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Contact: Lauren Van Natten ¡MERENGUE! On View at El Museo del Barrio
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Héctor Méndez Caratini. The Eye of Memory: Three Decades, 1974 – 2003 will present approximately 50 photographs, both black and white and color, as well as seven of the artist’s video works presented as a continuous loop. Illuminating what Viera refers to as “visual magical realism,” the work of Méndez Caratini preserves the folkloric traditions and cultural memory of the people of Puerto Rico, of the Dominican Republic , and of other nations’ communities of Indo-American ancestry. The exhibition is divided into 13 series, ranging from documentary photographs of rock engravings preserved from the Taíno tribes originally inhabiting the Antilles to images that chronicle the peaceful civil disobedience movement in Vieques.
Visually interpreting the Afro-Caribbean religious rituals that celebrate a syncretism of Catholicism with African deities, Méndez Caratini captures the diverse, converging elements that define the hybrid identities of the Americas. Renowned for his color photographs of carnival costumes and masks at folk festivals in the Puerto Rican towns of Hatillo, Ponce and Loíza, he also focuses upon other popular traditions such as the improvised dances of the bomba or the festive occasion of the pig roast. Other series reveal Méndez Caratini’s efforts to preserve the natural environment in his beautiful botanical studies of flora or his renderings of the mystical mountain scenery of Jayuya, the region whose name signifies “land of the dead” in the Taíno language.
Héctor Méndez Caratini holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico. He has studied with Ricardo Alegría at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y del Caribe, in San Juan, and exhibited throughout the Americas and in Europe at institutions including La Casa de América, Madrid; Centre d’Art Georges Pompidou; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana; Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City; and the New Museum of Contemporary Art. The recipient of several grants from The Puerto Rican Foundation for the Humanities/National Endowment for the Humanities, San Juan, Méndez Caratini is represented in the collections of El Museo del Barrio, New York; Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas; and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Support for Héctor Méndez Caratini. The Eye of Memory: Three Decades, 1974 – 2003 has been generously provided by Fundación Voz del Centro and Ángel Collado Schwarz. Media sponsors for this exhibition are The New York Times’ Community Affairs Department and Univision 41/Telefutura 68.
Press Contact : Lauren Van Natten
T. 212 660 7102
lvannatten@elmuseo.org
 “Untitled” (I Love NY ), 1991 C-print jigsaw puzzle in plastic bag 10 ½ x 13 ½ inches Edition of 3, 1 A.P. ARG# GF1991-75 Photo: Oren Slor © The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery , New York |
Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Early Impressions will present documents, working papers, and materials from the artist’s period of study and artistic production and activity in Puerto Rico (1978-1985). This material includes poems, photographs, texts and conceptual projects published in newspapers and magazines; stills documenting performances; experimental videos; sketches and proposals for projects never realized; and ephemera such as press releases and invitations. Twelve mature works, borrowed from public and private collections, will be placed in the context of these preliminary projects to reveal the trajectory of Gonzalez-Torres’ conceptual, personal and political concerns as well as the development of his innovative use of popular, mass-reproducible mediums. Included in this exhibition are news clipping works, photograph-imprinted puzzles, and three of the artist’s well-known paper “stack” pieces that shift traditional ideas of ownership, value and meaning by inviting the viewer to individualize the experience of the work by taking a sheet. These stacks simultaneously play upon the idea of the printed poster, an important form in Puerto Rican and Cuban art.
The exhibition’s curator, Elvis Fuentes , has commented on the continuity and progression of specific themes in Gonzalez-Torres’ work: “Experimentation in photography and printmaking, a strong relationship to the media—particularly the press—the importance of text as image, in dialogue with the poster tradition, the themes of beach and memory, the experience of migration and the family—these are some of the strands that link the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres (registered in his catalogue raisonnée) with his formative stage in Puerto Rico. The documents reunited by this project . . . demonstrate the necessity to study more profoundly this relationship.”
In relation to the influence of the graphic tradition in Puerto Rico upon the contemporary artist as well as to the development of artistic production outside of mainstream methods, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Early Impressions will be presented concurrently with Between the Lines: Text as Image. An Homage to Lorenzo Homar and The Reverend Pedro Pietri, an original exhibition featuring select works by the two major, recently deceased Puerto Rican masters who highlighted poetry, language, and texts in their works. El Museo’s presentation will link the two artists – Homar as a leading Caribbean printmaker and Pietri as influential performance artist and co-founder of the Nuyorican literary movement – and their circles for the first time, and will correspond with the use of text and reproducible forms as explored in Gonzalez-Torres’ earlier work. A full range of public programs for adults and children will accompany both exhibitions.
