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It is About Art to Communicate Thoughts and Feelings Associated with Immigration and The Border Wall

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Abstract

Art is a powerful tool for communicating experiences and evoking emotions. It is one of the oldest forms of human communication, used to express thoughts and feelings about big and small things. The earliest known cave paintings date back more than 30,000 years. Today, art continues to express complex emotions and experiences, from the joy of seeing a beloved person to the fear of being separated from family members. This essay demonstrates that art such as murals and installations have the power to communicate, spark change, and exhibit resistance and resilience by claiming spatial ideologies through the construction of visual subjectivity. Furthermore, it aims to add layers of visual discourse by validating the role of digital photography in transforming borders. Through digital photography, the act of resistance seizes and holds the capacity to spread art beyond the place it was created and produced. Thus, photography can be part of the force to transform space and place beyond the physical borderland.

Images do not only serve as a visual to interpret subject matter regarding marginalized issues. Still, they should be viewed through multiple lenses, models, and approaches as they get produced through multi-layered scuffles, lived experiences, and generational memory. Through the use of relevant literature, the essay also discusses images of artwork that were created on the U.S-Mexico border wall between 2011 and 2017 in response to migratory policies and further militarization of the border.

Introduction

The boundary between the United States and Mexico has long been a site of political contention, with the two countries jostling over the right to control it. But the borderlands between the two countries, though they are physically distinct, are not just political or geographical spaces: they are also artistic (Rivera, 2020). The borderlands are a series of sites where artists have explored the borderlands' human, political, and cultural complexity. And the borderlands have become a place where artists have sought to make sense of the world around them and help us understand the complexity of our world and our place in it. However, much of the stuff people remember from art across borders is the outright protest art that vehemently tackles themes like human rights, immigration, and bi-national policies. Even the fence itself has been used as a canvas for influential paintings and installations. Nevertheless, border art has continued to use the wall and the people who cross it as a concept, developing performances pieces or other multimedia works meant to challenge perceptions of the international border (Garcia, 2018). The nexus between arts, culture, and immigration have long been studied in cultural studies and the humanities. The use of art to spearhead social change and spur inventive problem-solving skills is nothing new in today's society. For instance, in the city of Boston, many local artists have recently been using art to express their feelings, thoughts, and concerns about the issue of immigration as it affects so many of us (Bentz, 2020).

According to Gloria Anzaldua, borders are historic colonization sites where dominant forces have been enacted, represented, and misinterpreted historical truths. Borders are viewed as psychological as much physical as they are, and this is because they are formed through hegemony, sexual orientations, and subjugation (Sheren, 2021). They are also seen as spiritual, social, sexual, metaphorical, and economic sites as they are the limits by which people are forced to live (Mehlomakulu, 2017). Through the use of digital photography, plenty of art images have circulated on social media platforms and traditional broadcasting outlets urging individuals to view the wall as a normalized division that holds an untold certainty. Artists exploit the U.S. and Mexico border as a form of art, such as paintings, to counterattack the power organizations (Marlin-Bennett, & Marlin, 2019). The wall made at the Southern border of the U.S. is perceived as a symbol of xenophobic abuses that is often used to demonize and dehumanize the brown bodies that cross it.

History of border art

The emergence of border art can be categorized into many ways that utilize numerous mediums. However, this essay examines art created on the U.S. and Mexico borderland (Heidenry, 2017). The background of this art can be attributed to its attempts to develop a façade and installations that would connect the two physical places and an illusion to eliminate the border entirely. The first artist to use art to protest against the border wall was Ana Teresa Fernandez, a performing artist and painter. Ana was born in Tampico, Mexico, and at the age of eleven, her family moved to the United States. She has used her knowledge of art to strive to transform spaces in ways that challenge individuals' understanding of art. The second artist Marcos Ramirez of Mexico, who migrated to the United States in 1983, has accomplished many things by participating in programs that promote the utilization of art in resisting migratory regulations.

In addition, decorative borders have been used as an artistic device since ancient times, when they were carved into stone, pottery, and other objects. Also, civilizations such as the Romans and Chinese used to practice border drawing and painting as an art form. In the middle Ages, European artists such as Tiepolo, Rubens, and Rembrandt assimilated borders into their artwork. It is, therefore, crystal clear that these artistic depictions of borders reflect a transformation in political climate and alterations in global borders and identities. Conversely, border themes have ranged from the most accurate interpretation; the division between nations, continents, and seas, to a symbolic connotation seen as a separation between good and evil, a divider between life and death, the passage between night and day, and the passage between the living and the dead. In recent years we have seen a surge in what could be termed artivism, which is bringing art and activism together to protest the inequalities created by the border wall (Bristol, 2020). These activists use art to address key concerns by involving the community and other artists. They use new media technologies that facilitate their engagements with various groups. Most of the interesting examples in artivism focus on the US-Mexico border, a space that has always been under tight scrutiny recently. The work of these artists is to express the non-nation state identity and provide a critique of the late capitalist conditions of the border economy.

