The third and final installment of The Guardhouse Program 2024, For-Site, presents an installation by Blanka Amezkua. Amezkua’s art centers on the immigrant experience, her connection to her Mexican-born/Latinx American immigrant cultural roots, and blending ancestral and contemporary themes.
Mexican paper cutting technique
Amezkua creates bold, colorful art based on the traditional Mexican paper-cutting technique, papel picado, often used in celebrations such as Day of the Dead, weddings, and religious festivities. The traditional paper banners represent the wind and the connection between the dead and the living. The process involves stacking several layers of tissue paper to intricate designs employing chisels and a hammer. These banners are suspended by strings creating an immersive display titled Karnalitas De Oro: California Poppy & Cempasuchil (2024) within the Guardhouse.
The California poppy and Mexican marigold
In collaboration with Rene Mendoza, Amezkua aims to bridge folk art with contemporary issues and expand the expressive possibilities of this technique. The growth stages of the poppy flower and Cempasuchil plant, or Mexican marigold, represented in the papel picado, plays a center role in the installation.
In collaboration with Rene Mendoza, Amezkua aims to bridge folk art with contemporary issues and expand the expressive possibilities of this paper-cutting technique.
“The California poppy was established as the state flower in 1903, and its image has become a signature of a love for the outdoors … and a symbol of hope for conservation across the state,” writes Dr. Adriana Hernandez, associate director for research at Stanford University. “The Cempasuchil plant fills the air with a sweet earthy scent that makes one full of “esperanza” (hope in Spanish). These blooms ultimately represent transformation of a greater order.” The Mexican marigold with its large blooms in vivid color and distinctive scent are thought to lead spirits of the dead back to their families during the Day of the Dead celebration.
Art as a community experience
Amezkua currently operates AAA3A (Alexander Avenue Apartment 3A) an alternative artist-run space that offers food, dialogue, workshops, and art in her living room. She is also an active member of Running for Ayotzinapa 43, an international community of runners based in New York City that promotes dialogue and consciousness concerning human rights violations worldwide. Mentions of her work and projects can be found in various notable national and international publications.
Collaboration is an important ongoing art process in Amezkua’s work. In her artist statement, she writes, “Collaboration, radical pedagogy, and community building are central to my art practice and projects. My identity, experiences and artistic decisions are shaped by the reality that I am an immigrant Mexican born-American living in New York City … I believe we are all cultural bearers.”
For-Site and The Guardhouse Program
The For-Site organization was established in 2003 by founding executive director and chief curator Cheryl Haines. It is dedicated to creating, understanding, and presenting art about place. In a series of highly acclaimed site installations, For-Site projects have included Lands’ End at the former Cliff House (2021–22), Sanctuary (2017–18) at the Fort Mason Chapel; Home Land Security (2016) in the Presidio; @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz (2014–15), consisting of seven site-specific mixed media installations examining the broader social issues related to freedom and prison culture; and International Orange (2012), a group show honoring the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. Other noteworthy artists include land-art installations by Andy Goldsworthy currently on view in the Presidio, including Spire (2008) and Wood Line (2011).
The Guardhouse Program supports three selected artists annually, each of whom will activate the former military guard station with a temporary art installation in response to the natural and cultural significance of this site and its local history. The Guardhouse installations are on view 24 hours a day through the station windows at the entrance to Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture.
Blanka Amezkua at The Guardhouse is on display through Jan. 19, 2025.
