Border matters: A new materialist critique of installation art on the U.S.–Mexico border

ABSTRACT

Instead of being the product of social sense-making, I argue that borders are “vital assemblages,” acting on and in the world. Analyzing the virtual documentation and response to two border art installations, Kikito and the Giant Picnic, I theorize that the border is in a constant state of being made and remade through the emerging, ongoing, and dynamic relationships between people, language, and physical space. I suggest that these installations present visitors with an opportunity to become something different in and through their interactions, expanding consideration for the border's epistemology, ontology, and our critical engagement with it.

KEYWORDS:

• New materialism
• borders
• politics of relation
• ontology
• citizenship

Acknowledgment

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and journal editor for their thoughtful feedback. Please direct questions or inquiries to [email protected]

Notes on contributor

Dr. Megan Elizabeth Morrissey is an associate professor of communication studies at the University of North Texas where she researches and teaches in the areas of rhetoric, race, gender, sexuality, and citizenship.

Notes

1 There have been multiple examples of art that meets these standards. A few of these include Alberto Morackis’ installation “Paseo de la Humanidad,” Teresa Fernandez's “Erasing the Border” project, and Marcos Ramirez's “Toy An-Horse” work.

2 Posts were collected on 11/16/2018 and represent all posts that JR made about either Kikito or the Giant Picnic up to that point with the exception of posts that were circulated to promote other installations or art books.

3 The usernames of Instagram posters cited in this essay have all been replaced with pseudonyms produced by an online username generator in order to protect anonymity.