Art Trip// PST: LA/LA

Ronaldo Rael and Virginia Fratello

The Art Assignment explores Los Angeles in a way it has never done before, it takes a deeper look at the Latinx American Art that has always been present in LA's art scene and culture. This is also part of an initiative that is supported by the Getty, in hopes to make these artists and movements more visible in Southern California, which has an immense Latinx population The video takes a look at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in LA that was hosting an exhibit about the U.S.-Mexico Border that showcases a wide range of artists. One of the first pieces that we see of the exhibit is a model of Armando Munoz Garcia's, Tijuana III Millenio, which actually is a five-story tall sculpture that acted as the artist and his wife's home. The woman's pinky finger is raised to signify the exact spot where it would be found on a map of Mexico. The show featured another model of a project by Ronaldo Rael and Virginia San Fratello, Border Wall as Architecture, that show playful proposals to the designing of borders such as a teeter-totter, a xylophone wall, and even a board game.  The teeter-totter project was realized in 2019 but did not become a permanent work. I love the idea these two artists had to connect people who reside in two different sides on land that is separated by a wall. The border wall is seen in many different ways, mostly negative, and has been a subject of debate in recent politics. The current President has used the border as a platform to ignite more racism towards immigrants and has promised his voters to build another wall. But the playful element these artists created makes it positive for once and unified people of all ages and from both sides of the border. I wish we could see more harmony like we did when the teeter-totter was up. One of the last pieces from the CAFAM Border show that really resonated with me was the work of another duo, Amy Sanchez and Misael Diaz, who goes by the name Cognate Collective. The piece is titled, Transborder Trajectories which was created in 2010 that was inspired while they worked at a market of artesian crafts at the San Ysidro port of entry. Misael Diaz mentions that when you are a child you are told not to stare at the items the vendors are selling because of the vendors see you looking they will approach you and ask you to buy. I can personally say that this is absolutely true. When my family and I road trip to Mexico, there is often a long line of slowly moving cars waiting to be let in to or out of Mexico. This spot is ideal for vendors because they can bring their products and walk up and down the line of cars. You can buy snacks, rosaries, hats, religious statues, crosses, piggy banks, etc. Sometimes you even see small children walking next to or in front of the stopped cars with their arms full of products they sell. There are times when we did purchase from the vendors, but when we saw the small children we simply just gave them some money or unopened snacks/drinks we had in the car. In Transborder Trajectories the artists map the flow of these products and the economic, social, and cultural exchange that happens across the border (3:30-3:45). I enjoyed seeing my culture celebrated and present in various institutions in this Art Visit video. I also met new Latin-American/Latinx artists, who's work I will be following, and hopefully one day I'll get the chance to see in person. 

The scaled-down model with the original behind. 2016

Photo by Jim Platel. Original built-in 1989. 

Watch Art Assignment's Art Trip: PST:LA/LA here:
Total time: 21:12