Artists confront colonialism at Houston’s Station Museum
The defacement of Bell Park’s Christopher Columbus statue early Thursday with red paint and a cardboard sign reading “Rip the head from your oppressor” was an act of vandalism, not art.
Comments came fast and furious when I mentioned this on Facebook, from both sides of the prickly argument about how cities should handle historical monuments that have become offensive to people. Some were adamant that vandalism against the Columbus statue was a justified act of protest.
Artists do have other ways to consider the legacies of colonialism. Some express their views eloquently with the paintings, photography and mixed-media works in “No Man’s Land” at Houston’s Station Museum of Contemporary Art, which was set to reopen June 13.
Conceived for this year’s FotoFest, “No Man’s Land” has been hanging since March 14, but its opening reception was canceled, and the COVID-19 pandemic closed the museum’s doors for nearly three months. They open now to viewers who may be more woke, as they say, after weeks of protests against injustices that have also familiarized millions of Americans with the acronym BIPOC (for black, indigenous and people of color).
The show’s artists are from four continents and include several who live in Houston. So along with their variety of media, they bring diverse, global perspectives to the theme, especially as it relates to migration, diaspora and refugee crises.
Vincent Valdez’s starkly elegiac painting “Requiem I,” which depicts a dead eagle in a sea of negative white space, is one of the first objects visitors see. This sets a tone for galleries of works by others that are by turns defiant, ironic, analytical and poignant. It’s a stimulating show, dense with ideas and information.
Patrick McGrath Muñiz paints colorful, classically inspired scenes about how American consumerism and greed have impacted lives in his native Puerto Rico, especially after its recent natural disasters. Intricately embroidered cartographic drawings by Tiffany Chung examine how U.S. financial interests in Guatemala have contributed to refugee and immigration woes. She fills one wall with a monumental memorial embroidered with the names of people who have died trying to emigrate.
One room of objects introduces the story of the Carrizo/Comecrudos or Esto’k Gna, a tribe indigenous to South Texas’ Rio Grande delta that is not mentioned in history books. Photojournalist Fabiola
Ferrero’s black-and-white photographs capture the blur of economic crisis, political violence and the grief in her homeland of Venezuela.
The biggest installation features photographer Marti Corn’s portraits of Sudanese residents of Africa’s multinational Kakuma Refugee Camp, with whom she has worked for years; as well as art by young people she mentors there.
The Station is now open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays; 1502 Alabama; free; face masks required; social distancing protocols; 713-5296900, stationmuseum.com.
The show considers how colonialism and political intervention impact migration, diaspora and refugee crises around the world.