Through the artivists' collaborations, there have been numerous festivals and interventions on the border, such as the Border-hack festival that began in 2002. It aims to protest the inequalities and hazardous conditions faced by Mexican immigrants. The Tijuana Calling online exhibition also uses new technologies to discover concerns around the border. One of such exhibitions that use new technologies is the Turista Fronterizo which collaborates between multimedia artist Coco Fusco and Cuban-American performance and media activist Ricardo Dominguez (Kroth,2019). The electronic board game slightly resembles the monopoly format, except its properties spaced along the San Diego-Tijuana border. The game, which can be played online show on the board, comments on the socio-political realities associated with each particular location. This kind of work encourages individuals to critique the structural inequalities developed by the border economy and helps them take the best cause of action (Taylor, 2017). Another example is Ricardo Miranda’s work, his project A Geography of Being, an interactive installation consisting of a video game accompanied by sculptures that have electronic circuits capable of reacting to the game. Miranda's game narrates the experiences of a young undocumented immigrant by positioning the player in the role of undocumented youth who needs to learn about the hardships faced by other young persons.

Using art to communicate about immigration

It always takes a creative eye and an audacity in order to draw the lines and turn a symbol meant for divisions into a unifying message. Over the last decade, the world has seen many border walls that have been used as protests tools through the use of art (Peng & Selvachandran, 2019). It is, therefore, correct to say that Donald Trump was not the only president to dream of building a border wall; there have been other walls ranging from the berlin border wall to the present-day West Bank. Border walls have been used to shut out people whose religion, race, ideology, or economic status does not match that of the elites. For artists, the case is different; wherever the anti-immigration departments see opportunity, artists, on the other hand, see a canvas. For instance, two professors from California have transformed part of the U.S-Mexico border into a place where people can interact rather than viewing it as an obstacle.

Art is a medium that, in its various forms, constitutes distinguished means of communication that allows dialogues in formal, informal, and culturally plural contexts within society. It has opened windows through which people have come to understand social connections (DiGiugno, & Sewall, 2019, December). Art has been used to communicate ideas and feelings about immigration throughout history. The Irish Catholics were the first people to use the word immigrant back in 1768 when it was applied to refer to people barred from owning land. In the 19th century, artists used art to document and explore the immigrant experience in the United States. In the 20th century, artists such as David Salle used art to discover immigration in Europe and the Americas. Art has a long history of being used to express political and social beliefs. In the United States, many artists have used their work to capture, explore and express their experiences with immigration. One of the most high-profile examples is the artist collective Undocumented Nation, which uses art to demonstrate the experiences of immigrants who live in the United States without legal authorization. The collective uses art to explore the experiences of those affected by the border wall, a major symbol of the US-Mexico divide in immigration debates.

Expressing feelings and thoughts about the border wall through art

For a very long time, the border wall has been a place used by artists to express themselves through murals, paintings, sculptures, and much more. For instance, the exhibition entitled "Art on the Border,” which featured original artwork from artists from both the United States and Mexico, served as a key reminder of the diverse issues at the border (Herzog, 2021). The exhibition has been on view at the Museum of the Border at the Brownsville Southwestern University campus in Brownsville, Texas, since September 28, 2018. The major purpose why the wall was built by the U.S. government was to keep people out. Nonetheless, some people have still found ways to climb over it, see the other side, or walk around it.

Using this space, artists such as Laura Nelkin traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border and back, authenticating the data she gathered and how the wall affected her feelings and thoughts. Nelkin used photographs, paintings, and installations to communicate her feelings about the wall and the issues it raises. She further states that the wall is more than just a physical barrier between two countries; it is also a symbol of political division. The wall, which the Trump administration proposed to prevent illegal immigration, has generated controversy and protests (Villazor & Johnson, 2019). A good example is Artist J.R., who uses art to communicate political and social messages about the border wall and the political climate of the United States. From JR's lessons, the wall exhibits: ‘The Wall in context with the current political climate and J.R.'s artistic practice.'

