Antenna Gallery
3161 Burgundy St.
New Orleans, LA
[Video (1.20min.), Printed covers of fake newspapers (12x22in.)]
“Antenna is pleased to present ‘monu_MENTAL‘, a group show proposing imaginative revisions to existing 19th and 20th century New Orleans monuments. ‘monu_MENTAL‘ seeks to revise and revive one’s experience of local monuments. Many a New Orleans monument has skidded out of sync with contemporary mores, if not out of the local consciousness. Not content with these prominent displays of anachronism, we wonder what these monuments bring to our city today. Can these hunks of bronze be shifted, if only in our imaginations, to bring awareness to contemporary issues? Artists reflect on this in proposal format” (Antenna Gallery, 2012).
Beheaded Juárez is a speculative exploration of the scaling of violence in Mexico as an international issue that no longer seems to belong just to Mexicans. We have become a headless nation.
“The Juárez Monument, installed on Basin Street and Conti Street on April 24, 1965, commemorates Mexican independence leader and president, Benito Juárez. Sculpted by Juan Fernando Olaguibel, the bronze statue was dedicated on May 17, 1972–the centennial of Juárez’ death.
Benito Juárez (1806-1872), born of humble origins in Guelatao, Oaxaca, is known as ‘Benemérito de las Americas’. Juárez was the first Mexican president of Indian descent and remains a national hero. Revered as a great political leader, Juárez proclaimed the ‘Reforma Laws’ and established the foundation for the Mexican Republic, thereby preserving the independence of México.
The statue sits in the neighborhood where Juárez lived in exile during the 1850’s, working in a cigar factory. He had been the governor of the state of Oaxaca until 1853 when forced to flee over his his objections to the corrupt military dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna. In 1854, while in New Orleans, he helped draft the Plan of Ayutla as the basis for a liberal revolution in Mexico. Juárez returned to Mexico in 1855 when Santa Anna was forced to resign.
The Garden of the Americas, on the Basin Street neutral ground between Canal and St. Louis streets, features monuments to three Latin American heroes–the other two being Simón Bolívar and General Francisco Morazán. The Garden of Americas was conceived of in 1957 by Mayor Chep Morrison as part of his administration’s city-wide beautification project and as a symbol of the ties of friendship between New Orleans and the countries of Latin America” (Gobetz, W., 2008).
The core idea behind this proposal is the growing number of beheaded statues appearing in different states throughout Mexico. These have usually been Benito Juarez’s statues trying to send a message to people in power. The message is clear, beheading a figure that stands for respect towards other’s rights, marks the end of peace and the becoming of a headless nation.
Fake newspapers were left at several coffee shops a few days before the show’s opening.
Thanks to Brice Valette, Mónica Fernández, and Danielle Paciera.