We Are All Immigrants
2018
Necklace Brooch in oxidized sterling silver, 22-karat gold and ruby beads
Part of the show La Frontera: Encounters Along The Border at Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, 2018
Nothing can obscure the fact that all Americans, unless descended from Native Americans or ancestors who were brought here quite literally in shackles, originate from immigrants to this country. Yet many contemporary US citizens have contemptuous attitudes toward Mexican and other immigrants, who work themselves to the bone in a country that severely under appreciates them. My focus in this piece is to spotlight this hypocrisy, with an emphasis on the current administration’s reckless and inhumane obsession with building a Mexico-US border wall.
Circular in outline, the necklace/brooch evokes wholeness, cyclic movement, and the shape of the Earth. At the same time, its dual nature speaks to the idea of division while being whole. In combining blackened silver with 22-karat gold, I seek to conjure contrasting concepts and emotions, starkness and richness, emphasized by the addition of deep red ruby beads, their color suggestive both of blood and of love.
Nada puede oscurecer el hecho de que todos los estadounidenses, a menos que desciendan de los nativos americanos o tengan ancestros que hayan sido traidos aqui, literalmente en grilletes, provienen de inmigrantes que llegaron a este pais. No obstante, muchos ciudadanos norteamericanos contemporaneos tienen actitudes despectivas hacia los mexicanos y otros inmigrantes, los cuales trabajan a muerte en un pais que los rechaza contundentemente. El punto medular en esta pieza es la hipocresia, remarcando la obsesion inhumana e insensata que tiene el gobierno actual por construir un muro fronterizo.
Con su forma circular, el collar/broche evoca la totalidad, el movimiento ciclico y la forma de la Tierra. Al mismo tiempo, su naturaleza dual habla de la idea de division y es una unidad. Al combinar plata ennegrecida con oro de 22 K, busco apelar a conceptos y emociones contrastantes, austeridad y riqueza, resaltados con la adicion de rubies rojo intenso, cuyo color sugiere tanto la sangre como el amor.
MAD exhibit page
Velvet da Vinci show page
VdaV FB page and artist statement
Part of the show La Frontera: Encounters Along The Border at Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, 2018
Nothing can obscure the fact that all Americans, unless descended from Native Americans or ancestors who were brought here quite literally in shackles, originate from immigrants to this country. Yet many contemporary US citizens have contemptuous attitudes toward Mexican and other immigrants, who work themselves to the bone in a country that severely under appreciates them. My focus in this piece is to spotlight this hypocrisy, with an emphasis on the current administration’s reckless and inhumane obsession with building a Mexico-US border wall.
Circular in outline, the necklace/brooch evokes wholeness, cyclic movement, and the shape of the Earth. At the same time, its dual nature speaks to the idea of division while being whole. In combining blackened silver with 22-karat gold, I seek to conjure contrasting concepts and emotions, starkness and richness, emphasized by the addition of deep red ruby beads, their color suggestive both of blood and of love.
Nada puede oscurecer el hecho de que todos los estadounidenses, a menos que desciendan de los nativos americanos o tengan ancestros que hayan sido traidos aqui, literalmente en grilletes, provienen de inmigrantes que llegaron a este pais. No obstante, muchos ciudadanos norteamericanos contemporaneos tienen actitudes despectivas hacia los mexicanos y otros inmigrantes, los cuales trabajan a muerte en un pais que los rechaza contundentemente. El punto medular en esta pieza es la hipocresia, remarcando la obsesion inhumana e insensata que tiene el gobierno actual por construir un muro fronterizo.
Con su forma circular, el collar/broche evoca la totalidad, el movimiento ciclico y la forma de la Tierra. Al mismo tiempo, su naturaleza dual habla de la idea de division y es una unidad. Al combinar plata ennegrecida con oro de 22 K, busco apelar a conceptos y emociones contrastantes, austeridad y riqueza, resaltados con la adicion de rubies rojo intenso, cuyo color sugiere tanto la sangre como el amor.
MAD exhibit page
Velvet da Vinci show page
VdaV FB page and artist statement