Support for Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Early Impressions has been generously provided by Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro. Additional support has been provided by Art Nexus, Diageo North America and by the Hispanic Federation. The media sponsor for this exhibition is Univision 41/Telefutura 68.
Contact : Lauren Van Natten
T. 212 660 7102
lvannatten@elmuseo.org
New York, NY – February 2006 – El Museo del Barrio, New York’s premier Latino and Latin American cultural institution, will present Between the Lines: Text as Image. An Homage to Lorenzo Homar and The Reverend Pedro Pietri from February 24 – September 10, 2006. This original exhibition will feature select works by two recently deceased Puerto Rican masters: leading printmaker Lorenzo Homar (1913-2004) and influential performance artist, political activist and co-founder of the Nuyorican literary movement, The Reverend Pedro Pietri (1944-2004). The work of both Homar and Pietri celebrates the word – written, spoken and performed – and El Museo’s presentation will focus on this literary aspect, linking the two artists and their circles for the first time. The exhibition is organized by Margarita Aguilar, Curator, El Museo del Barrio.
Between the Lines: Text as Image features works by Homar and Pietri, along with other artists for whom language was the primary subject and content of their artistic practices. Homar’s graphic renditions of political and poetic texts served as means to crystallize the voices of his contemporaries, such as Pablo Neruda, Tomás Blanco, Julia de Burgos and Federico García Lorca. Drawing primarily from the extensive holdings of graphic arts within El Museo’s Permanent Collection, the exhibition forges connections from Homar’s calligraphic images to its resonance in the visual elements used in the Spanglish poetic performances of Pietri as well as in the works of Homar’s colleagues and students, including Antonio Frasconi, José Rosa Castellanos and Antonio Martorell. Debuting in New York will be a partial installation of Martorell’s Jaulabra, literally a contraction meaning “caged-word,” in which a dictionary of ten sacred words such as paz (peace) and verdad (truth) are liberated from traditional text and engrained into wood tiles covering the floor and wall, swirling around the viewer to be reassembled in limitless possibilities.
While El Museo has frequently hosted presentations by Lorenzo Homar and by Pedro Pietri, this project will mark the first museum exhibition focusing upon Pietri’s work as a visual element, and will link his performative, poetic practice to others of his generation, for whom language – whether English, Spanish, or Spanglish – was also an extremely important element of their visual work, including Adál, Papo Colo, and Daniel Joseph Martínez. On display are these artists’ integrations of text and image as signs, brochures and other projects that, by reaching outside the art world, convey political, social and cultural messages as assertions of this generations’ place in society, and illustrate a critical approach to the maintenance of the Latino visual-literary tradition.
Expanding upon the presentation of the Puerto Rican graphic tradition as well as upon the practice of creating art outside of mainstream production, Between the Lines: Text as Image. An Homage to Lorenzo Homar and The Reverend Pedro Pietri will be presented concurrently with Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Early Impressions. This exhibition will highlight the internationally-celebrated conceptual artist’s use of text and reproducible forms as explored in his early efforts created during his formative years in Puerto Rico placed in relationship to selections from his mature and well-known artistic oeuvre. A full range of public programs for adults and children will accompany both exhibitions.
Support for Between the Lines: Text as Image. An Homage to Lorenzo Homar and The Reverend Pedro Pietri has been provided by GEICO, The Hispanic Federation, and by Chocolate Cortés. The media sponsor for this exhibition is Univision 41/Telefutura 68.