The wall is also a canvas on which artists from both countries paint murals, stage performances, and install exhibits that explore the complex themes of immigration, globalization, and the human condition. For instance, the Border Wall Mural Project is a collaboration between the Museum of the Border and the Museo de la Ciudad in Tijuana, Mexico and is preserved at the Museum of the Border in San Ysidro, California (Juárez, 2020). The exhibition consists of 20 murals that tell the border wall story from different perspectives and provide an opportunity for audiences to experience the impact of this divisive artifact in person. The wall has become a symbol of the current political climate, with some individuals using it to demonstrate their political beliefs. Other people use the wall to express their emotions about the political situation. This project explores the role of art in communicating messages about the wall (Khanlou, et al., 2018). It uses art to communicate feelings and thoughts about the wall and explore how people use and perceive it.

Artists and activists also use the border wall to protest politics.

Possibly, one of the most fundamental roles played by the artists and activists is the way they use art to protest the neoliberal policies enforced on the border region by the U.S. government (Strehovec, 2021). For years, the U.S. acquired cheap labor from the south of the border, and most of it came from Mexican immigrants (Tellez & Ramirez, 2018). One of the reasons it became easy to get cheap labor is the U.S. policies enacted through NAFTA, which drove poor Mexicans from their land and forced them to look for jobs in the local factories owned by foreigners (Taylor, 2017). This turned out to be a compelling factor that brought together artists who lived around the border regions and from other places to fight the U.S. government's harsh policies imposed on the people. Their work is to provide nuanced and complex takes on the situations of those who live around the border region.

How the use of art has impacted the people along the border wall

The border between the United States and Mexico is 2,000 miles long, but the border begins in their living rooms for many Americans. The countless murals, sculptures, paintings, and other works of art that line the US-Mexico border tell stories about the people, the history, and the culture of the two countries. These works of art are often installed by organizations that work to raise awareness about the border and its importance to the United States, Mexico, and the world. But these large-scale art installations have also impacted how people interact with the border (McKenna, 2019). The goal of these installations was to increase awareness of the border region, increase tourism, and improve the quality of life for border residents.

The scale and scope of these works were unprecedented and created a unique form of public art that was on display to thousands of people every day. The murals often feature international solidarity and cross-border exchange scenes, and the sculptures frequently depict migrants and the environment. In some cases, art on the US-Mexico border is explicitly political, with installations and performances exploring the history of the US-Mexico border, the current state of border security and immigration, and the role of the U.S. in the world. The presence of art on the US-Mexico border has changed people's perceptions and ideas about the region and, in some cases, has led to increased interest in the natural, human, and environmental dimensions of the US-Mexico borderlands.

Future directions on the use of art in activism

In every debate over who an immigrant is, perspective is very fundamental. According to people's perspectives, depending on one's vantage point, an undocumented immigrant can be a dreamer, a fugitive, or a refugee. On the other hand, a border wall can be viewed as a shield or a needless division that splits families apart (Rivera, 2020). With most of the anti-immigrant sentiments coming from the upper political class, barriers in the way of immigration reforms are inevitably real. Therefore, observing how the wider community participates in border art can provide a critical direction for the future. The future work on border art considers the opinions of how others would interpret the artwork and understanding of who the audience for that work is.

Another future direction would involve creating art pieces on the border with a community of artists collectively coming together and deciding what visual layers they should contribute to border art. Such contributions would be performing those art pieces or developing installations. Future articles will explore how the art installations have inspired activism and how they have been used to raise awareness about social issues in the region and the world (National Communication Association, 2020). Art at the Crossroads aims to promote an inclusive understanding of the past, the present, and the future of the US-Mexico border region and its people.

Conclusion

Artists have continued to expose the cracks and the border wall’s vulnerability, including Chicano's work, who installed a huge eraser at the border in the early 1980s, Guillermo's public performance, and the Trojan horse that Tijuana-based artist Ramirez erected. These are some of the most prominent art installations as they aimed to integrate the people of the two nations. The work has sought to alter perceptions of the border and its role in the world. The installations often feature prominent themes of migration and border security, often in the context of a security or surveillance state. In some cases, the installations have become a major draw for visitors to the region, serving as a reminder that the US-Mexico border is an active place with ongoing human and environmental impacts. The installations have also served as a platform for artists and activists to raise awareness about issues such as the militarization of the border and the effects of U.S. immigration policies on the region.

Art changes people’s perceptions and ideas about the world. It can help to break down stereotypes, open people’s minds, and spark conversation about complex topics. Art is a powerful tool for social change. In the past, activists have utilized installations, performances, and street theatre to raise awareness and encourage political action. In the digital age, this tactic is even more effective. Today, we have the ability to use digital art to create experiences that are impossible in the physical world. Many social activists use art installations to encourage people to think about the day's political issues and reflect on how their actions can affect the world around them. Thus, art has always been and will continue to be a historical account of events and cultural events. The impacts of art on social change can engage people when they occur and become agents of an era of shifting ideologies.

