Nasser 1 Sandra Nasser Professor Watkins English 1B 30 October 2017 Walls Do Fall Good fences make good neighbors, is a phrase from the poem Mending Walls by Robert Frost which caused a lot of debate among literary lovers whether the poet dislikes the wall that divides him from his neighbor or the opposite. People use this poem in the way they want it to be, where many countries and their people are trying to break down walls and make peace with their neighbors, others are building walls around them. Governments, such as the U.S. and Israel, think by surrounding themselves with walls to protect their people and country from terrorism and illegal immigrants are sufficient. However, things do not work that way. What the governments are trying to do will not solve any problem and will cause division in families on both sides; in addition, it will create hatred towards the government and its polices. Some call the wall The wall of Shame, and others call it the Apartheid Wall, like in Israel and Palestine which adds a lot about its meaning. The wall that is being built on the Mexican American borders separates twelve million people from their families, which makes it more devastating. Trying to change the image of the wall, many artists give hope to people by their drawings on the wall. Anna Teresa Fernandez is an artist who was born in Mexico and migrated at the age of eleven to the U.S. with her family looking for a better future. Her art work on the border wall separating Playas de Tijuana from San Diego s Border Field State park, Borrando La Frontera is a way of convincing people of the possibility of their dreams and imagination. Through her art, she is trying to argue and protest against the wall, in addition to showing the
Nasser 2 femininity side of women and how capable they are in doing labor. Her art work is convincing to viewers, and it spreads a message that women are not just born for house work and taking care of their men, but they are hardworking and can make a change in the world. Using logos, pathos, ethos, and kairos makes her argument more persuasive and appealing. The art work, Borrando La Frontera which translates to Erasing The Border, demonstrates a message Fernandez wants to spread, especially to Mexicans and Americans. The establishment of the wall had a deep effect on Fernandez, For a woman born in Mexico, the border is a powerful symbol. Projecting a future in the north, Ana Teresa Fernández s own journey crossing the Tijuana-San Diego border to study and build her career mirrors the route north taken by millions of women who have come from southern and central Mexico to work in the maquiladoras and make a better life for themselves and their families (Holslin qtd in Fernandez). Fernandez has experienced the journey of immigration from Mexico to the U.S. with her family and settling in San Diego. Perusing her career in the U.S. shaped her personality, but kept her connected with her roots in Mexico. It was not just her journey. It was millions of women s journeys too; As Fernandez heard more stories, her sentiments grew stronger. I felt such aggressiveness near the border, she says. But then something really clicked, she says. It was 2011, and Fernandez started wondering how well people on opposite sides of the border debate were really communicating with each other and whether they should be screaming at each other or having more quiet, intimate conversations. She asked herself: What should I do? (Trimble). This statement shows how the idea of painting the wall came to Fernandez from hearing people s stories, which made her hate the wall more. She came up with the idea of painting part of the wall in sky blue to create an illusion to viewers that there is no fence.
