:33.700
I feel like someone's
gonna wave the checkered flag.
00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:38.767
-[Lekha] 10 years ago, I met
these guys at the Arizona State
00:26:38.767 --> 00:26:40.767
University Art Museum.
00:26:40.767 --> 00:26:45.767
They had a slab of the concrete
floor cut and mounted on a
00:26:46.867 --> 00:26:48.067
pedestal.
00:26:48.067 --> 00:26:49.733
[electrical hum]
00:26:49.733 --> 00:26:52.233
And then they suspended
a microphone over the
00:26:52.233 --> 00:26:57.233
earth beneath and had a speaker
with a native Pee Posh ceremony
00:26:58.867 --> 00:27:00.933
being played at a
very low volume,
00:27:00.933 --> 00:27:04.600
so as you walked in, you weren't
sort of struck by the sound
00:27:04.600 --> 00:27:06.700
until you got a
little big closer.
00:27:06.700 --> 00:27:11.700
[electrical humming,
soft chanting]
00:27:13.367 --> 00:27:16.200
The project was
very related to the land,
00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:19.267
literally, beneath
the museum and that was
00:27:19.267 --> 00:27:21.700
burial, um, grounds.
00:27:23.700 --> 00:27:27.033
They seem to always be able to
find something very interesting
00:27:27.033 --> 00:27:29.733
about the site where
they were working.
00:27:30.867 --> 00:27:34.067
Consider what's been
going on and the border,
00:27:34.067 --> 00:27:37.867
I was really interested to see
what they might think about in
00:27:37.867 --> 00:27:42.100
the context of Chicago, now all
of us being sort of away from
00:27:42.100 --> 00:27:43.367
the border.
00:27:44.100 --> 00:27:49.100
♪hopeful music♪
00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:53.567
-Throughout all
of Latin America,
00:27:53.567 --> 00:27:58.600
you often times will find these
columns that are projecting off
00:27:58.600 --> 00:28:02.200
the rooftops of homes.
00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:06.567
And a lot of times, people
who are not from Latin America
00:28:06.567 --> 00:28:10.200
misinterpret the
meaning of those columns.
00:28:10.433 --> 00:28:14.067
They think that the--
the homes aren't finished.
00:28:37.933 --> 00:28:42.433
-[Cristóbal] What the columns
often signify is a pragmatic
00:28:42.433 --> 00:28:45.033
approach to growth.
00:28:45.033 --> 00:28:48.600
As the family
expands, the home expands.
00:28:48.600 --> 00:28:52.033
And so the house
is always growing,
00:28:52.033 --> 00:28:53.867
always emergent.
00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:57.700
-This piece in the
skyline that surrounds it,
00:28:57.700 --> 00:29:01.733
it's a way to acknowledge a
very strong Mexican cultural
00:29:01.733 --> 00:29:04.900
tradition being
established here in Chicago.
00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:11.367
-[Cristóbal] That's why art
is so useful: because it's
00:29:11.367 --> 00:29:12.900
non-didactic.
00:29:13.267 --> 00:29:16.433
It's-- it's more of an
opportunity to dance...
00:29:16.433 --> 00:29:18.367
as opposed to...
00:29:19.367 --> 00:29:21.900
uh, having to engage in...
00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:24.933
some form of-- of war.
00:29:25.433 --> 00:29:30.433
[gunshots and
shouting over speaker]
00:29:39.567 --> 00:29:44.267
-"Voz Alta" was a work in Mexico
City to commemorate the 40th
00:29:44.267 --> 00:29:48.067
anniversary of the massacre of
students in Tlatelolco Plaza.
00:29:48.067 --> 00:29:52.100
We set up a megaphone that
converted people's voices into
00:29:52.100 --> 00:29:56.367
light, so these very powerful
searchlights would come flashing
00:29:56.367 --> 00:29:58.267
to the Minstry of
Foreign Affairs.
00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:53.033
[typing]
00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:57.900
-[Rafael] Now,
speaking without leaning.
00:30:58.100 --> 00:31:00.533
-Hi, this is a test.