Fall 2005
NEW YORK, NY – August 2005 – El Museo del Barrio, New York’s premier Latino and Latin American cultural institution, is excited to announce our fall exhibition. El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files / The Selected Files highlights the most cutting-edge art produced by emerging Latino/Latin American artists working in the greater New York area. While celebrating the experimental immediacy of contemporary art, the project offers the excitement of noting rising talents. This selection of innovative works by 40 artists includes traditional media such as painting, drawing, photography and video, but also showcases more experimental work incorporating sound, performative elements, interactive projects and site-specific installations that will extend beyond the galleries into the lobby and courtyard as well as into the students’ taller, or workshop. This 4 th edition of El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files continues El Museo’s commitment to up-and-coming artists: many of the works on display have been chosen from the unsolicited submissions to El Museo’s Artists’ Archive over the past two years. The exhibition has been curated by Deborah Cullen, Director of Curatorial Programs, El Museo del Barrio, and Miki Garcia, Executive Director, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum. For the first time, the 2005 bienal features an invited guest curator who, spotlighting a specific country or region, will bring artists from their home nation to be represented in the show. This year, guest Marysol Nieves, Curator of Contemporary Art, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, has selected four artists from Puerto Rico for inclusion in the bienal.
A calendar of programs and events complementary to the exhibition as well a 100-page catalogue will be available upon the inauguration of the bienal on September 14. A list of participating artists for El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files / The Selected Files has been made available for the media. Interviews with the artists and curators as well as visits during the installation process may be arranged through our press office. To set up an advance visit of the exhibition to witness the installation, or to request images of works in El Museo’s Bienal, contact Lauren Van Natten by phone at 212 660 7111 or via email at lvannatten@elmuseo.org.
El Museo’s Bienal:The (S) Files / The Selected Files
Major support for El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files / The Selected Files has been provided by Altria Group, Inc. and Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation. Additional funding has been provided by Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, The Greenwall Foundation, Peter Norton Family Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, Mary McCaffrey and Violy & Company. Media partners for the exhibition are The New York Times Community Affairs Department and Univisión 41/TeleFutura 68.
MEXICO: THE REVOLUTION AND BEYOND
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CASASOLA 1900 - 1940
New York, NY - April 2005 – El Museo del Barrio, New York’s premier Latino and Latin American cultural institution, is pleased to announce the opening of Mexico: The Revolution and Beyond. Photographs by Casasola 1900 - 1940. This remarkable exhibition will be on view from April 13 through July 31, 2005 . One of Latin America ’s first 
photojournalists, Agustín Victor Casasola documented the tumultuous events of the early twentieth century in a style that ranged from the celebratory to the unforgettably tragic. The exhibition of 92 selected photographs, culled from the nearly 500,000-image archive, which is part of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico , (INAH); was organized by leading Mexican photography specialist and well-known photographer Pablo Ortiz Monasterio. A full range of educational and cultural programs will accompany the exhibition, including a film series, music and dance performances. A press preview will be held on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 from 11 AM to 1 PM .
“El Museo is proud to present an exhibition that will permit us to strengthen the ties between the Mexican communities in New York and Mexico ,” says Julián Zugazagoitia, Director of El Museo del Barrio “The rare epic archive will introduce enthusiasts of history and photography to the vision of one of Latin America 's first and boldest photojournalists, Agustín Victor Casasola. Through these compelling photographs from the early decades of the 20th century, museum visitors will gain a rich appreciation of Mexico 's modernity as it unfolded.”
The images presented in the exhibition document the history of a nation in the midst of transformation. As it entered a new era, Mexico sought to rid itself of a socially repressive regime. Photographers looked at the nation in a celebratory way by focusing on figures of prominence as well as everyday citizens. The themes of revolution, work, modernity, and urban life are captured in images that record an epoch full of drama and hope. The works of the photographers included in the archives are rich in historic content but also hint at the great power of the medium in shaping the way that history is viewed and perceived.
The Casasola Archive holds the work of Agustín Victor Casasola, that of other photographers contracted by him, and additional images purchased by Casasola. The images portray a positive view of a modern Mexico that emulated Europe . These images were presented for international and domestic consumption. T he exhibition reveals Casasola’s compelling choices, technical expertise, and extraordinary drive to document his country.
The exhibition has been organized by Canopia and Turner in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) and Fototeca Nacional de Pachuca, Mexico . The prints in the exhibition were newly printed by photographer-printers J.M. Castro Prieto and Paco Gómez in 2002.
The major sponsor of this exhibition is Grupo Televisa. Additional support is provided by JOSE CUERVO and Citibank, as well as Jorge Pinto, Adam and Mahnaz Bartos, Tony Bechara, Fairfield Greenwich Group, Yolanda Santos Garza, Gaily Beinecke and Prospect Hill Foundation. Media partners for the exhibition are The New York Times Community Affairs Department and Univision.