Nasser 3 Therefore, Fernandez went through it step by step while taking photos all the way through the process. Looking at her photos step by step delivers her message effectively, I was delighted when, late in the afternoon, a jogger came running from far down the beach and told us that he thought for a moment that part of the wall had come down. The twinkle in his eye said it all. Someday this wall will fall (Holslin qtd in Fernandez). This kind of art brings hope to people that the wall will fall someday. I think she is really persuasive in the way she forms her art, and how she took photos of each step. At the end, a viewer could see from distance a passage that could lead to the other side which is the whole point for Fernandez, Erasing the border, then, reminds us of the power of utopian visions, of dreams and the imagination (Holslin qtd in Fernandez). The power of hope and dreams is the reason for people going on in their lives, and not stopping at each obstacle they face. This art work has delivered a message to erase the border, and it has succeeded in uniting more people in this work. There were many volunteers in Fernandez s other wall paining across the Mexican American borders. Fernandez not only had one message through her art work, but she had more than one message. Fernandez preformed her art work while wearing a black cocktail dress and black high heels which is kind of confusing to the viewer at the beginning. It brings a person to question, why would an artist do her painting wearing a black cocktail dress and high heels while standing on a ladder in the hot weather? But when you know more about the artist, you understand what her message from wearing this attire while doing her art work; Known for her exploration of women s strength and sensuality in the process of performing labor, her provocative images of women bent over mopping floors, ironing shirts, or dragging long locks of wet hair along the floor, reveal the ambivalence of
Nasser 4 femininity: Sensual and edgy, willful but polite, powerful yet vulnerable, strong enough to do manual labor, yet beautiful in heels (Holslin qtd in Fernandez). Fernandez has performed many of her art works in feminine attires to bring some mixture of women s hard working and sensuality. She shows woman are strong and hardworking and are equal to men in preforming any kind of labor. At the same time, her work has the touch of femininity and sensuality. Seeing her perform the work in a cocktail dress, attracts people and delivers the message of the power women have over men. She wore such attire as she climbed to the tops of the border fence s long steel pickets, and began to daub them light blue. Within minutes, a police truck screeched up. Two officers jumped out of the vehicle and told her to stop. I climb down, and they re almost going to arrest me, she recalled; and we get into this whole debate. But I think that because I was wearing the dress they couldn t identify me as a hoodlum. I realized that I had an entry point of conversation [with them]. In about 45 minutes, their minds started to decipher it. I said, Let me just finish what I started. They said okay, and five hours later I d painted the whole thing out (Murray). Fernandez recalls what happened with her while painting the wall, and how the police officers did not arrest her, and they were able to communicate with her. She thinks that it had to do with her dress. I think she is convincing in this point because men could treat women so differently if they see a woman dressed in a sexy attire and looking appealing to them. Yet, if it was a man doing this art work in regular working clothes, they would not treat him the same way. By preforming her art in an attractive attire brings to viewers the realization of a woman s sensuality, and at the same time, a woman s strength in preforming labor.
Nasser 5 Moreover, Fernandez reveals that she has personal experience with gender, Born in Tampico, Mexico, Fernández learned the lessons of femininity as a young girl: Los hombres quieren a una dama en la mesa, y a una puta en la cama. (Men want a lady at the table, and a whore in the bed) is a statement I heard at fifteen, and it still lingers in my ears (Holslin qtd in Fernandez). The statement, she heard at fifteen which states women have to provide good food for their men and sexual entertainment in bed to be addressed as good women in the eyes of men. Women were not born for meeting men s needs; they do have potentials and dreams. This statement is demeaning to all women. Through Fernandez s art work, one can see what she is trying to demonstrate in a woman which is her hardworking, success, potentials, sensuality, goals and dreams. Fernandez, herself, is a great example of an achieving woman who has migrated to the U.S. and became a successful artist with a remarkable career. Furthermore, Anna Teresa Fernandez uses logos, pathos, ethos and Kairos through her visionary art work which effectively conveys her point to viewers. The logic she uses in her art work is expressed by the way she demonstrated her work to people. That by itself reveals to viewers her point and her message which is in this work is erasing the border, and the two sides of a woman strong enough to do manual labor, yet beautiful in heels (Holslin qtd in Fernandez). As for pathos in the text, there are many examples concerning Fernandez and the emotions she revealed in people who have been separated by this wall from their families on both sides, and for migrants who look for a better future in the U.S. A member of the group (who chose to remain anonymous), wanted to be involved because, Borrando la Frontera reminds us that the border is a place of connected histories, cultural flows, creativity and possibility. Another member noted that the project ends up uniting us all [as we] utilize the border wall as the canvas for our connection (Wallace). Fernandez was able to bring out the