00:31:00.533 --> 00:31:01.867
-Okay, now lean.
00:31:02.267 --> 00:31:04.533
-And now it sounds better.
00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:08.567
-Creating a platform
for people to self-represent,
00:31:08.567 --> 00:31:11.033
for their
voice to be visible,
00:31:11.033 --> 00:31:14.033
is a fundamental part of
what I'm doing politically.
00:31:14.033 --> 00:31:15.067
-[man] That's what
we had before--
00:31:15.067 --> 00:31:15.733
-[Rafael] Oh, I see.
00:31:15.733 --> 00:31:17.567
-[man] So 0.001.
00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:19.367
-Whoa.
00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:21.600
-[man] So go over to .1.
00:31:21.600 --> 00:31:24.567
-If I'm crossing
somebody else's lights,
00:31:24.567 --> 00:31:27.367
automatically, the computer
opens a bidirectional channel of
00:31:27.367 --> 00:31:28.433
communication.
00:31:28.433 --> 00:31:31.200
So now, you can hear
me and I can hear you.
00:31:32.100 --> 00:31:35.367
-[Rafael] Whereas "Vox Alta"
was more about speaking to the
00:31:35.367 --> 00:31:39.900
heavens, "Border Tuner" is about
speaking to another person,
00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:43.533
establishing these new
connections to create community.
00:31:44.933 --> 00:31:49.933
♪bluesy Spanish-language music♪
00:32:07.367 --> 00:32:09.867
-I like to take people up to
this lookout because it's one of
00:32:09.867 --> 00:32:11.733
the places where you can really
get a sense of how the two
00:32:11.733 --> 00:32:13.067
cities fit together.
00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:15.367
So should we get out
and have a look around?
00:32:15.367 --> 00:32:16.367
-[Rafael] Yeah, let's do it.
00:32:17.233 --> 00:32:19.900
-[Kerry] Juarez and El Paso
together make up the largest
00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:23.033
bi-national metropolis in
the western hemisphere.
00:32:23.533 --> 00:32:25.600
So that's the border
that you see there.
00:32:25.600 --> 00:32:27.200
It's this big,
wide stretch, like,
00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:28.367
running through.
00:32:28.367 --> 00:32:30.033
And from here, you
can see our site also.
00:32:30.033 --> 00:32:31.700
So you can see
Bowie High School,
00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:34.267
and just across the trees
are-- are the Chamizal,
00:32:34.267 --> 00:32:37.033
which was a bi-national
park at one point.
00:32:37.367 --> 00:32:40.200
It's a particularly
integrated place.
00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:43.367
More than 65 percent of the
people in both cities have
00:32:43.367 --> 00:32:45.100
immediate family
in the other city,
00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:45.700
so--
00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:46.233
-[Rafael] 65 percent?
00:32:46.233 --> 00:32:47.267
-[Kerry] 65 percent.
00:32:48.733 --> 00:32:52.033
-[Rafael] I love when
you have a pre-established
00:32:52.033 --> 00:32:54.600
notion of what
you're gonna see and it's wrong.
00:32:56.367 --> 00:33:00.200
I learned that you can't
make an artwork about the wall.
00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.033
People there are
sick of the wall.
00:33:02.033 --> 00:33:05.700
They want to talk about the
ways in which the two societies
00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:06.867
interpenetrate.
00:33:08.533 --> 00:33:11.400
To create an artwork for
listening is really what the
00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:12.700
project became.
00:33:13.600 --> 00:33:18.600
♪soft suspenseful music♪
00:33:29.433 --> 00:33:32.367
-Jeffrey, you can run the
streaming interface in here,
00:33:32.367 --> 00:33:33.067
is that true?
00:33:33.067 --> 00:33:34.233
-I can run it over here, yes.
00:33:34.533 --> 00:33:35.900
-[Rafael] Oh, this
is really good, then.
00:33:35.900 --> 00:33:36.900
Livestream.
00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:40.233
-So I can see here all of the
different attributes of that
00:33:40.233 --> 00:33:43.700
station, whether I need to
ignite the light or-- or things
00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:44.700
like that.
