Which works in Destination: Latin America speak to you? Here the favorites of the LSU Museum of Art staff.
Stop by after the holidays and explore our galleries! Find these artworks and tell us your favorite piece from Destination: Latin America in the comments below.
Eduardo Mac Entyre, Punto luminoso (Bright Point), 1987, acrylic on canvas, Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift of Edith L. Calzadilla and family in memory of Luis P. Calzadilla, 2009.02.25
“I chose this painting (pictured above) because of the colorful, peaceful lines, heading to an unknown set of possibilities.”
—Renee L. Bourgeois, Membership & Events/Rentals Coordinator
“Teresa Margolles' La huella (The Imprint) is one of the most compelling works in the exhibition for me. Expanding on her explorations of state violence in her native country, Margolles tackles state violence in the United States. She revisited the site of Garner's killing and stained a shroud with material from the site. Later, the dirt and grime-covered shroud was dipped in water and used to wipe museum windows. The resulting grimy, clouded windows became a lens through which visitors must view the museum--and by extension America, and perhaps the world. The stained windows suggest the stain on America represented by this event. The meditative and very physical acts of dragging, and wiping and the material presence of dirt and grime--which are fitting representations of this sullied police action--make this an incredibly compelling remembrance and critique.”
—Courtney Taylor, Curator and Director of Public Programs
“The work I picked from Destination: Latin America is Marta Maria Perez Bravo’s No matar, ni ver matar animals. I chose Bravo’s photograph because I was pulled in by the suspenseful image of the pregnant figure holding a large knife. It almost looked like a still from a classic horror film. I was even more intrigued by the work when I read that this a part of series of photos that are a staged rebellion, doing the things that pregnant women should not do according to superstitions that are inherently sexist.”
—Jordan Hess, Preparator
Betsabeé Romero, Ceci n’est pas une voiture I (This Is Not a Car I), from the installation Auto-construido (Self–Built), 2000, color photograph, 1 from an edition of 5, Collection Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift of the artist, EL 04.2016.01
“This work (pictured above) brings up an intriguing question: I wonder if the car was built to match the painting or was the painting made to match the car?”
—Becky Abadie , Business Manager
“I love the colors and gestural lines that capture the movement and emotion of the scene pictured in Untitled (Aztec Indian Scene) by Jose Clemente Orozco.”
—LeAnn Russo, Museum Store Manager & Membership Coordinator
Dulce Pinzón, Superman. Noé Reyes from the State of Puebla. Works as a delivery boy in Brooklyn New York. He sends 500 dollars a week, from the series The True Story of Superheroes, 2005–2010. Digital color photograph on paper, 30 x 36 inches (image and sheet). From an edition of 7, 2 a/p, 2nd of 2. Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift of the artist, 2017.01.01
“My first reaction to this image (pictured above above) is amusement at the incongruity of a man wearing a comic book character’s costume while flying down the streets of Brooklyn on a bicycle. But the artist presents a more serious subject, reminding us of the many people who work in this country temporarily to help their families back home. The subject may be an ordinary person, but the artist dresses him in Superman’s clothes, telling us that he is extraordinary and a hero. The photograph reminds us that so many people we see around us are truly super heroes, working hard to achieve extraordinary results.”
—Fran Huber, Assistant Director of Collections Management
“Carlos Garaicoa's En busca del Santo Grial caught my attention because of the vivid colors and the apparent reference to an empire in decay. He references conservation and remembrance of the rich past. Tiling is a colonial hold over that represents the dysfunctional social programs that threw Havana into disrepair and decay. Remembering our past is an important part of healing and moving forward.”
—Nedra Hains, Director of Development and External Affairs
“I applaud the optical magic of Jesús Rafael Soto work Bleu sur le rectangle (Blue on the Rectangle). The simple idea of floating squares in front of lines becomes a celebration of vision and illusion. The one blue square is a wonderful way to energize your field of vision as the work seems alive. It "shimmers" and tricks the eye. I return to it each time in the gallery and have shared this magic with many people.”
—Daniel Stetson, Executive Director
Carlos Cruz-Diez, Chromointerference, 1968. Motorized construction, 30 from an edition of 50. Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art, 1973.10.14
“I really enjoy the artworks of Carlos Cruz-Diez featured in Destination: Latin America, especially Chromointerference (pictured above). Watching the optical effects and interacting with this artwork is a fun experience. I always find artistic process fascinating, so researching the amount of trial and error and how he discovered these optical effects of color is so interesting to me. This work demonstrates the many possibilities of how we can see the world…and also the science of how the human eye sees color and movement…so captivating!”
—Sarah Amacker, Communications Coordinator
“My undergraduate art history professor was a specialist in Italian contemporary art and sung the praises of Lucio Fontana, so I will always have a special fondness for his work. I love that he didn't just slash the canvas in his piece Concetto Speziale and create negative space, but also backed the slashes with black tape, truly creating a sense of depth and almost infinite black space behind the canvas.”
—Olivia Johnson, Curatorial Assistant
“Amongst many stellar works in Destination: Latin America, I am drawn to Maria Marinez-Canas work on paper, Totem blanco: mi huella en su mar (White Totem: My Footprint in Your Sea). Its layered and fragmented surface, forming a totem invites you to lean in for a closer look. Canas, who was born in Cuba and moved to Puerto Rico at three months has spent her adult life attempting to understand her identity and sense of place—feeling Cuban without the physical ties of place. In this series, she creates totems with photographs from Cuba, fragmenting those memories to create a new, chosen identity. Totems are objects that stand for a part of a family or tribe—they are an absolute marker for identity and place. I look forward to sharing this work with student in ArtWorks for the last months of the exhibit in our Materials and Tools lesson. Among other works, students will think about how this piece is similar to Memories of Betrandville by Willie Birch—his own sort of totem to memory of home. Students will then work on their own narrative that will be combined to create larger than life totems in the Young Artist Gallery.”
—Grant Benoit, Educator
Destination: Latin America is now on view at the LSU Museum of Art until February 9, 2020.