Voices in Our Heads
Curator Tatiana Flores Wows at Molaa with Caribbean Art
Tatiana Flores, Ph.D. is the guest curator of the newest exhibition at the Museum of Latin American Art (molaa) in Long Beach, Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago. The exhibition, now at molaa until February 25, 2018, features over 80 artists with roots in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Curaçao, Aruba, St. Martin, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Barbados. Relational Undercurrents is supported by grants from the Getty Foundation as part of their Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a self-described “…far reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles.” Pacific Standard Time is being held at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California from Los Angeles to Palm Springs and from San Diego to Santa Barbara.
Scherezade Garcia (Dominican Republic, b. 1966) In My Floating World, Landscape of Paradise from the series Theories on Freedom, 2011 Plastic tubes, prints, rubber and illustrations, variable dimensions Courtesy of the artist and the Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery, New York
Professor Tatiana Flores is an Associate Professor in the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies and the Department of Art History and an affiliate of the Critical Caribbean Studies Program at Rutgers University. She spoke with PalacioMagazine.com near one of the massive pieces of artwork in the museum’s lobby, In My Floating World, Landscape of Paradise from the series Theories on Freedom / En mi mundo flotante, Paisajes de paraíso de la serie Teorías sobre la libertad by artist Scherezade Garcia from the Dominican Republic / República Dominicana. The wall length artwork is described as “Plastic tubes, prints, rubber and illustrations, variable dimensions / Tubos de plástico, estampados, goma e ilustraciones, dimensiones variables.”
Dr. Tatiana Flores
Dr. Tatiana Flores Describes the Exhibition
The exhibition, according to Dr. Flores, is a survey of contemporary Caribbean art by artists who are originally from the islands and from their diaspora. The Pacific Standard Time exhibit was conceptualized as dealing with the theme of Latino/Latin America.
“…and to question the borders and the conceputalized idea of Latin America, this idea that it is only the Spanish-speaking territories and Brazil and what is place of the Caribbean.”
The Caribbean Islands are a league of independendent and colonial territories that include the histories, cultures, and languages from England, Spain, France, and the Dutch. The same nations are that colonized other parts of Latin America.
“This is one of the issues I wanted to problemized. One, the exclusion typically of Caribbean from Latin America which, to me, has had a continental identity. And so what happens to the narrative when you begin from the islands and so it’s looking exclusively at island nations done through the framework of the archipelago.”
According to Dr. Tatiana Flores…
…there are four major themes in the exhibition
Conceptual Mappings focuses on works that represent an active effort to map intentional connectivity.
Perpetual Horizons underscores the horizon, one of the characteristic visual features of island geography, which emerges repeatedly as both a boundary and a threshold of possibilities.
Landscape Ecologies considers the Caribbean as a region of shared ecosystems and habitats.
Representational Acts views representation as an active process rather than a passive translation of the visible world.
Migration is also a prevalent theme in the work. Dr. Flores pointed to the lobby artwork, In My Floating World, Landscape of Paradise, by artist Scherezade Garcia from the Dominican Republic.
“…making reference to the balseros, the people who come on rafts. She also has JFK stickers that relate to the trajectory between the Dominican Republic and JFK New York airport…And so for me, this is a map-like work because I think it’s really poignant the way the life savers are tied together with the plastic luggage tags and in a way, it’s not just speaking about the lone life saver but rather the communities of people [that] make the very dangerous ride of doing it by water or by air.’
Dr. Tatiana Flores makes a good point…
…about whether an exhibit about the Caribbean would resonate with a southern California audience who are more familiar with a migration pattern from a different part of Latin America. She hopes the exhibit does.
“…so in one way, I sort of thinking about being Latino and different kind of ways of broadening that concept of your own hyphenated identity.”
The exhibition curator wants audience to, at least, have a sense of the four major themes.
“…And hopefully they’ll come away with a better appreciation of the many kind of possible ways of expressing belonging.”
The Exhibition…
…is now at the Museum of Latin American Art until February 25, 2018. You can find out more information HERE. PalacioMagazine.com interviewed five of the exhibition’s artists. We’ll profile their art and present their interviews over the next five weeks:
Some examples of other works…
