Week 8 - Gloria Anzaldua “Border Arte: Nepantla, el Lugar de la Frontera”

 

In Gloria Anzaldúa's essay “Border Arte: Nepantla, el Lugar de la Frontera” she reflects on her five hour museum trip at the Denver Museum of Natural History to see the opening of the exhibition Aztec: The World of Moctezuma. In seeking to connect with this part of cultural history that Chicana/o artists often engage with, Anzaldua is confronted with questions about appropriation, reappropriation, colonization, identity, and the borderlands to name a few. 

The Borderlands and Border Arte, as Anzaldua describes, might deal literally with the United States/Mexico border or it could more broadly represent the variety of in-between spaces that us as Chicanas/os inhabit in terms of our identity. “Nepantla”, or the Nahuatl word for an in-between state, is that liminal space that one crosses or occupies when moving from one place to another. This might take the form of an actual physical relocation, or a transition from varying social, racial, or sexual identities. This liminal space of ni de aqui, ni de alla is one that is common for Chicanas/os disconnected from their roots, seeking to connect in spaces such as the one Anzaldua explores in the museum. 

What is particularly engaging is her commentary on the space of the museum in its presentation of Aztec culture. She notes how this is modern day colonialism, as white museum educators cherry pick palatable aspects of this rich culture to regurgitate to (mostly) other white museum-goers. In doing so, they present these peoples and cultures as things of the past, not acknowledging the communities still in existence today. 

Anzaldua’s discussion about border artists and the various obstacles that they face. One of the major being to find ways to resist corporate culture while also securing its patronage and dollars. As a Chicana artist with a background working in museum spaces this really hit home. Museum spaces are truly founded on colonial ideals, and as a Chicana who resists these practices, it is frustrating to have to navigate these spaces in order to secure funding or a space on the wall. She notes how artists often have to engage in this “self-serving hustling”, however as she notices “for some, the hustling outdoes the art making.” This rings true especially now, when funding to the arts has been cut more than ever, where contemporary artists are hardly invested in, and where the art world continuously perpetuates a necrophilic obsession with artists only after they have passed.