Thread: Artist tries to render U.S.-Mexico border fence "invisible"

October 13, 2015
AP

NOGALES, Mexico -- Armed with sky-blue paint, artist Ana Teresa Fernández began to "erase" the border fence that splits up Mexico and the U.S. on Tuesday.

Fernández, who was born in Mexico but raised in San Diego, is leading an effort to paint the border fence in Nogales, Sonora, so blue that it blends with the sky, rendering it nearly invisible. Nogales sits on the border with Nogales, Arizona.

Fernández solicited the help of about 30 volunteers who helped paint.

"This wall has become a symbol of pain, a symbol where we lament the lives who have not been able to cross it," Fernández said.

The artist wants to use her painting as a visual platform of migrant and human rights on an international level.

"For me, the border, the border wall, is like a tombstone," she said.

Neither the Mexican or U.S. authorities interrupted the painters as they covered a little over 30 feet of fencing with blue paint.

"It's not erasing the border, it's pulling the sky down to us," the 34-year-old said.

This isn't the first time Fernández "pulls down they sky."

She painted the border fence on a beach in Tijuana in 2012, saying the border fence mostly exists for Mexicans, not Americans.

Tuesday's project attracted the attention of Luis Guerra, an immigrant who was deported. Guerra lived in the U.S. since he was 13 years old and has U.S.-born children. The 36-year-old said he can't enter to the U.S. to see his family.

Guerra volunteered to paint on Tuesday.

"It gives me strength. It makes me feel like I'm strong," Guerra said. "Now I don't feel like I'm in jail. It looks nice."

Susannah Castro, of Border Community Alliance, invited Fernández to take on this project. She said Mexican authorities were made aware of the project and didn't object.

"We're not doing anything illegal. We're an humanitarian organization and we're not gonna shy away from these topics," Castro said.

Added Fernández: "The role of an artist is to make sure people don't become compliant."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/artist-t...nce-invisible/

These people so totally disgust me. They're not right in the head.

Neither the Mexican or U.S. authorities interrupted the painters as they covered a little over 30 feet of fencing with blue paint.

In the US that's considered graffiti and is against the law. So why didn't US authorities interrupt by arresting them? Isn't our fencing inside the United States? Weren't they not only on US territory in violation of US law and violating our property with graffiti?

No wonder they just do whatever in the hell they want. Like Trump says, Border Guards just stand there and let them do whatever they want to do.

wtg trump
by the way nyc is just as bad as the border . he is the only candidation that show up at the border . that more then the other did
good luck trump

Artist uses paint to ‘erase’ border fence

• By Paulina Pineda
  Nogales International
• Updated 3 hrs ago
• Comments

• Paulina Pineda

Artist Ana Teresa Fernández said the mural, which is painted Electra blue, gives the illusion that the sky has been brought down, erasing the border fence.

• Paulina Pineda

René Uyehara-Shaap, 8, helps paint the border fence blue during the “Borrando la Frontera” event in Nogales, Sonora.

• Paulina Pineda

From left: Maria Fernández, the artist’s sister, and ASU student Raji Ganesan take a break after helping paint the border fence in Nogales, Sonora.

• Paulina Pineda

Artist Ana Teresa Fernández, right, paints the border fence in Nogales, Sonora as part of her “Borrando la Frontera” public art project.

From the intersection of West and International streets, specks of blue paint could be seen Tuesday on the U.S. side of the border fence that separates Ambos Nogales.

Otherwise, it was nearly impossible to tell that on the other side of the barrier, Mexican-American artist Ana Teresa Fernández had “brought down the sky” by painting a section of the fence Electra blue.

The project is part of Fernández’s “Borrando la Frontera,” or “Erasing the Border” installation created through a statewide artist residency backed by Performance in the Borderlands at Arizona State University’s School of Film, Dance and Theatre.

Fernández started painting around 7 a.m. Tuesday and with the help of Nogales, Sonora residents and other volunteers, finished shortly before 1 p.m.

Her visit to Ambos Nogales was organized by Performance in the Borderlands and the Tubac-based Border Community Alliance, whose goal is to unite the community through education and art projects, said operations and development director Susannah Castro.

“There are a lot of murals along the wall and this is a great addition,” Castro said, adding that she hopes local artists will continue the project, which so far covers approximately 50 feet of south-facing fence.

Raji Ganesan of Performance in the Borderlands said this is the first time Fernández has painted with the help of the community. The painting ended up being larger than intended after several people volunteered to help, she said.

Tucson resident René Uyehara-Shaap, 8, was one of several volunteers. He said he liked the idea of painting the border and it appeared like a “gigantic hole in the wall.”

Luis Lopez, 36, who lives in Nogales, Sonora, said he was walking by collecting cans to recycle when the group approached him and asked if he wanted to help.

Lopez, who was deported from the United States two years ago and whose family still lives in the U.S., said the project was inspiring.

“The border fence will always exist, but now you can see through it,” he said. “It’s like you’re looking at the sky and it opens it up.”

From a distance, Ganesan said, the painted fence is supposed to resemble the sky being brought down, “erasing” the border fence and uniting the two communities.

But 40-year-old Jose Garcia, who stopped to look at the art installation while walking by, said that while the piece is important for the community, it’s not that easy to eliminate the wall.

“I wish it was magic like that, but you can’t just erase it,” he said.

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/...78b03f324.html

Artist Plans To Paint Border Fence ‘Invisible’

October 13, 2015 1:26 PM
Filed Under: Ana Teresa Fernandez, Arizona, Border, Mexico

Families visit each other through the border fence between the U.S. and Mexico on February 22, 2015 in Tijuana, Mexico. (credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) – A California-based artist is leading an effort to paint the border fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico to make it blend in with the landscape.

Ana Teresa Fernández and a group of 30 artists and painters began their work on the border fence in Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona, on Tuesday.

Fernández wants to make a political statement about the border by painting it blue that it appears to be invisible.

Fernández did a similar project in 2012 on the Tijuana, Mexico, beach, risking arrest. This time, she has permission from Mexican authorities to paint the fence from the Sonora side of the border.

But organizers say they’re not sure how U.S. authorities will respond to people using ladders on the border fence. The painting will continue throughout the day.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/10/13/a...nce-invisible/

Artist Ana Teresa Fernandez paints the Sonora border fence blue to "lower the sky" as part of the art installation, "Borrando la Frontera," or "Erasing the Border," in Nogales, Mexico,Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015. (Valeria Fernandez / AP)

San Diego Border Fence, Razor Wire Top, NO PAINT.


In this Nov. 17, 2008 file photo, a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle stands guard along the border fence with its concertino wire topping it, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File) — AP


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...order-fencing/

Glad to see it. Covering it in paint will help it last longer with less maintenance.

Section of Nogales border fence painted white

BETTER THAN THAT NASTY GRAFITTI THAT LOOKS LIKE TRASH