References.

Bentz, J. (2020). Learning about climate change in, with and through art. Climatic Change, 162(3), 1595-1612.

Bristol, M. (2020). Political Art at the US-Mexico Border. https://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/art-and-culture/political-art-us-mexico-border

DiGiugno, A., & Sewall, J. O. (2019, December). Using Performance Art to Communicate Humanity's Influence on the Planet. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 2019, pp. ED51B-0842).

Garcia, C. S. (2018). Borderlands Art Practice: Performing Borderlands Spaces Through Art///Food///Performative///Writing///Pedagogy. The Pennsylvania State University.

Heidenry, R. (2017). Art on the Border. Balance. http://magazine.art21.org/2017/04/07/art-on-the-border/#.YmSfbnZBzIU

Herzog, L. A. (2021). 5. Globalization of the Barrio: Transformation of the Latino Cultural Landscapes of San Diego, California. In Hispanic Spaces, Latino Places (pp. 103-124). University of Texas Press.

Juárez, M. (2020). REMEX: Toward an Art History of the NAFTA Era.

Khanlou, N., Bender, A., Mill, C., Vazquez, L. M., & Rojas, L. (2018). Youth experiences of cultural identity and migration: A systems perspective. In Today’s Youth and Mental Health (pp. 57-76). Springer, Cham.

Kroth, M. (2019). 10 Border Walls that Artists have Turned into Powerful Protests. https://www.afar.com/magazine/10-border-walls-that-artists-have-turned-into-powerful-protests

Marlin-Bennett, R., & Marlin, R. (2019). Art-Power and Border Art. Arts and International Affairs, 4(2).

McKenna, S. (2019). As the US Debates the Wall, Two Sister Cities Divided by the Border Work to Preserve and perpetuate a shared identity. https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2019/02/28/border-wall-trumped-by-art-community

Mehlomakulu, C. (2017). Expressing Emotions through Creativity: A 6-Step Art Process. https://creativityintherapy.com/2017/06/expressing-emotions-creativity-6-step-art-process/

National Communication Association. (2020). How Art Installations on the US-Mexico Boeder Affected People’s Understanding of the Border. https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/how-art-installations-us-mexico-border-affected-peoples-understanding-border

Peng, X., & Selvachandran, G. (2019). Pythagorean fuzzy set: state of the art and future directions. Artificial Intelligence Review, 52(3), 1873-1927.

Rivera, N. (2020). “Painted Over in Brown: Border Art as Visual Discourse of Resistance” https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/130/

Sheren, I. N. (2021). The Conceptual Border. In Portable Borders (pp. 23-58). University of Texas Press.

Strehovec, J. (2021). Art State, Art Activism and Expanded Concept of Art. Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology, 18(2), 55-73.

Taylor, C. (2017). How activists Artists on the US-Mexico Border Contest Donald Trump’s Wall. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-activist-artists-on-the-us-mexico-border-contest-donald-trumps-wall-79300

Tellez, M & Ramirez, A. (2018). How Artists can Shape Understanding of the US-Mexico Border. https://www.latinousa.org/2018/01/18/artists-can-shape-understanding-u-s-mexico-border/

Villazor, R. C., & Johnson, K. R. (2019). The Trump administration and the war on immigration diversity. Wake Forest L. Rev., 54, 575.

Week 1 Discussion 1

Strategizing for Organizational Success

Welcome to Week 2! This week we touch base on the important of motivation and innovation.

Surely you have been in a position at some point where motivation was lacking. This is never a positive scenario and one that most managers look to avoid. With the growth and ever-changing technology, innovation often comes with a great sense of motivation for your team. However, it can also lead to challenges that create just the opposite effect. You will use your skills this week to explain how motivation and innovation can impact the workplace overall.

Consider your current workplace. Do you feel motivated? Do you feel your colleagues are motivated? What creates this sense of motivation? These are just a few of the questions that you will consider as you move throughout this week’s learning.

Furthermore, consider what innovation looks like to you. You might find that what your peers consider innovative varies from your thoughts. This is where the learning from week 1 will also come back into view as you continue to strategize and plan for continued growth and success. I look forward to your effort this week.

Upon successful completion of this week's lesson, you should be prepared to: 

· Evaluate the organization's motivation, innovation strategy, and people strategy

· Compare different types and levels of strategies and how they need to be suited to culture of an organization

· Analyze an organization's remote environment, industry environment, and internal environment

Week 2 Discussion 1

Motivation Grant

Surely you have been in a position at some point where motivation was lacking. This is never a positive scenario and one that most managers look to avoid. With the growth and ever-changing technology, innovation often comes with a great sense of motivation for your team. However, it can also lead to challenges that create just the opposite effect. You will use your skills this week to explain how motivation and innovation can impact the workplace overall.