Exhibition Highlights
The exhibition focuses on eight distinct themes: Pax Porfiriana, The Revolutionary War, The Work Place, The Eagle and The Serpent, Modern Times, Night Life, Justice and The Famous. Pax Porfiriana reflects the political, social and economic ambitions of the regime and chronicles its important events and ceremonies. Mexico ’s progress through industrialization was emphasized through photographs that featured public works construction, parades and posed images of the rich and famous of the era. Best known for the imagery of the Mexican Revolution, the Casasola Archive includes photographs of its most important protagonists such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Casasola himself traveled with the troops to realistically portray their struggles against an oppressive and authoritarian rule. When the violence ended, the old regime had been demolished; this posed the enormous challenge of reconstructing the country, which could only be achieved through work and modernity. In the sections entitled Modern Times, Justice and Night life, we can see the photographers’ ability to document the new reality emerging out of the revolutionary war: the violent expansion of modernity as a formula for national development, allegedly allowing the entire country to escape backwardness and poverty.
About the artist
Agustín Victor Casasola was born in Mexico City in 1874, began working in typographic workshops at an early age, and was working as a reporter by the age of twenty. At the turn of the century he had established himself as a photographer. In 1912, he opened one of the first professional photography agencies Agencia Mexicana de Información Fotográfica (The Mexican Information and Photographic Agency), in partnership with his brother Miguel; later his children and grandchildren joined the partnership. Casasola’s motto for the company was, “I have or can make the photo you need.” The agency helped Casasola realize his lifelong obsession: the creation of a photographic archive that recorded the history of Mexico as it unfolded.
A full schedule of educational and cultural programs that promote understanding and dialogue about Latin American and Caribbean art and artists will accompany the exhibition. Highlights include an Educator Workshop on April 20, featuring exhibition related activities; a Designer Dialogue with Pablo Medina, Cubanica, on May 14, that will discuss his work, culture and sources of inspiration; and the Miracles on104 th Street Festival on June 18, featuring gallery discussions, workshops and live music jointly hosted by El Museo, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Parks Department. In addition, the renowned actress Susana Alexander, one of the most important figures of Mexican stage and screen, will star in a ne-woman show inLas mujeres no tenemos llenadero (You Can’t Please a Woman) on June 17, reflecting words and sentiments from well-known contemporary Mexican writers. Throughout the duration of the exhibition, free guided tours focusing on different themes of the exhibition will be offered every Saturday.
Catalogue
A 220-page book accompanies the exhibition and includes additional images. Featured in the publication are essays by Pete Hamill, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, Sergio Raúl Arroyo, and Rosa Casanova. The English version is published by APERTURE in cooperation with CONACULTA (Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes) and INAH ( Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia); the Spanish language edition is available from Turner.
Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits
NEW YORK, NY – (October 7 28 , 2004) – El Museo del Barrio, New York’s premier Latino and Latin American cultural institution, is pleased to announce the opening launching of Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portrait s, a groundbreaking exhibition project exploring Latin American art and history. Retratos will comprise approximately 125 paintings and sculptures culled from the holdings of leading museums across Latin America , Europe , and the United States , as well as from private collections. The exhibition will feature works by artists ranging from the Maya Culture to contemporary Latin American and Latino individuals garnering international recognition today. It will be divided into five chronological sections including: Pre-Columbian, Viceregal, 19th Century, Modern, and Contemporary. Retratos will be on view from December 3, 2004 through March 20, 2005 at El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104 th Street, before commencing a national tour.
The exhibition is the centerpiece of a major international project comprising extensive education materials, innovative outreach programs, a web site, a catalogue, committees of Latino leadership working to support the project, and a team of scholarly advisors. A press preview will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2004 from 11 AM to 1 PM.
Retratos is organized by the San Antonio Museum of Art; the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and El Museo del Barrio, New York.
This project and all related programs and publications are made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund.
The exhibition will feature works by artists ranging from the Maya Culture to contemporary Latin American and Latino individuals garnering international recognition today. It will be divided into five chronological sections: Pre-Columbian, Viceregal, 19th Century, Modern, and Contemporary. Retratos will be on view from December 3, 2004 through March 20, 2005 at El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104 th Street , before commencing a national tour. A press preview will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2004 from 11 AM to 1 PM .
