By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

A multi-sensory exhibition addressing the complexities of the Mexican-American border is now on display at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM).

Border Cantos / Sonic Border is a collaboration between photographer Richard Misrach and composer/artist Guillermo Galindo. Misrach and Galindo came together in 2011 after discovering they were both creating work related to the border.

Composed of photographic landscapes, sonic composition, musical sculptures, found objects and interactive elements, Border Cantos introduces distinct yet interrelated ways of experiencing the human consequences of immigration policies.

“It provides a platform for us to talk about a really difficult issue – what’s happening along the U.S. – Mexican border,” said GRAM Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Jennifer Wcisel.

Wcisel went on to say that the artists are not making overt political statements with their work. Rather, they are attempting to communicate the experience of crossing that border region.

“Art is a powerful tool for creating conversations, challenging perspectives, and encouraging empathy,” said Wcisel.

Though Michigan is geographically removed from that border region, Wcisel believes in the importance of bringing Border Cantos to West Michigan.

“This is a conversation that our whole country should be engaged in,” said Wcisel. “I’m hoping that the show provides some understanding, some empathy, and starts to get people thinking about the circumstances of their own lives. And how the circumstances for others could be different based on nothing but chance or where they were born.”

More than just beauty

As a photographer, Misrach was drawn to the beauty of the desert.

While working in the desert, Misrach began seeing evidence of people, changes to the landscape – and then sections of border wall being built.

The artist could no longer think of the desert in relation to beauty only.

While both men have spent time in the border regions, most objects are collected by Misrach and sent to Galindo. Galindo then transforms those objects into musical instruments.

A photographic revelation

Entering the Border Cantos exhibition, visitors will encounter ten of Misrach’s large-scale photographic works, organized in order of human intervention.

Guests will see the beauty that originally drew the artist, but also the border wall cutting through the landscape.

One photograph features a small section of wall standing alone in a remote location.

“At the time, it had just been erected and [Misrach] took a photograph assuming they were going to build more,” said Wcisel. “He returned three years later expecting it to look different. It did not.”

Another photograph captures drag tracks. Border Patrol Agents (BPAs) drag heavy objects behind pickup trucks to create smooth paths in the sand, making it easier to spot footprints.

“They’re deliberately making it difficult for migrants to conceal their paths when they cross,” Wcisel said. “In response, migrants create booties made out of carpet, foam, anything to obfuscate their paths.”

One photograph contains a mystery that the artist hasn’t been able to solve.

The effigies, as Misrach and Gilando call them, resemble stick figures dressed in discarded clothing. 

“Richard came across these and doesn’t know if they were grave sites, or memorials, or warnings. But whoever made them clearly stopped and took a lot of time to construct these,” said Wcisel, adding that she was unable to find any examples of similar effigies.

A symphony of objects

Border Cantos is one of the first times GRAM has incorporated a musical composition as part of an exhibition.

Eight instruments continuously play a composition created by Gilando in the gallery space as visitors walk through. Speakers inside each instrument pedestal play notes and rhythms from that instrument.

“If you’re standing in the middle, it’s like being surrounded by an orchestra,” said Wcisel.

Digging deeper

At first glance, Gilando’s instruments formed from found objects simply seem creative. A closer look, however, gives a disturbing revelation.

Several found objects used as integral parts of the instruments are vertebrae and shotgun shells.

“When you really think about what [the instrument] is made out of…I think that’s very unsettling,” said Wcisel.

Wcisel revealed that many migrants die from dehydration while trying to cross the border. A bottle wrapped in a towel shows attempts to prevent water from evaporating in the desert heat.

Humanitarian groups create water stations by placing barrels labeled Agua/Water in the most dangerous regions. However, BPAs often shoot at the barrels, or stop and empty the water.

A landscape that appears to be decorated with confetti is actually littered with thousands of shotgun shells from a BPA practice range.

“As you think deeper about all of these things,” Wcisel said, “you’re like, why are they doing this, why are they armed, why are they practicing?”

The connection between Misrach’s photographs and Gilando’s instruments is unique, said Wcisel. “Even though they might not have been creating the work together, there’s a sense of dialogue between the works.”

Increased danger

A large map of the border shows strategic placement of the border wall.

Sections of wall were built in areas with cities on either side of the border because those were more common crossing sites. This has forced migrants to cross in other areas.

“People are going to these blank sections where there are no cities, they are far less populated, and it is far more dangerous to be out there in the desert so far away from any help,” said Wcisel. “It has really made the crossing all that more dangerous.”

Time for reflection

The final portion of the Border Cantos exhibit offers a chance for reflection and sharing.

Benches allow seating for guests as they watch videos of Gilando playing the exhibit instruments.

An interactive section allows visitors to share their migration story by writing or drawing about their family’s experiences moving to a new place on sticky notes, then placing them on a map.

“It gets at the idea that we all came from somewhere,” said Wcisel. “Migration is such an integral part of humanity. Humanity is always moving and responding to crises and change.”

The Hispanic Center of Western Michigan helped immigrants who made the border crossing, and are now living in Grand Rapids, tell their stories of migration.

“Those also will be added to this experience, but in a more permanent way,” said Wcisel.

A migration story on canvas

As guests prepare to leave the exhibit, a large oil painting by Michigan State University art professor Teresa Dunn tells one last migration story.

El Corrido De Javier Salas Vera details the journey of a man named Javier as he crossed the border into the United States.

Every image incorporated into the canvas has meaning.

Dark and light portions of the painting represent the three day and night cycles of Javier’s crossing from Mexico. Depictions of a coyote, skull, and grave represent danger and death.

Captured in vibrant color is Javier’s arrival to the United States, meeting his wife, a time of deportation to Mexico, and the birth of his son.

A song in the bottom left corner of the canvas touches on a Mexican musical tradition of epic hero stories told through song.

“That was sort of her touch point for telling this story,” said Wcisel. “Javier’s story is like one of these heroic songs from Mexican culture.”

Dunn painted Javier’s story, Wcisel said, to encourage people to put themselves in someone else’s shoes for a moment, and remember that no one is truly removed from this situation.

Still doing the work

As Wcisel helps give voice to the thousands of people who have journeyed through the borderlands in hopes of a better life, she admits her job as curator can be emotionally difficult at times.

“It always feels very personal, whatever it is, because the artists are doing such meaningful things and trying to put these meaningful messages out into the world,” said Wcisel. “It’s hard not to make it personal.

“But what’s also lovely is getting to know these artists. It’s nice to see how optimistic and still hopeful they are about these things. They’re still out there, they’re still doing the work.”

Wcisel encourages GRAM visitors to reflect on the humanity shown in the Border Cantos migration experiences, and have empathy for the plight of migrants everywhere.

Exhibition details

Border Cantos / Sonic Border can be viewed through April 28, and is presented in both English and Spanish.

For more information about the exhibit and related events, click here.