Consider your current workplace. Do you feel motivated? Do you feel your colleagues are motivated? What creates this sense of motivation? These are just a few of the questions that you will consider as you move throughout this week’s learning.

Furthermore, consider what innovation looks like to you. You might find that what your peers consider innovative varies from your thoughts. 

Please review your materials for this week below. 

· Adeniran, A. (2019).  Benefits of social innovation strategies in frontier markets

· Dai, H. (2019).  Research Explores How “Fresh Starts” Affect Our Motivation at Work

· Light, L. (2019).  Litigation Is Not A Substitute for Innovation

· MacArthur, H.V. (2019).  Corporate America's New Flexible Dress Code Is Indicative Of A Trend Toward Employee Empowerment

· Thacker, R. (2019).  Let’s Talk: Staff Motivation

Assignment:

· Consider your current workplace

· Assume you have just been granted $25k to help improve motivation within the workplace.

· Explain how you would put this money to use.

· No plagiarism

· APA citing

Spring 2022 Environmental Communication Comm

Tarla Rai Peterson [email protected]

RUBRIC for Grading SEMESTER PROJECT—Literature Review

A (Exemplary)

B (Acceptable)

C (Developing)

D (Minimal)

Authority of sources

(Students will be able to select sources whose authority is appropriate to the research topic)

All sources have a level of authority that fits both the research topic and assignment parameters.  Additional, incorporated sources that reflect multiple (especially unexpected) types of authority

All sources have a level of authority that fits both the research topic and assignment parameters

Some/many sources have a level of authority that fits both the research topic and assignment parameters.

Most/many sources lack a level of authority that fits the research topic and assignment parameters.

Multiple perspectives

(students will be able to incorporate multiple perspectives)

Student not only selected sources that reflect multiple perspectives, but also incorporated sources that represented less traditional perspectives or perspectives contrary to their own point of view.

Student selected sources that reflect multiple perspectives.

Student selected sources that mostly reflect a single perspective

Student selected sources that only reflect a single perspective

Intellectual property rules

(students will be able to follow intellectual property rules and standards)

Student always provides proper attribution for sources and makes very few/no errors in citations & bibliography, even when dealing with less common source types

Student always provides proper attribution for sources and makes only occasional errors in citations or bibliography.

Student provides proper attribution for sources, but makes frequent errors in citations or bibliography.

Student does not always provide proper attribution for sources, or does not use the selected citation style consistently.

Sources match assignment requirements

(Students will be able to locate *sufficient sources that are timely and appropriate to assignment parameters)

*minimum is 20

Student exceeded the minimum number of sources required and found a wide variety/specific types of sources in keeping with assignment’s requirements.

Age of all sources are very appropriate to topic and requirements.

Student met, but did not exceed, the minimum number of sources and variety/type requirement.

Age of sources are generally appropriate to topic and requirements.

Student met either the minimum number of sources requirement or the variety/type requirement, but not both.

Age of some sources are not appropriate to topic and requirements.

Student did not meet the minimum number of sources required and did not find a variety of sources in keeping with the assignment.

Age of many sources are not appropriate to topic and requirements.

8.7/10

Running head: [SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS]

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[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS]

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Art and Life on The Border

Tyson Z. Wilson

[University of Texas at El Paso]

Abstract

The opinions of immigration and the border wall stretch from one extreme to the other. Interestingly enough many of the opinions that are most loudly expressed are from people who are not directly or even indirectly affected. Those most closely affected by the wall have used art to communicate thoughts and feelings that often go ignored. This essay reviews previous research on the use of art to communicate thoughts and feelings associated with immigration and the border wall. The research considers different art mediums in which a variety of feelings are expressed. The review will expand the opportunities for people to engage with art to express the environment immigration and the border wall create. Comment by Peterson, Tarla R: Not sure this sentence belongs in abstract. Abstract should focus on summarizing this particular review (which is about art on the border I assume). Your review, of course, should be more expansive and providing context for your focal point (which is what this sentence is part of) is important.

[Art on the Border]

[Border Environment]

[Border Life]1

Immigration and border issues are not new, but it seems that more recently the politicization over the border wall has turned it into a prop for those that have little to nothing to do with the day-to-day interactions. Using art to communicate feelings and emotions of those most affected by the border wall and immigration as a whole allows a myriad of voices to be heard and the plight of so many to be honored if only in small increments.