Julián Zugazagoitia, Director of El Museo del Barrio, commented, “It is a great privilege for El Museo del Barrio to present this breathtaking assemblage of treasures from Latin America and the Caribbean . This exhibition highlights the exciting complexity and richness of our people, from the pre-Columbian times all the way to contemporary portraits, in which we see the inner quest of knowing who we are. We are deeply grateful to Ford Motor Company Fund for making this great exhibition possible and we are honored to be the first venue in its national tour.”
Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portrait s was developed by a curatorial team led by including : Dr. Marion Oettinger, Jr., Senior Curator, San Antonio Museum of Art, and scholar in anthropology; Ms. Fatima Bercht , Chief Curator, El Museo del Barrio, and art historian with expertise in modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art; Dr. Carolyn Kinder Carr, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, National Portrait Gallery, and American art scholar with a specialty in portraiture; and Dr. Miguel Bretos, Senior Scholar, National Portrait Gallery, and historian with expertise in the field of Latin America.
“Ford Motor Company Fund is proud to partner with such a distinguished team of scholars to make the Retratos project possible,” said Sandra E. Ulsh, President, Ford Motor Company Fund. “Ford Motor Company Fund is dedicated to celebrating cultural diversity and to supporting arts and education programs that stimulate cross-cultural exchange. Following the Ford-sponsored exhibitions El Alma del Pueblo and Visiones del Pueblo , Retratos furthers Ford Motor Company Fund’s commitment to honoring the heritage and achievements of the Latino community.”
Most of the works featured in Retratos have never before been presented in the United States . Among the artists represented in the exhibition will be: Antonio Berni (Argentinean), Fernando Botero (Colombian), José Campeche (Puerto Rican), José Gil de Castro (Peruvian), Oswaldo Guayasamín (Ecuadorian), Frida Kahlo (Mexican), Anita Malfatti (Brazilian), Armando Reverón (Venezuelan), Diego Rivera (Mexican), David Alfaro Siqueiros (Mexican), and Rufino Tamayo (Mexican ) ), among others .
Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portrait s will present works representing more than 15 countries in Latin America, and will include loans from private collections and institutions around the world such as Mexico’s National Museum of Art; Chile’s National Museum of History; Peru’s National Museum of Anthropology and History; the Museum of Art of Ponce, Puerto Rico; and Madrid’s Museum of America. The exhibition will offer visitors an unprecedented opportunity to explore the vibrant tradition of portraiture in Latin America through the faces of indigenous leaders; Spanish viceroys; bold revolutionaries; ordinary women, children, and men; cloistered nuns; scholars; and world-renowned Latin American artists. The exhibition will also offer insight into how portraiture was used over 2,000 years in Latin America to build support for individuals in power, commemorate the accomplishments of leaders, preserve the memory of the deceased, and undermine symbols of the status quo.
The team of scholars developing the exhibition has worked very closely with leading museums around the world and high-level diplomats to secure loans for Retratos . Cultural attachés in the United States , embassy representatives, and the cultural leadership within Latin American governments collaborated to encourage museums to lend major paintings and other important works.
National Tour:
Education initiatives and community outreach programs have been developed through a committee of leaders in museum education drawn from the partnering institutions to bring this project to fruition. Nationally, the exhibition’s bilingual education materials will include a teacher’s resource guide, a family activity guide, a website, a poster, bilingual wall labels, and a comprehensive brochure. The educational outreach for this project has also received support from the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives.
Retratos offers an unprecedented opportunity for broad outreach and educational initiatives. Through an array of programs including guided tours , hands-on workshops , educator workshops and a family day, Latino and non-Latino students and families will be introduc ed to key figures of Latin American and Latino history, often missing from textbooks , as well as the lives of ordinary people representing the diverse culture and traditions of Latin America throughout history . In addition, a symposium to be held on March 12, 2005 in El Museo’s Hecks c her Theatre in conjunction with the exhibition will bring together contemporary artists, historians, and art historians to discuss recent scholarship around issues of representation and identity in portraiture.