00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:45.700
-Okay.
00:33:54.033 --> 00:33:55.033
-[Rafael] Hey, Jeffrey?
00:33:55.733 --> 00:33:58.767
For fun, let's
start the lights early.
00:33:59.367 --> 00:34:01.267
-Going into performance mode.
00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:03.400
-Here we go, lights up.
00:34:04.367 --> 00:34:05.433
Boom.
00:34:08.567 --> 00:34:09.700
Whoa.
00:34:10.367 --> 00:34:11.367
Whoa.
00:34:14.367 --> 00:34:17.033
♪ambient music♪
00:34:17.033 --> 00:34:18.367
-[Edgar over loudspeaker]
Thanks for joining us.
00:34:18.367 --> 00:34:20.400
[foreign language].
00:34:21.067 --> 00:34:23.533
Starting now, the
lights are interactive,
00:34:23.533 --> 00:34:26.033
so anyone who
wants to try them out,
00:34:26.033 --> 00:34:27.033
come on in.
00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:38.367
-You wanna try
moving the lights?
00:34:38.700 --> 00:34:40.200
All the way over there.
00:34:47.200 --> 00:34:49.767
There, you can stop
right there and say hello.
00:34:49.767 --> 00:34:51.033
-[Salvador over
loudspeaker] Hello?
00:34:52.567 --> 00:34:53.700
Hola?
00:34:57.433 --> 00:34:58.767
-Salvador.
00:34:59.267 --> 00:35:00.367
-[man over
loudspeaker] Salvador?
00:35:00.367 --> 00:35:01.367
-[Salvador] Sí.
00:35:09.033 --> 00:35:12.367
-Rafael has mentioned that
he was not here to create
00:35:12.367 --> 00:35:15.067
connections, he was here to
highlight the connections that
00:35:15.067 --> 00:35:17.100
were already in place.
00:35:17.100 --> 00:35:18.700
But I don't think
that's the case.
00:35:19.600 --> 00:35:20.733
I really feel like
there were, like,
00:35:20.733 --> 00:35:24.367
some interesting connections
created in between both
00:35:24.367 --> 00:35:25.367
communities.
00:36:21.733 --> 00:36:24.200
-[Rafael] There's a lot of
people who live in El Paso who
00:36:24.200 --> 00:36:27.400
have never been to
Mexico, or vice versa,
00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:31.533
because there is this kind of
dehumanization of what is going
00:36:31.533 --> 00:36:32.567
on there.
00:36:32.867 --> 00:36:36.067
But when you speak one-to-one
with someone, it completely
00:36:36.067 --> 00:36:38.033
changes your perception.
00:36:44.033 --> 00:36:47.433
-If we don't see people
apprehended and brought back to
00:36:47.433 --> 00:36:51.100
their countries, if we see these
massive caravans coming up,
00:36:51.100 --> 00:36:52.367
we're gonna
tariff the cars again.
00:36:52.367 --> 00:36:54.533
If that doesn't work,
we're gonna close the border.
00:36:55.033 --> 00:36:56.100
So I think that'll work.
00:36:56.100 --> 00:36:57.700
That's massive
numbers of dollars,
00:36:57.700 --> 00:36:58.700
so...
00:37:12.233 --> 00:37:14.700
And so they can learn how
to-- how to take care of their
00:37:14.700 --> 00:37:17.533
friends, just like you
learned [inaudible].
00:37:17.533 --> 00:37:18.533
-Mm-hm.
00:37:19.533 --> 00:37:23.700
-After having a child, I now
think about the world you leave
00:37:23.700 --> 00:37:24.900
to somebody else.
00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:26.367
-[foreign language].
00:37:26.367 --> 00:37:27.600
You can keep it in there.
00:37:27.600 --> 00:37:31.100
-[Tanya] I have a responsibility
now beyond a responsibility to
00:37:31.100 --> 00:37:32.200
myself.
