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Indepth Arts News:
"Americanos: Latino Life in the United States"
2000-08-19 until 2000-11-12
Field Museum
Chicago, IL,
USA United States of America
In a unique partnership, The Mexican Fine Arts
Center Museum and The Field Museum present the exhibition,
Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, a photographic
celebration of Latino cultures in this country. The exhibition runs
from August 19 through November 12, and contains a total of
120 photos organized into six sections representing different
aspects of Latino life. Panels with text by prominent Latinos,
including Carlos Fuentes, Celia Cruz, Julia Alvarez, and Sandy
Alomar, introduce each section.
The Field Museum features the sections depicting Family, Work,
Sports, and Culture and the Arts. The Mexican Fine Arts Center
Museum showcases photos of Community and Spiritual Life.
Located approximately four miles apart, The Field Museum and
the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum plan free trolley service so
the public can see the entire exhibition.
Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, a project of
Olmos Productions, has been organized by the Smithsonian
Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Smithsonian
Center for Latino Initiatives. The exhibition has been made
possible through the generous support of Time Warner Inc. and
U S WEST. Additional support has been provided by Farmers
Insurance.
The exhibition shows an extraordinary and surprising view of the
breadth and variety of the Latino experience, encompassing the
spectra of national origin, economic status, education,
profession, religion and language. Through the medium of
photography at its highest artistic level, Americanos explores
the complexity of interconnected cultures and presents a
fascinating self-portrait of Latino America.
The intimate portrait of Latino Americans was the idea of
actor-producer Edward James Olmos. He explains the exhibition
this way: Why AmericanosNULL There are several reasons. Too
often this society sees us not as Americans, but as strangers of
this land. We have worked hard to help build this country and
we continue to do so every day. When people see the face of
America, they need to also see our images included. Second, as
Latinos we often think of Americanos as the others in this
country, not us. We, and especially our children, need to see
that we are an integral and equal part of this society. Third, we
wanted a title that would recognize and honor our bilingual
heritage and would be easily understood in both English and
Spanish. And finally, we wanted to illustrate that much like a quilt
woven with many intricate and beautiful fibers, Latinos are a
proud and diverse people interwoven with indigenous,
Spanish/European, African, and Asian roots. We are citizens not
only of the United States of America, but of all the Americas and
countries around the world.
The exhibition is the centerpiece of a multi-media program that
includes a large-format book, published by Little, Brown &
Company, an HBO documentary, and a music CD released by
Atlantic records in conjunction with Warner Music Latin America.
A distinguished jury of photojournalists selected the
photographs, commissioned for the exhibition. The jury worked
with the Smithsonian and Olmos Productions to bring to the
public both familiar and unfamiliar images. From fashion designer
to clergyman to migrant farm worker, the images reveal the
diversity and synergy – as well as the important contributions –
of the Latino communities.
Americanos features the work of thirty photographers, including
two from Chicago. They are: Antonio Perez from the Spanish
language newspaper, Exito; and Jose Osorio of the Chicago
Tribune. Also, Mark Hinojosa, one of the exhibition catalog
editors, is a photo editor at the Chicago Tribune.
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