Walls are used to protect, and walls are used to divide, in regard to the border wall, the opinion of which one it is intended to be, depends on whose perspective it comes from. In the search to understand the history of immigration, the border, and the wall used to define it, we must reflect on the history, society and culture that are reflected in it (Levi & del Rio, 2016). The border and its subsequent wall are non-tangible for most Americans and yet the decisions that create how it is defined do not take into account those that are actually affected. The relationship between the United States and Mexico directly affects over 12 million people who live within 100 miles of the border (Felbab-Brown, 2017). It is important to point out that the direct impact on those 12 million people has been given very little consideration on how they are impacted.

There is a thought that comes to mind when discussing the border wall, that it will keep out the bad things. In this political environment, it is hard to imagine that the actual physical wall has only been in place for the last few decades. The buildup of immigration enforcement and the tactical shift toward walls and intensive frontal policing in heavily traveled corridors began in late 1993 (Heyman, 2008). Ironically, the physical wall itself does not enhance U.S. security (Felbab-Brown, 2017), but in this political climate it is held up as if it does. In reality, the wall serves as a visual confirmation of separation. The separation that many feel is necessary to feel secure. The wall verifies the fruition of fears that come to the surface when in reality is a misled ideal. It is the wall that conceptualizes the metaphorical walls that have been born of racism, fear, and avarice throughout the United States” (Antoszek, 2018). That is the reality, especially in post 9-11. With the creation of Homeland Security, security of the border moved into their jurisdiction and a focus on national security in Washington, created a focus on events as they pertained to it. The terrorism connected to 9-11 was much harder to create a visual guard of our county so the border wall bore the displacement of it. A discourse of this fear was further constructed by labeling others as threats, criminals, and terrorists; the only way to attack this fear was to create a visual security (Todd, 2018), of an imposing physical wall. Comment by Peterson, Tarla R: Sentence is confusing; think it's because of sentence structure

Another component that must be considered is the financial/economic gain of private contractors from building an actual wall. The cost has been estimated anywhere from $12 million to $130 million depending on who is doing the estimating. The cost associated with this new endeavor during the last administration was promised to be paid by Mexico. The reality being that it was just political fodder to excite one side of the political landscape. The rhetoric around the wall continued to gain momentum as promises of protecting us from undocumented immigrant Mexicans and others that are “pouring” over the border, including “murderers, criminals, rapists and terrorists,” causing mayhem here (Garcia, 2018). The use of fear as a tool to instill the need for a wall is in many ways simply a ploy for the economic gain of an elite few. The wall itself does not provide the level of safety and security it promises. Undocumented workers and drugs will still find their way across any barrier that is built (Felbab-Brown, 2017).

There is often so much focus on the direct impact to humans that the border wall creates. However, that is a short-sighted view. The impact on many natural elements such as plants and animals come at a pretty significant cost. The health of a natural biome/geographic area is imperative to the life and increase and/or maintenance of a species (Lasky, Jett & Kiett, 2011).

The border as a defining entity is nothing new. It has long played a significant role in the US-Mexico border discourse for years going as far as impacting spatial-social relations between the two (Antoszek, 2018). For many, the wall created a separation of families that has had a multigenerational impact. In many ways an entire culture has grown up around the wall and has created an identity where the wall and the border are synonymous (Cortina, 2020). The borderlands are a completely different dynamic from that of other places in the U.S. and in many ways the special uniqueness should be celebrated. The border is a dynamic social institution that creates an interdependent, mutually beneficial system of personal, cultural, and economic interactions between and among neighboring places (Cortina, 2020). It is within this special context that an entire vulture of art expression is shared on all things border related from the beauty of the land to the harsh injustices of American immigration policies that are used to tear apart families and degrade people of color.

[Vocal Art- The Border Wall and Beyond]. Comment by Peterson, Tarla R: What is this about? How does it fit in your paper? Is it a note to yourself?

Art speaks if we listen. Art is a language of its own and is particularly significant for refugee children and youth whose languages and cultures may be distinct from those around them (Chávez Leyva, 2021). In many ways the immigrants of the borderlands, especially those trapped in detainment centers, are among the most voiceless. Art allows those who may not have a voice be heard and listened too (Chávez Leyva, 2021). The border is another conflict that has been absent from discussions outside of putting up a wall to block them out and once again it is a discussion that those most affected are not included in. Textualizing the barriers at the border in art is not as new as the wall but set back as far as the US-Mexican War. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 276 engraved obelisks/monuments were erected along the treaties agreed upon the border. Though art is universal, its application to a particular conflict can reveal major biases in interpretations and depictions (Ganivet & Valet, 2019). Art in its simplest form is expressed in complex ways through all venues of discourse. The S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) movement has solidified that. Drawing inspiration from how artists and researchers have used art to raise public awareness and teach people about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the continues to express its frustrations at the injustices and ironies alive today (Macias et.al., 2020).