00:37:33.267 --> 00:37:37.600
Knowing that has really
affected the work that I do,
00:37:37.600 --> 00:37:40.400
thinking about how to be more
empathetic and thinking about
00:37:40.400 --> 00:37:42.700
what it means to be
part of a community.
00:37:48.533 --> 00:37:50.567
-The glass performance piece--
00:37:50.567 --> 00:37:51.700
-Mm-hm.
00:37:51.700 --> 00:37:53.933
-Well, the date is already
set for when I'm doing the
00:37:53.933 --> 00:37:55.400
performance.
00:37:55.400 --> 00:37:59.900
We need to talk about all of the
physical training required to
00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:02.067
carry--
[laughing] all of the--
00:38:02.067 --> 00:38:02.900
-[woman] Thrilled.
00:38:02.900 --> 00:38:04.767
-Yeah, to carry
all of the glass.
00:38:04.767 --> 00:38:09.767
♪wistful music♪
00:38:21.567 --> 00:38:26.567
-After "The Border Quipu," I
kept thinking of carrying this,
00:38:27.533 --> 00:38:31.200
like, open scar [sighs]
from the border with me,
00:38:31.200 --> 00:38:35.033
like, everywhere I go and having
my whole life shaped by it.
00:38:35.033 --> 00:38:37.700
-Do we have the third one, or
should we just try it with two?
00:38:38.067 --> 00:38:39.733
-[Tanya] All of this,
like, heavy memory.
00:38:40.200 --> 00:38:43.200
What do you do with it
and how do you process it?
00:38:43.200 --> 00:38:45.900
How does the
body, like, you know,
00:38:45.900 --> 00:38:47.067
deal with it?
00:38:49.533 --> 00:38:50.700
-Okay.
00:38:51.233 --> 00:38:52.400
-'Cause I gotta fix the belt.
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:54.933
-[Tanya] The piece is called
"Metabolizing the Border."
00:38:55.433 --> 00:38:59.567
I wanted to make a piece that
would force my body to deal with
00:38:59.567 --> 00:39:02.200
the border through
all of the five sense.
00:39:02.867 --> 00:39:07.067
So you're forced to see
through the fence only.
00:39:08.367 --> 00:39:11.533
You're forced to breathe
through the fence only.
00:39:12.400 --> 00:39:16.567
You're forced to hear through
particles of the border fence.
00:39:16.867 --> 00:39:17.367
-Okay.
00:39:17.367 --> 00:39:17.733
-[woman] You good?
00:39:17.733 --> 00:39:18.733
-Yeah.
00:39:19.533 --> 00:39:21.600
-You can't escape the border.
00:39:25.767 --> 00:39:29.867
I'm going to be walking back and
forth along the border on the US
00:39:29.867 --> 00:39:33.100
side wearing all of
these glass pieces.
00:39:35.867 --> 00:39:39.533
In a lot of the work that I
do, I engage communities.
00:39:39.767 --> 00:39:44.767
But this piece, it's a personal
piece that I want to do for
00:39:45.567 --> 00:39:46.567
myself.
00:39:48.200 --> 00:39:49.200
-Okay.
00:39:51.033 --> 00:39:54.233
-[Tanya] I'm excited to do the
performance and to see how I
00:39:54.233 --> 00:39:55.567
feel after.
00:39:56.067 --> 00:39:59.367
I don't know if, in the
end, it'll be something that's
00:39:59.367 --> 00:40:04.367
cathartic to put out there what
I have been carrying invisibly.
00:40:06.100 --> 00:40:07.200
-[Tanya] I wanna
see the pictures.
00:40:07.200 --> 00:40:08.100
-Yeah.
00:40:08.100 --> 00:40:09.367
They're awesome.
00:40:11.233 --> 00:40:14.200
-[Tanya] It looks
like a really weird-ass
00:40:14.200 --> 00:40:15.900
alien baby señora.
00:40:16.200 --> 00:40:18.600
-[laughs] Yeah.
00:40:22.100 --> 00:40:23.100
-Okay.
00:40:26.933 --> 00:40:31.733
I'm like...
