Icons & Symbols of the Borderland

Icons & Symbols of the Borderland, embodies the landscape and cultural legacy of the U.S./Mexico borderland. The works of art presented are by artists living on and/or informed by the U.S./Mexico Border. 

Organized by the Juntos Art Association, the exhibit is laid out thematically to create a visual framework for viewing these artworks, which pertain to socio-political issues, immigration topics, collective memory, philosophical ideals, religious iconography, the environmental landscape, and food culture. 

The artistic renditions in this collection provide a regional context by which viewers can reflect upon their own roots, bridge connections to their cultural and environmental landscape, and envision their place within a global community. 

The symbolism of a monarch butterfly, papel picado, Cerveza XX, and popular icons like Pancho Villa and La Virgen de Guadalupe are represented in an array of interpretations by JUNTOS artists. 

Mesoamerican, Spanish, Mexican, and Native American elements are blended with the modern American cultural terrain and its consumer trends. As modern day interaction is spurred by the Internet, technology allows a person to classify and organize a broad spectrum of motifs— to better comprehend them within their universal historical significance and contribute to the story. 

Serving as an external repository of accumulated memory built over the vastness of centuries and continents, these works of art shape a shared regional consciousness of place and time. Strung together, these works synthesize and collide. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website