Art can best express the soul of a culture (Ionesco, 2015). The reality of our country is that we are a nation of immigrants. Art in all its expressions tells the stories of the hopes and dreams as well as fears and despair. Immigrants are the very ideal of our nation and yet, the border and those that live and travel in and around it are often the recipients of untruths and vilification. Art can help change the many stereotypes and overcome negative myths around migration (Ionesco, 2015). In its beauty of expression, art can and is used as a tool to change the belief in unfounded rumors and untruths. Art can directly empower migrants and diasporas, allowing them to express their experiences (Ionesco, 2015), in ways that create commonalities between those both within and out of the borderlands.

As discussed in the early part of this paper, walls are given enormous power. The power to keep out or safe from something or someone viewed as an infringement of another’s rights. They serve as preventive defenses that attempt to stop infringements on one’s territory before it occurs. (Levi & del Rio, 2016). Through resilience and determination as well as a vision for beauty, artists create an environment of peace, joy, responsibility, and justice from the mere art they create.

Art not only brings awareness to the world around us, it brings healing to us as we navigate the world. In a children's detention center close to the US-Mexico border during the summer of 2018, a group of them fleeing from Central and South America were being detained. In the stark environment where human interaction was minimal and the environment of metal beds and concrete corridors, these children were still able to share expressions of themselves through art. In spite of the circumstances, they exhibited life and pride through representations of landmarks and culture from their home countries. “There’s a sense of joy and beauty in the art that reflects everything in the environment they were being denied,” (Brown, 2019). The cotton balls and scraps of paper they used to create soccer fields and other cultural objects were not provided as art supplies, the resilience of children to express through art is amazing. While no one is claiming that art saves lives it does point to the healing properties and confidence art can give to those who have felt powerless and alone (Brown, 2019). The art of these “caged children” (Brown, 2019), have been displayed all across the United States as a reminder that children, regardless of their color or origin are just like every other child.

Murals on walls across the borderlands often have the same goal of bringing inspiration and empowerment to those that are often meant to be marginalized. Understanding that opportunities are intended for all, along with the effort to ensure one feels the value that they as an individual represent can be expedited through the use of art. In the Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Tx, three local artists with varied aesthetics came together to create a mural, Quinto Sol- The Rebirth, to inspire children from the neighborhood with memorable artwork (Rivas, 2021). Through the use of color and cultural symbols, they intend for children to see the pride in culture and a vision of strength that will carry them upwards while feeling the honor that such a rich heritage creates.

Another art expression of frustration and awareness occurred July 4, 2020. An international coalition of eighty artists used skywriting to express some of the profound messages in the simplest of terms (Kladzyk, 2020). Addressing the ironic celebration of freedom on July 4 as immigrants, many looking for the same freedoms, are locked in detention centers- “#NO WALL #NO MURO” and “ESTOY AQUI: SOBREVIVIRE,” (I AM HERE: I WILL SURVIVE) to highlight the inhumane conditions in which immigrants face in detention centers (Kladzyk, 2020).

For US and Mexican audiences alike, the border fence has great symbolic currency. On art about civil liberties, for example, with an image of barbed wire, while he used chain-link fence

Artists have explored the metaphoric possibilities of chain link as both barrier and permeable interface, as abstract grid, and part of everyday landscape (Fox,

Border wall art is also used as a tool to not only bring awareness to the issue of immigration, but it can also be used as a tool to undermine the intent of the wall’s functions (Casey & Watkins, 2014). The marginalized viewpoint of those most affected by the wall is most clearly expressed through the variety of murals and exhibits on and about the wall and the people who are forced to interact with it. The art on the wall at the border is like a healing salve placed on an open wound (Casey & Watkins, 2014). A lot of the art created regarding the wall is a reminder of those that have perished in their attempts to transcend what the wall was trying to prevent.

In building the wall, the U.S. government violently thrust a foreign object into and onto the earth, intruded into aquifers, and incised fragile and unique terrains. As Part 1 revealed, the wall divides people from their backyards and animals from their habitats and migratory ranges. It slashes through the hearts of nature preserves, a university, and the streets of people’s towns and cities. It stands as a powerful contradiction to the welcome we strive for in our homes and communities. It is ugly, and indeed, it repels and repulses. Conversely, the art on the wall invites one in and brings one up close, creating an intimacy with the wall. The very wall that has caused these deaths is used to name and remember them, as though to bring to the wall itself a sense of conscience and consciousness (Casey & Watkins, 2014). Ironically, much of the art on the wall itself is only on the Mexican side. With little exception, art on the U.S. side of the wall is often quickly covered or erased.