[inhales deeply] anxious.
00:40:33.567 --> 00:40:38.100
I'm nervous about the, like,
physical demand on my body,
00:40:38.100 --> 00:40:40.733
and I'm nervous about,
like, the emotional demand.
00:40:40.733 --> 00:40:41.533
-Mm-hm.
00:40:41.533 --> 00:40:42.767
-Um...
00:40:42.767 --> 00:40:43.867
but yeah.
00:41:03.567 --> 00:41:04.700
-If you look out in
the distance there,
00:41:04.700 --> 00:41:06.233
you can see the end of the wall.
00:41:06.233 --> 00:41:08.200
So we're-- it's gonna take a
little while to drive there,
00:41:08.200 --> 00:41:10.033
but we're on our way.
00:41:10.867 --> 00:41:12.233
The wall's end.
00:41:12.233 --> 00:41:14.067
It just stops abruptly.
00:41:17.200 --> 00:41:20.067
And there's not a Border
Patrol agent in sight.
00:41:20.067 --> 00:41:25.067
♪suspenseful strings♪
00:41:44.200 --> 00:41:48.100
There's only 680 miles of actual
wall along the 2,000-mile
00:41:48.100 --> 00:41:52.533
border, and they generally
put them in areas that are
00:41:52.533 --> 00:41:54.200
densely-populated.
00:41:54.200 --> 00:41:58.033
And the idea is, is that if they
push people out to the ends,
00:41:58.033 --> 00:42:00.267
it would be so dangerous for
them to cross into wilderness
00:42:00.267 --> 00:42:03.400
area that they would die, so
they would-- it would be so
00:42:03.400 --> 00:42:05.033
dangerous they--
people wouldn't go,
00:42:05.033 --> 00:42:07.067
it would discourage people
from actually going across the
00:42:07.067 --> 00:42:08.100
border.
00:42:08.100 --> 00:42:09.333
That didn't work.
00:42:09.333 --> 00:42:11.200
In fact, many people-- more
people have died since they
00:42:11.200 --> 00:42:13.767
built these walls
with these ends.
00:42:13.767 --> 00:42:18.767
♪melancholic piano♪
00:42:44.033 --> 00:42:45.933
It's a beautiful landscape here.
00:42:49.367 --> 00:42:53.100
It's just kind of remarkable how
lovely and lyrical the landscape
00:42:53.100 --> 00:42:54.567
is and...
00:42:55.033 --> 00:42:58.933
um, it's-- it's weird to
have the-- the wall just kind
00:42:58.933 --> 00:43:01.033
of....breaking it up.
00:43:01.433 --> 00:43:03.033
It seems sinister.
00:43:06.067 --> 00:43:11.067
♪threatening drone♪
00:43:38.067 --> 00:43:39.767
When I first met Guillermo,
00:43:39.767 --> 00:43:43.233
he was performing an instrument
that he had created that he had
00:43:43.233 --> 00:43:45.700
made out of objects
found on the border.
00:43:46.867 --> 00:43:50.433
I had just photographed the
effigies along the border and a
00:43:50.433 --> 00:43:51.567
light went off.
00:43:51.567 --> 00:43:53.533
I went, "Oh my God, this
could be a great collaboration.
00:43:54.567 --> 00:43:55.567
[thud]
00:43:58.400 --> 00:43:59.400
[pluck]
00:44:01.700 --> 00:44:03.400
[scrape]
00:44:07.067 --> 00:44:09.233
-[Guillermo] It's interesting,
because we have the-- the same
00:44:09.233 --> 00:44:14.033
aesthetic and the same way to
approach the border issues.
00:44:14.767 --> 00:44:16.600
If you see art of
the border, sometimes,
00:44:16.600 --> 00:44:21.367
it's about taking a
certain political view about it.
00:44:22.100 --> 00:44:25.733
But, uh, our work is
more about opening spaces,
00:44:25.733 --> 00:44:27.100
it's about absence.
00:44:32.767 --> 00:44:33.933
People is not there, you know?
