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The Anacostia Community Museum’s indoor gallery will be closed March 2 through May 18 as we bring our next exhibition to life. Even though our gallery is closed, join us at any of the dynamic upcoming events planned during this time. More information about our events is available at: anacostia.si.edu/events. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Realidad Norteña

Object Details

Artist
Cornelio Campos
Date
ca.1999
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Dimensions
36 5/16 × 60 1/4 × 2 7/8 in. (92.3 × 153 × 7.3 cm)
Cite As
Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Caption
On a precisely divided canvas, painter Cornelio Campos (1971-) contrasts landscapes, symbols, and life experiences of his home country, Mexico, with those of the United States, to which he immigrated as a teen. In a series of split icons, for example, the Virgin of Guadalupe on the Mexican side mirrors the Statue of Liberty on the US side of the flag-like painting. The open wings of a monarch butterfly, known for its migration from Mexico to the US, become a bridge over the barbed-wire border, however. Campos found painting Realidad Norteña, or Reality of the North, healing after his own difficult journey from an indigenous Tarascos community in Michoacán to Los Angeles and, eventually, to North Carolina. The self-taught artist examines how immigrants imagine the US, the severe circumstances that people leave behind, and what they endure during and after their arrival. Along with Campos’s work boots (2017.17.1a-b) and bus ticket (2017.17.2a-b) from his migration north, the acrylic painting was on display in the Anacostia Community Museum’s exhibition, Gateways/Portales, from December 2016 to January 2018.
Accession Number
2016.0007.0001
Type
painting
See more items in
Anacostia Community Museum Collection
Data Source
Anacostia Community Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl8625b64c5-34d4-4837-87cd-2804337b0c66
Record ID
acm_2016.0007.0001
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