In order to begin to heal and repair the physical, psychological and financial damage that the wall has created, a compassionate understanding and account from both sides affected by the division the wall creates must be heard.

[Closing Thoughts] Comment by Peterson, Tarla R: Maybe these are tentative headings?

Why do the border policies between the U.S. and Mexico cause so much suffering, injustice, and even death (Todd, 2018)? What has allowed us to perpetuate our fears from one avenue into the unfair practices and treatment of those seeking a better life with no intention to cause harm or taking from a system without equally giving back? Why has a physical wall become so important to assuring our national security when research and data confirm it does not? We live in homes with walls to ensure our privacy and establish property so we can feel secure, but we don't have the right to stop others from moving into our neighborhoods and buying their own homes. Yet, that is exactly what the border wall does. Rather than a line of separation, the border should be conceived of as a membrane, connecting the tissues of communities on both sides, enabling mutually beneficial trade, manufacturing, ecosystem improvements, and security, while enhancing inter–cultural exchanges (Felbab-Brown, 2018).

References

Antoszek, E. (2018). The U.S.-Mexico Border as a Palimpsest in Ana Teresa Fernández's Art. Polish Journal for American Studies : Yearbook of the Polish Association for American Studies, 12, 197-210.

Casey, E. S., & Watkins, M. (2014). Up Against the Wall : Re-Imagining the U. S. -Mexico Border. University of Texas Press.

Chávez Leyva, Y. (2021). “Behind each beautiful painting is a child longing to be free”: Deep visual listening and children’s art during times of crisis. Global Studies of Childhood, 11(2), 123-141. 10.1177/20436106211023509

Cortina, J. (2020). From a Distance: Geographic Proximity, Partisanship, and Public Attitudes toward the U.S.–Mexico Border Wall. Political Research Quarterly, 73(3), 740-754. 10.1177/1065912919854135

Fox, C. F. (1995). The Fence and the River: Representations of the US-Mexico Border in Art and Video. Discourse (Berkeley, Calif.), 18(1), 54-83.

Ganivet, E., & Vallet, É. (2019). Border Wall Aesthetics Artworks in Border Spaces (1st ed.). transcript Verlag. 10.14361/9783839447772

Garcia, A. C. (2019). Bordering work in contemporary political discourse: The case of the US/Mexico border wall proposal. Discourse & Society, 30(6), 573-599. 10.1177/0957926519870048

Heyman, Josiah McC. -- (Josiah McConnell). (2008). Constructing a Virtual Wall: Race and Citizenship in U.S.-Mexico Border Policing.Journal of the Southwest; Journal of the Southwest, 50(3), 305-333. 10.1353/jsw.2008.0010

Lasky, J. R., Jetz, W., & Keitt, T. H. (2011). Conservation biogeography of the US-Mexico border: a transcontinental risk assessment of barriers to animal dispersal. Diversity & Distributions, 17(4), 673-687. 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00765.x

Levi, D., & del Rio, V. (2016). Walls as a Reflection of Society and Culture. Focus (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), 12(1)10.15368/focus.2016v12n1.3

Seesaws Help Balance Ups and Downs at the Border. (2019). News for You (Syracuse, N.Y.), 67(32)

Todd, M. F. (2018). The Economized Immigrant: Biopolitics At the U.S.-Mexico Border and Beyond

Vanda Felbab-Brown. (2017). The Wall: The Real Costs of a Barrier between the United States and Mexico. Brookings Institution Press. 10.7864/j.ctt1vjqq1f

Lots of great ideas here. You need to work on providing a more linear organization for the benefit of the reader (who isn’t inside your mind). But, great start.

Also, I think you could strengthen the support for your final paper by drawing from more references to art as a political tool in general.

The use of figures is an excellent addition; strengthens the paper.

Figures

Figure 1. [This mural was painted in December 2020 as a Christmas present to the Segundo Barrio by artists Francisco Delgado, Francisco Camacho, and Bobby Lerma. Photo by Victoria Rivas, Borderzine.com]

Figure 2

[July 4, 2020. An international coalition of eighty artists used skywriting to express some of the profound messages in the simplest of terms (Kladzyk, 2020)]

Figure 3

[Border Dynamics, the art installation by Alberto Morackis and Guadalupe Serrano, leads viewers to meditate on both the action and the inattention that keep a wall in place (Casey & Watkins, 2014)]

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