00:44:33.933 --> 00:44:36.533
It's just the
evidence of what happens,
00:44:36.533 --> 00:44:38.200
what keeps happening.
00:44:38.200 --> 00:44:43.200
♪wistful strings♪
00:44:44.533 --> 00:44:46.067
-[Richard] You take a minute
and stop and think about this
00:44:46.067 --> 00:44:47.533
crucifix that you find.
00:44:47.867 --> 00:44:48.900
Why is that there?
00:44:49.533 --> 00:44:51.067
What were they running from?
00:44:53.267 --> 00:44:55.600
Each one evokes its own story.
00:44:56.867 --> 00:44:58.867
I wanted them to be
like scenes of the crime.
00:44:58.867 --> 00:45:01.533
So I would photograph them
often just with my cell phone.
00:45:02.867 --> 00:45:04.733
Straight-on, just like evidence.
00:45:06.433 --> 00:45:09.533
Then Guillermo turned
them into instruments.
00:45:15.400 --> 00:45:19.400
-[Guillermo] The ways in which
music heals in Mesoamerican
00:45:19.400 --> 00:45:24.400
cultures, you find an object
that has a connection to a
00:45:25.567 --> 00:45:28.267
person and you make an
instrument out of that and you
00:45:28.267 --> 00:45:29.433
heal with that.
00:45:32.867 --> 00:45:35.867
Art is many things, but one
of the things that art does is
00:45:35.867 --> 00:45:40.200
it opens imagination and it
opens-- it opens new ways of
00:45:40.200 --> 00:45:42.700
seeing things or hearing things.
00:45:45.400 --> 00:45:47.433
It's very important
to see in new ways,
00:45:47.433 --> 00:45:50.267
because if not, we're stuck
with the same all the time.
00:45:55.200 --> 00:45:57.567
-[Richard] The wall has
become this dark symbol,
00:45:57.567 --> 00:46:00.200
like a barricade
that keeps people out.
00:46:02.200 --> 00:46:05.767
Where the Statue of Liberty is
a monument to positive American
00:46:05.767 --> 00:46:09.867
values, the border wall
is an anti-monument;
00:46:09.867 --> 00:46:11.700
its exact opposite.
00:46:13.867 --> 00:46:16.367
All my photographs
are about America,
00:46:16.367 --> 00:46:19.700
and that's both the
challenges that it faces,
00:46:19.700 --> 00:46:21.200
but also, its beauties:
00:46:21.933 --> 00:46:24.900
its exquisite land,
its exquisite country.
00:46:24.900 --> 00:46:28.867
And the future of the country
depends a lot on how we think
00:46:28.867 --> 00:46:30.500
about places like this.
00:46:35.600 --> 00:46:38.200
-[Edgar] The border is a place
where we go through a lot of
00:46:38.200 --> 00:46:41.200
difficult stuff, but we
learn how to deal with it.
00:46:42.367 --> 00:46:46.433
I've learned to compare
people here like desert plants.
00:46:46.933 --> 00:46:48.733
They live in the
harshest conditions.
00:46:49.233 --> 00:46:52.100
But once they bloom, they're one
of the most beautiful plants.
00:46:54.200 --> 00:46:56.433
And I feel like that's
how humans are here.
00:46:57.433 --> 00:46:58.700
We're super resilient.
00:46:58.700 --> 00:47:02.033
♪hopeful music♪
00:47:20.400 --> 00:47:24.733
-[foreign language]!
00:47:24.733 --> 00:47:27.033
[cheers]
00:47:44.867 --> 00:47:46.200
[cheers and applause]
00:47:46.200 --> 00:47:49.233
-[Kerry] This idea of, like, to
love your neighbor or to be kind
00:47:49.233 --> 00:47:50.867
to the people who
are around you,
00:47:50.867 --> 00:47:53.200
I think most Americans do
that quite well when someone's
00:47:53.200 --> 00:47:55.433
actually standing in
front of their face.
00:47:55.433 --> 00:47:57.867
But the problem is that we don't
have a handle about how to be
00:47:57.867 --> 00:48:00.367
human at at global scale.