National and Local Committees of Honor composed of Latino and Latin American leadership in the United States are being organized to support the exhibition. These committees comprise international ambassadors and cultural attachés, as well as key governmental, civic, social and corporate leaders from the Latino communities on both the national and local levels. Local committees are being developed in close partnership with the presenting museums. The committee members will work to ensure that the project reaches as broad an audience as possible, supports educational initiatives within their communities, and provides a platform for exploring the historic roots and contemporary Latino experience in the United States .
The exhibition will be accompanied by a A major catalogue of approximately 300 illustrated pages . will be among the project’s components. Encompassing 10 essays by leading scholars in their respective fields, the catalogue will explore the artistic, historical, and social trends and events influencing portraits in each section of the exhibition.
Columbian Art, Dunbarton Oaks, will write an essay on pre-Columbian portraiture.
Collection, and Adjunct Curator at the Museum of Modern Art , New York , will contribute an overview of contemporary portraiture.
Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, supports programs that enhance and enrich the communities where Ford Motor Company does business. Ford Motor Company Fund is committed to creating educational opportunities that stimulate creativity and promote cultural diversity. In 2003, Ford Motor Company Fund contributed more than $50 million to educational pipeline initiatives and cultural programs, including nationally touring exhibitions and performing arts events. For more information on programs made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund, visit www.ford.com
Media Sponsors: The New York Times Community Affairs and UNIVISION 41
Ilana B. Simon/Casey L. Barber / Resnicow Schroeder Associates / Tel: 212.671.5176/5179 Email: isimon/cbarber@resnicowschroeder.com
New York, NY (November 5,
2003) - El Museo del Barrio, proudly presents Voces y Visiones: Highlights
from El Museo del Barrio's Permanent Collection, opening on November
14, 2003 and will remain on view through February 8, 2004. The long-awaited
exhibition will feature over 100 works that are considered the major
highlights of the museum's permanent collection and display broad range
of artistic expressions in a variety of media. The works also represent
the complex, diverse reality of contemporary Latino constructs of identity
and culture. Voces y Visiones presents work that span from pre-Columbian
artifacts to arresting contemporary art. Organized to coincide and mark
El Museo del Barrio's 35th anniversary, Voces is the first comprehensive,
traveling exhibition the museum has organized.
"This is an important moment
for El Museo del Barrio," commented Julian Zugazagoitia, director
of El Museo. "For the first time in many years, we are able to
present highlights from the permanent collection. Both the exhibition
and the accompanying five-volume catalogue set insert El Museo del Barrio's
unique history and curatorial practices into the ever-evolving discourse
of contemporary art history and specifically Latino art history. It
also provides a historical reference point and context for all of our
work while we celebrate a significant milestone in the life of our institution
- our 35th year anniversary!"
1) The Taínos and Their Legacy: The Taíno were the dominant culture in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas from about 1200 to 1500 A.D. Their sculptural objects, ceramics, tools, dance, music, and poetry are important elements of the Caribbean's Pre-Columbian past. Their inventiveness and dynamism were also reflected in their social hierarchies and political organization, which by the time of the conquest had evolved into complex political entities that resembled true states and it is only then that the Taíno legacy began to receive the academic interest the Aztec and Maya cultures have enjoyed for decades. The exhibition includes archaeological objects from the Taíno culture as well as fine art photographs, posters, and contemporary works that have been influenced by the Taíno legacy.
2) Popular Traditions: Santos de palos (small devotional objects), Ex-votos, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Masks, Textiles, and Popular Traditions, El Museo del Barrio has a diverse collection of Caribbean and Latin American folk art. Over 900 secular and religious objects comprise these holdings. The most important ensembles in the Collection are the Santos de Palo and it is one of the country's finest. Santos de Palo are objects thought to be imbedded with the saint's spirit and are used for requesting favors or miracles. El Museo del Barrio's collection of Santos de Palo contains wooden sculptures created by the traditional carvers-the santeros-of rural, pre-industrial Puerto Rico between roughly 1850 and 1940. This category also includes ex votos, or votive offerings of prayer and gratitude, which are expressed in tokens that focus petitions on ailing body parts, or as paintings depicting a prayer miraculously answered. This devotional practice remains widespread in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and other Latin American countries today.
A popular Mexican holiday celebrated annually on November 1, "The Day of the Dead" also has its roots in Pre-Columbian times. The holiday honors the deceased and fosters an active and positive relationship between the living and the memory of the dead. Some of the traditional objects used to celebrate this holiday are skeletons of all kinds. Other objects among the folk arts include textiles, ceramics, photography, and other contemporary art.
