above: Linda Vallejo - Amor, 2009 Mixed Media Collage   left: Linda Vallejo - La Cortesana, 2009 Mixed Media Collage

Works inspired by the unsolved murders of Mexican women in the border town of Juarez, Mexico. Since 1993, more then 450 women have been killed in Ciudad Juárez which lies just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.

Juárez is a site where transnational and well-known corporations with household brand names have their factories. The factories, known as maquiladoras, remain the primary reason why women from the rural and southern states of Mexico travel to these locations in search of work and the hope of a new life.

The National Museum of Mexican Art presents an exhibition that will educate the public about the femicide plaguing Juárez and the larger social, economic and political issues that have allowed this level of violence to continue with impunity.

Artist Statement:

The Women of Juarez/ Mujeres de Juárez exhibit will educate the public about the femicide plaguing Ciudad Juárez and the larger social, economic and political issues that have allowed this level of violence to continue with impunity. The exhibition will include diverse art media such as: painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, installation, serigraphy, video and didactics to immerse visitors in the lives of the victims. The Museum has an excellent history of presenting sensitive and controversial topics in a way that is accessible and informative. The murders and abductions of the women of Juárez have evolved into a sensitive and pressing concern for Mexicans in the U.S. and Mexico in that it encompasses issues such as immigration, exploitation, violence against women and girls, drug trafficking, and globalization.

Mexican movies and movie posters often depict the salacious, wonton woman being seduced, or sexually used and abused by the dashing, dominant male. The man watches intently as the woman displays her body, inviting him to pleasure. But the Women of Juarez are not movie stars and they did not invite “men to pleasure.” They are young working woman that were taken hostage, raped, and killed for perverse and angry pleasure.

Is it possible that media has a place in this grisly story of loss and pain? Can media – movies and movie posters – effect the way that men understand their relationship and responsibilities to women and family?

In these gruesome acts of violence, men have chosen to dominate, abuse, and kill hundreds of women. Over 500 violent deaths is proof that women are seen as nothing more than sexual victims and a way for men to experience a fantasy of seduction and aggression. Have the men of Juarez lost respect for women, mothers and daughters?

In “Amor” and “Cortesana” I have manipulated two Mexican movie posters to draw attention to the over-sexualized imagery of Mexican media, the loss of dignity for women, the manipulative nature of seduction, and the aggression and hatred inherent in rape.

My heart goes out to the Women of Juarez, their mothers and families for their losses, and to men who have perpetrated these terrible crimes.

- Linda Vallejo

 

Artists include Pilar Acevedo, Patricia Acosta, Cecilia C. Alvarez, Connie Arismendi, Amalia Benavides, Rocio Caballero, Victoria Delgadillo, Ana Teresa Fernández, Adriana Yadira Gallego, Rosario Guajardo, Esperanza Gama, Ester Hernández, Judithe Hernández, Mónica Huitrón, Celia Alvarez Muñoz, Karen Musgrave, Verónica Cardoso Nagel, Azul Luna, Susan Plum, Ambra Polidori, Consuelo Jiménez Underwood, Carla Rippey, Favianna Rodriguez, María Evangelina Solíz, Linda Vallejo, and Sandra Vista.

National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W. 19th St.
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 738-9740
www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org/