00:48:00.367 --> 00:48:02.533
Here in a place
like Juarez and El Paso,
00:48:02.533 --> 00:48:05.600
you see the actual real
effects on human lives,
00:48:05.600 --> 00:48:08.100
the connections behind
the goods that we buy,
00:48:08.100 --> 00:48:11.200
the connections behind our
foreign policy in other places.
00:48:11.733 --> 00:48:14.200
All of that comes to a
head right here at the
00:48:14.200 --> 00:48:17.533
US-Mexico border, where
you actually can look
00:48:17.533 --> 00:48:19.733
face-to-face at the
other human being.
00:48:22.200 --> 00:48:25.400
-Party to people,
are you coming to party?
00:48:26.433 --> 00:48:28.900
Guys, there's Mexicans
trying to communicate.
00:48:28.900 --> 00:48:30.267
You must touch this.
00:48:30.700 --> 00:48:32.400
So, you put your hands on it.
00:48:32.400 --> 00:48:34.033
The one on the right is
the Mexican heartbeat,
00:48:34.033 --> 00:48:36.067
the one on the left
is the one from me.
00:48:36.067 --> 00:48:39.867
And what I feel in my hands is
the heartbeat of the person on
00:48:39.867 --> 00:48:40.933
the other side.
00:48:41.367 --> 00:48:42.900
Quick, put your hands!
00:48:44.233 --> 00:48:45.533
-That is so weird!
00:48:45.533 --> 00:48:46.867
-[Rafael] So now, you
feel their heartbeat.
00:48:46.867 --> 00:48:47.767
And they feel yours.
00:48:47.767 --> 00:48:49.100
-Ah!
00:49:01.433 --> 00:49:06.233
-The beauty of us
working together...
00:49:06.233 --> 00:49:09.433
it-- it's incredibly powerful.
00:49:09.433 --> 00:49:11.033
Salud!
00:49:11.567 --> 00:49:16.567
-[Cristóbal] We feel that,
in order to have a world,
00:49:17.033 --> 00:49:20.233
we need to divide
ourselves from one another.
00:49:22.533 --> 00:49:26.533
But it's that love
we get to experience,
00:49:26.533 --> 00:49:30.700
often times when we're
making art together,
00:49:30.700 --> 00:49:32.700
that sort of
restored, in a lot of ways,
00:49:32.700 --> 00:49:36.033
our faith in humanity.
00:49:41.200 --> 00:49:43.733
-[Rafael] There's a lot of
artists who want to create
00:49:43.733 --> 00:49:48.100
artificial realities that then
we can go and dream inside of,
00:49:48.100 --> 00:49:51.733
where all of the sudden, you can
be other than yourself and just
00:49:51.733 --> 00:49:55.567
kind of experience, like,
a field of butterflies.
00:49:55.567 --> 00:49:58.100
Well, this doesn't really
work in the real world.
00:49:58.100 --> 00:50:01.533
At this time, it's kind of
like the Zapatistas say,
00:50:01.533 --> 00:50:02.233
you know?
00:50:02.233 --> 00:50:03.767
"We're not asking you to dream.
00:50:03.767 --> 00:50:05.700
We're asking you to wake up."
00:50:05.700 --> 00:50:10.700
♪soft suspenseful music♪
00:50:28.367 --> 00:50:29.600
-[President Trump
over radio] Right now,
00:50:29.600 --> 00:50:32.033
you have another caravan forming
and it's gonna be the biggest
00:50:32.033 --> 00:50:32.700
one yet.
00:50:32.700 --> 00:50:34.033
We stopped the last one.
00:50:34.033 --> 00:50:35.733
Do you see what's
going on in Tijuana?
00:50:35.733 --> 00:50:36.933
They couldn't get
through because...
00:50:36.933 --> 00:50:38.100
-[woman] Did you sleep okay?
00:50:38.100 --> 00:50:38.867
-[President Trump over the
radio] We have a wall there,
00:50:38.867 --> 00:50:40.567
but we need a wall...