3) Graphics: Because of the traditional emphasis on printmaking in Latin America, and the excellence of its artists in this medium, El Museo has a superb collection of graphics by diverse constituencies, particularly by Puerto Rican and Mexican creators. These include lithographs, linoleum block prints, wood engravings, silk screens, and photo silk screens.
4) Modern & Contemporary Arts: A variety of media that reflect the rich Latin-American tradition of abstraction, including hard-edge geometric works, pop art, and the aesthetic of accumulation practiced by Puerto Rican and Chicano artists since the 1980s, can be found in much contemporary Latin-American art in El Museo del Barrio's collection. Also included are contemporary works that focus specifically on Puerto Rican and Nuyorican, and Mexican and Mexican-American (Chicano) expression. Prints, paintings, and sculptures from the early 20th century through the present depicting the ongoing political and civil struggles of the people have helped shape their cultural identity. This area also includes examples of Chilean, Colombian, and Cuban contemporary political representations.
Exhibition Highlights
Exclusive to the New York venue are featured works acquired through
PRO ARTISTA: Sustaining the Work of Living Contemporary Artists, a fund
from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust, in conjunction with the generosity
of the artist; includes contemporary works from Papo Colo (b. 1946 San
Juan, Puerto Rico; lives and works in New York); Pablo Helguera (b.
1971 Mexico City, Mexico; lives and works in New York), Charles Juhász-Alvarado
(b. 1965 Clark Air Base, Philippines; lives and works in San Juan, Puerto
Rico); Vargas Suarez-Universal (b. 1972 Mexico City, Mexico; lives and
works in New York) and Miguel Trelles (b. 1969 San Juan, Puerto Rico
and lives and works in New York); the works span a period from 1971
to present.
Exhibition Sponsors
This traveling exhibition is
sponsored by 
Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and
the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
Support for the New York presentation of this exhibition provided by:
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration
Acquisitions of several works in this exhibition have been made possible
thanks to a fund from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust, PRO ARTISTA:
Sustaining the Work of Living Contemporary Artist
The exhibition media partners are:
Telemundo 47 WNJU / NBC 4
El Diario La Prensa
Tampa Museum of Art (FL) |
July 20 - October 19, 2003 |
El Museo del Barrio (NY) |
November 13, 2003-February 8,2004 |
Parrish Art Museum (LI) |
March 21 - May 16, 2004 |
Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute (NY) |
October 31, 2004 - January 2, 2005 |
Seton Hall University (NJ) |
February - March 2005 |
Centro Cultural Eduardo León Jimenes, Santiago, Dominican Republic |
November 8, 2005-January 15, 2006 |
| The Currier Museum of Art, Manchester (NH) | March 11 - June 26, 2006 |
Retratos: 2000 Years
of Latin American Portraits
September 15, 2004 - January 15,
2005
This exhibition covers the rich tradition of Latin American portraiture spanning 2000 years from the pre-Columbian era, through Vice-regal and Independence eras, to modern and contemporary times. This exhibition is jointly organized by the San Antonio Museum of Art (San Antonio, Texas), El Museo del Barrio (New York, NY) and the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.). It will premiere at El Museo del Barrio and then initiate its national tour to major American museums in Texas, California, Florida, and Washington, D.C. This is the first exhibition ever organized on the genre of portraiture in Latin America assembling over one hundred masterpieces selected from public and private collections in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
On permanent view:
TAÍNO: Ancient Voyagers of the
Caribbean
Curated by Dr. Dicey Taylor, Guest Curator
Organized by El Museo, this exhibition is dedicated to the Taíno, an important
culture that flourished from 1200 to 1500 AD, on
several Caribbean islan
ds.
Taíno features approximately 100 works, including outstanding ceremonial
and domestic objects finely created in stone, wood, bone, ceramic, and shell.
The exhibition includes selected works from El Museo's Permanent Collection,
and loans from other major institutions and private collections. This exhibition-the
most comprehensive of its kind in a US museum-provides the public with an
overall view of the history, cosmology, art and culture of the Taíno,
as well as their legacy to present-day Caribbean culture.
If you would like to be added to El Museo's press list, please submit your name, affiliation, address, email and telephone/fax numbers along with your preferred method of receiving information.
