Humane Borders Water Station

Delilah Montoya, Humane Borders Water Station, 2004, printed 2008, inkjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Gilberto Cardenas Latino Art Collection, 2011.52.2, © 2004, Delilah Montoya
Copied Delilah Montoya, Humane Borders Water Station, 2004, printed 2008, inkjet print, image: 19 x 47 1⁄2 in. (48.3 x 120.7 cm) sheet: 24 x 52 7⁄8 in. (61.0 x 134.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Gilberto Cardenas Latino Art Collection, 2011.52.2, © 2004, Delilah Montoya

Artwork Details

Title
Humane Borders Water Station
Artist
Date
2004, printed 2008
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 19 x 47 1⁄2 in. (48.3 x 120.7 cm) sheet: 24 x 52 7⁄8 in. (61.0 x 134.4 cm)
Copyright
© 2004, Delilah Montoya
Credit Line
Gift of the Gilberto Cardenas Latino Art Collection
Mediums Description
inkjet print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — weather — cloud
  • Landscape — mountain
Object Number
2011.52.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2011.52.2

Artwork Description

Montoya’s rough-hewn landscapes recall the work of nineteenth-century photographers that presented uninhabited views of the U.S. western frontier. She shot Desire Lines, Baboquivari Peak, AZ on the Tohono O’odham Reservation, an indigenous nation that resides on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. One member, concerned about the fate of border crossers within his own tribe, peppers the landscape with water-filled jugs. In these photographs, Montoya poses ethical questions about the nature of national borders.


Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013
Description in Spanish

Los paisajes escabrosos de Montoya recuerdan las fotografías del siglo XIX que presentaban el paisaje de la frontera oeste de los Estados Unidos como un sitio deshabitado. La fotografía Desire Lines, Baboquivari Peak, AZ fue tomada en la reservación Tohono O’odham, una nación indígena que reside en ambos lados de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos. Un miembro de la tribu, preocupado por la suerte de aquellos en su comunidad que cruzan la frontera, reparte jarras llenas de agua por el campo. En estas fotografías, Montoya plantea cuestiones éticas sobre la naturaleza de las fronteras nacionales.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Videos

Related Books

OurAmerica_500.jpg
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture. This beautifully illustrated volume presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge. Our America includes works by artists who participated in all the various artistic styles and movements, including abstract expressionism; activist, conceptual, and performance art; and classic American genres such as landscape, portraiture, and scenes of everyday life. 

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 25, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.