00:50:40.567 --> 00:50:42.767
-It was really
hard to fall asleep.
00:50:42.767 --> 00:50:45.433
-[President Trump over radio]
We need a very strong structure.
00:50:47.200 --> 00:50:49.200
-[Richard] History does
tend to repeat itself.
00:50:49.933 --> 00:50:52.700
It's really hard to know 20
years from now what will we--
00:50:52.700 --> 00:50:55.200
we have learned and what
will we do differently.
00:50:55.200 --> 00:50:58.367
But I do believe that by making
formally beautiful pictures of
00:50:58.367 --> 00:51:01.933
this, no matter what, this work
will stand as a record for this
00:51:01.933 --> 00:51:02.933
moment.
00:51:03.433 --> 00:51:05.533
And hopefully, it will be
something that will inform
00:51:05.533 --> 00:51:06.867
people in the future.
00:51:07.600 --> 00:51:08.600
[shutter click]
00:51:18.067 --> 00:51:20.733
-Pull this part up
a little bit more.
00:51:22.600 --> 00:51:27.267
-[Tanya] There is a really,
incredibly pertinent need for us
00:51:27.267 --> 00:51:30.433
to keep talking about the border
and to keep exploring what the
00:51:30.433 --> 00:51:35.033
border is and what the border
can do to a person's body.
00:51:57.200 --> 00:51:57.900
-[woman] Water?
00:51:57.900 --> 00:51:59.200
-[Tanya] Mm-hm.
00:52:07.067 --> 00:52:11.700
[glass dragging on stone]
00:52:37.767 --> 00:52:38.933
[glass breaking]
00:52:39.700 --> 00:52:44.700
♪dramatic strings♪
00:52:49.200 --> 00:52:49.733
[overlapping voices] Can I stop?
00:52:49.733 --> 00:52:51.567
When can I stop?
00:52:51.567 --> 00:52:52.700
Would I make it?
00:52:52.700 --> 00:52:55.700
Would I make it if I had to...
00:52:55.700 --> 00:52:58.400
like, make that journey and if I
had to be lost in the desert for
00:52:58.400 --> 00:52:59.867
two weeks?
00:52:59.867 --> 00:53:01.100
Could I make it?
00:53:02.033 --> 00:53:03.867
Okay, like, you
have enough on you.
00:53:03.867 --> 00:53:06.867
Like, we don't have to
try to put more on you.
00:53:06.867 --> 00:53:10.933
[glass dragging on stone]
00:53:30.067 --> 00:53:35.067
[heartbeat]
00:53:41.733 --> 00:53:43.867
-[Cristóbal]
It's a heavy burden.
00:53:44.400 --> 00:53:48.533
We're artists and we're
trying to sense the world...
00:53:48.533 --> 00:53:50.867
and learn from it...
00:53:51.567 --> 00:53:56.533
and through our
idiosyncratic lens....
00:53:57.367 --> 00:54:00.233
share it back out
with the world.
00:54:00.900 --> 00:54:02.033
Well...
00:54:02.233 --> 00:54:04.700
here's our lens.
00:54:05.767 --> 00:54:09.067
Take a look at the
world through it and...
00:54:09.067 --> 00:54:10.733
tell us what you think.
00:54:11.067 --> 00:54:12.400
-Just don't...
00:54:13.867 --> 00:54:16.233
walk away from it prematurely.
00:54:16.233 --> 00:54:17.867
Just give it time.
00:54:17.867 --> 00:54:19.567
-Give it a chance.
00:54:19.567 --> 00:54:20.600
-Mm-hm.
00:54:20.600 --> 00:54:22.233
Just give it some time.
00:54:29.933 --> 00:54:34.933
-♪singing in
foreign language♪
00:54:58.567 --> 00:55:01.767
-[VO] 'Art in the 21st Century:
Season 10' is available on
00:55:01.767 --> 00:55:03.700
Amazon Prime Video.
Distributor: Pragda Films
Length: 60 minutes
Date: 2020
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: Upper Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
The is title is available for licensing on the Pragda STREAM site.
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