Title
Tan Lejos de Dios, Tan Cerca de los Estados Unidos
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Description
Lithograph on paper, 40 in. x 62 in. This print by El Paso artist Luis Jiménez represents the countless immigrants crossing daily into the United States; as relevant today as it was in the past with mass migration continuing to surge at the Southern border. Hoping to achieve the American Dream, immigrants journey from Mexico, and increasingly from the Northern Triangle in Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). Individuals and families endure violence and hardship to come to the U.S., demonstrating grit, perseverance, and ingenuity to survive the known and unknown perils of crossing to the other side of the border (el otro lado). Once in the U.S., immigrants are vulnerable to abuse and discrimination while trying to adapt to a different culture. The artist’s title appropriately describes the scene, immigrants far from their homeland and their spiritual life, and so close to the U.S., where they may face more obstacles. On the left side, a vehicle belonging to the U.S. border patrol chases a group of immigrants confronted by cacti and barbed wire. A federal helicopter flies overhead, while a woman’s lifeless body lies on the ground, her disheveled clothing indicates a nefarious end. Near the center, with a coyote nipping at her legs, a woman frantically tries to escape. Next to her, a father and mother cautiously lead their children into the U.S. On the right side, a smuggler armed with rifle and pistol supervises his pack of mulas (mules) carrying heavy bundles, meanwhile an airplane drops more bundles of contraband below. Jiménez captures the harsh and cruel reality of border crossings facing immigrants. Luis Jiménez (1940 – 2006) was an El Paso, Texas native, best known for his large-scale, brightly colored sculptures immersed in the Chicano iconography of Texas and New Mexico. Jiménez studied art and architecture at The University of Texas in Austin and in El Paso. He eventually traveled to Mexico to study with the Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and he was also influenced by regionalists Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood. After completing school, he went to work for his father making neon signs and car decals. In 1966, Jiménez moved to New York and joined the Pop Art scene, making painted fiberglass figurative works inspired by the everyday lives of Latinos living in the Southwest. His work shows his concern for working-class people and those who have suffered from discrimination. Jiménez was and remains respected in Latino communities for his perspective and narrative of the culture of Mexico and the Southwest. His artwork emulates popular Cholo car culture, demonstrated in his use of fiberglass, spray paint, and imagery consisting of Aztec emperors, border crossing, and vaqueros riding wild broncos. His works are in the collections of the Albuquerque Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the El Paso Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, among others.
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