Peabody Essex Museum,
Feb 19, 2005 - Jun 05, 2005
Salem, MA, USA
Island Thresholds
by Madeline Medeiros Ruiz
Down the hall, Boxer’s Chiwarageist triptych (1995-96) references the artist’s interest in his African heritage, here Mali. I feel that this triptych in particular truly speaks of Boxer’s training in art history. The surrealistic elements are a contemporary version of the artistic ideals of the first Caribbean Surrealists, like Wifredo Lam. Boxer’s Chiwarageist explores the same African heritage much like Lam, if not in a more aggressive, less picturesque version of La Jungla.
In the last gallery space, Kcho’s Para Olvidar (2000) floats across the gallery floor and, like other works in the show this piece is reminiscent of an island itself, as it floats in the middle of the gallery space. This work could easily be interpreted as a map of Cuba itself, particularly with the small cluster of bottles separate from the pier, reminiscent of Cuba’s island Nueva Gerona. The reference is at once nationalistic and full of hubris, as is much of Kcho’s work.
Salvaged wood is pieced together to recreate an ad-hoc pier. The pier suggests a means of either entering or exiting - but this pier leads nowhere but down the gallery space - it is isolated and rendered useless. The irony lying in the pier traveling to the US for this exhibition, to provoke thought and discussion, while the artist remains in Cuba. Bottles of international origin, like Heineken and Coca Cola surround the pier along with local rums, highlighting the influx of commodities into Cuba--but not of people.
The two final works of the show, Kcho’s video L.Q.N.T.M.T.F. (Lo que no te mata te fortalece) (2003), and Capellán’s Isla en Transito (1994) were rarely referenced in the exhibition catalogue and text labels lack in-depth discussion of these two enigmatic works.
In the 23 minute video, Kcho and friends drag a wooden boat across rocks and rest it upon a rocky shoreline. The group begins to make a big stew in the boat, a fire is started below to cook the ingredients dumped methodically, and in slow motion, into the boat’s cavernous interior. Each time he adds ingredients, a roar of applause and cheering erupts from an invisible crowd (mimicking the cheers typically heard at sports events). When the stew is deemed ready, Kcho spoons out the boat’s contents to those that have gathered. The video ends with artist standing on the rocky shore, looking out at the ocean in front of him. While much of Kcho’s work has a monotonous repetitiveness to it, recognizable to those familiar with his work, this video actually drew one of the largest crowds at the exhibition the day I attended the show. Unfortunately, the work did not benefit from a more substantive object label or a comfortable viewing space.
One aspect of the show that I found most enjoyable was the space allowed between each work. Works were placed in relative isolation of one another, evoking a sense of the work itself functioning as an island within the sea of the gallery’s white space and enabling the visitor the space and time to reflect on each work. Considering how different the work and the artist’s were from one another, I found this spacing appropriate.
The PEM clearly took a chance in this exhibition by branching out from its usual subject matter - therein lays a reference to the museum’s new commitment to contemporary art. One of my concerns of the show was the fact that the four artists chosen were men. As the show at RISD proved a few months earlier, there are a multitude of female artists from the Caribbean working on similar themes that would have fit perfectly within the show. While exemplifying a new commitment to contemporary art, Island Thresholds also highlighted the need for a more intensive look at the production of art in this region.
1. Catalogue for Island Thresholds p. 17
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