Nasser 6 feelings and empathies for the people that are separated, how the wall has affected them and their families, and how she has lit upon an optimistic future. For those from both sides of the border that dream of a future without the fence, Borrando la Frontera is a constant reminder of that future, its possibility, and its promise (Tedford). Her art shows in many ways a better future to look up to, and never give up on protesting against something you think is wrong. Fernandez gave people the push to express their emotions toward the wall. Likewise, the ethos are shown in the artist s credibility as a woman that experienced the migration from Mexico to the U.S., and through her many art works about Mexican women and their rights, Since studying at the San Francisco Art Institute in the early aughts, Fernández has honored her mother s lessons by creating a body of work that recognizes immigrants dignity and insists on their rights. She does this by dematerializing objects as well as making Mexicans as visible as possible (Murray). Fernandez developed this obligation towards her country from her mother s lessons in life. Through her art work, one can recognize a big portion of it is dedicated to Mexican immigrants, especially women, to show their dignity and insist on their rights, and painting the wall is a symbol of rejection to what the wall is demonstrating by separating Mexican women from having a better future in the U.S. As for Kairos, this project was in 2012, and the wall building is still continuing to be built on the Mexican American borders, so the time is valid till this point. She is still sending the message of protesting against the wall, and to encourage more people to speak up. Her art spreads the feeling of empathy with others. According to the journalist Matthew Harrison Tedford he says, I am afforded the privilege to come and go as I please, look at art, enjoy an espresso, have a nice lunch, and return to my family s house in the north by dinnertime. This hospitality by the Mexican government is not reciprocated. Mexicans intending to spend an afternoon in San Diego
Nasser 7 need to apply for an expensive and difficult to attain visa. They must convince U.S. authorities that their lives in Mexico have value, furnishing bank statements, paystubs, and diplomas (Tedford). Feeling with Mexicans, is something that should be considered especially with the continuance of the building of the border wall. Fernandez tries through her work to make people recognize what this wall is doing, how it is separating families apart, and in the same time she shows the power of women and that they can make a difference. Her work has attracted people to volunteer, and press to write about her work which made it spread widely. Art work has a special taste rather than reading an article. It has a mystery and ambiguity in it which makes it more interesting and appealing to people. Anna Teresa Fernandez tries reaching people by her art. She has touched many important issues that concerns femininity and the border wall. Having Mexican roots made her more committed to standing with Mexicans in political issues, in migrants rights, and in Mexican women s rights. Her art work is convincing and has a clear message to it. This work is for people to start acting and protest against the wall, to feel empathy with others, and to spread the knowledge. Fernandez appeals to logos, pathos, ethos, and Kairos through her art work, and how it has affected people s lives. Choosing this topic, came out of experiencing the same situation. In my mother country, Palestine, we have experienced the wall separating us. An eight-meter-long concrete wall from behind my house separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem is something a person would not like to glance at each morning. Artist from around the world, came to Palestine to draw on the wall as a way to support Palestinians. It gave a positive effect on people there, and each drawing on the wall carries a message with it. Art could be very persuasive and send a stronger message that words itself
Nasser 8 cannot do. Fernandez in her way and through her art could effectively reach to people and persuade them into action.
Nasser 9 Works Cited Fernández, Ana Teresa. Borrando La Frontera / Erasing the Border. 2012, social sculpture, US- Mexico border. AnaTeresaFernandez.com. Murry, Yxta Maya. Ana Teresa Fernandez Paints It Away. Artillery Magazine. March 7, 2017. Tedford, Matthew Harrison. Ana Teresa Fernández Erases the U.S.-Mexico Border. Sculpture Nature. January 20, 2017. Trimble, Lynn. Artist Ana Teresa Fernandez on Erasing the U.S.-Mexico Border with Blue Paint. Phoenix New Times. October 23, 2015. Wallace, Michelle. Guerilla Artfare: Ana Teresa Fernández s Borrando la Frontera Project Erases What Divides Us. Remezecla LLC. April 14, 2016.