Border Cantos: Sight & Sound Explorations from the Mexican-American Border

  • BENTONVILLE, Arkansas
  • /
  • January 20, 2017

  • Email
Richard Misrach, { D e t a i l } Playas de Tijuana #1, San Diego, California, 2013 Playas de Tijuana nº 1, San Diego Pigment print 42 × 160 in. Courtesy of the artist
Guillermo Galindo, Caravan Flag , 2015 Bandera de caravana UV cured acrylic on weathered nylon flag 29 × 46 1/2 in. Courtesy the artist and Magnolia editions

Border Cantos, a unique collaboration between American photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican American sculptor/composer Guillermo Galindo, uses the power of art to explore the complex issues surrounding the United States-Mexico border. The exhibition will be on view February 18 through April 24, 2017, at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. 

Misrach, who has photographed the border since 2004, documents landscapes and objects, including things left behind by migrants.  His large-scale photographs, along with grids of smaller photos, highlight issues surrounding migration and its effect on regions and people.

Guillermo Galindo, Horizontal Ammo Box , 2015 Caja de munición horizontal. Pigment print 31 × 45 in. Courtesy the artist and Magnolia editions

Responding to these photographs, Galindo fashioned sound-generating sculptures from items Misrach collected along the border, such as water bottles, Border Patrol “drag tires,” spent shotgun shells, ladders, and sections of the border wall itself. The sounds they produce give voices to people through the personal belongings they have left behind. 

Presented in English and Spanish, Border Cantos offers perspective on the challenges of migration, inviting us to bridge boundaries. Admission to Crystal Bridges and Border Cantos is free.

To learn more about Border Cantos, visit the Crystal Bridges website.


  • Email

Related Press Releases