Miriam Flores: 1st Art Piece
13
"#blurredborders" artwork by Miriam Flores
plain
2019-12-15T20:48:21-08:00
The second artist, Flores, showcases the original borderlands that are not a metaphorical statement but a true physical location. Colorful buildings are close together in a desert terrain with cacti and other plants that evokes imagery of close-knit lives that people lead in Latin American countries. Though some of these countries are South of the United States, like Mexico is, this vibrant community being placed in the middle of nowhere portrays the disconnect that Latin American communities have from the U.S. and that the Latinx community, by living in the U.S., has from their homelands. The wall or fence topped with barbed wire marks a separation between this colorful land and the bland beige empty land. Considering that immigration is a frequent connector between Latinx people, this bland area is the U.S. In contrast to the colorful town with personality, the United States has nothing exciting and, in this art, is shown to not necessarily provide a better experience than Latin America would for Latinx individuals.
The dark-skinned girl with wings represents young immigrants and young Latinx people overall. Her wings are a butterfly’s. Using aspects of a butterfly shows that as a symbol, this woman also encompasses Dreamers. Her hair is in the ground like roots, showing that all she knows is here in the United States, it is where she has grown. She has made progress because of the butterfly’s association with growth. Like a caterpillar evolves into a butterfly, this girl has transitioned from an earlier stage as well. There are no flowers or plants that have grown from her roots, though. This speaks to the life and sacrifice of Latinx people in the United States. She has come a long way, physically from her homeland as well as emotionally in her development yet is unhappy. The artist captures this juxtaposition and often untold narrative that life remains hard, and in some new ways becomes harder, for the Latinx community that lives in American society. This is confirmed more so by the body of the woman when her entire body or experience is considered.
This art's main aspect, the woman has her head down in her lap. Her position speaks to the shame that one may encounter in a land that does not welcome them, such as the United States. With her arms wrapped around her legs, the woman presents her closed off nature, that she does not want to see reality and instead hides from it. This tension that exists in the image between the two lands separated by the dangerous fence is further captured by where the woman is located in the artwork. Her back is to the community that is built strong with many buildings to show for it, which has previously been established as representing Latin America. This positioning symbolizes the woman’s leaving her homeland behind and struggling even with a potentially better opportunity to fly with wings. The artist’s incorporation of both lands relates to the notion of a borderland where this woman exists. She does not forget where she has been even though she is no longer there, making her Latinx and in limbo.
.jpg){kind=link}