'La Migra' exhibit is colorful forum for art, discussion

From across the room, an image of Humpty Dumpty first comes to mind.

Then, on closer inspection of the painting, it becomes clear that the two egg-shaped figures sitting on the wall are President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. They're toying with a skeletal image of a migrant worker, as a puppet.

"They're teetering," says artist Jimmy Lucero. "Their administration could fall anytime."

The painting is part of "La Migra," an exhibit that juxtaposes Mexican culture, religion and folklore (the skeletal images are reminiscent of the Day of the Dead) with heated immigration politics.

The exhibit opens today at 6 p.m. at the Art Access Gallery, 230 S. 500 West, and will be on display through May 9.

"It's unfair immigration reform is taking so long, there are so many people in limbo," Lucero said. "I felt sorry for these people."

The exhibit comes as Congress prepares to again take up the issue of immigration reform, something on which agreement seems perpetually elusive, though it's widely seen as an issue on which the Democratic-controlled Congress could reach agreement with Bush.

The timing is a coincidence. The exhibit was commissioned months ago as a way to explore a relevant social issue, said Ruth Lubbers, executive director of VSA Arts of Utah and the Art Access Gallery.

"We feel arts are a wonderful forum to discuss community issues that people might not necessarily agree on," Lubbers said. "A gallery showing can be a non-confrontational way to get ideas out."

For Lucero, a Santa Barbara native who's lived in Utah for about 15 years, the paintings are his first that express a political viewpoint. As the grandchild of immigrants from Mexico, he uses images from his own childhood, such as Catholic prayer candles, to personalize the art.

Most of the paintings are divided by barriers or portray maps cut along the U.S.-Mexico border. They're also under painted in green because "it all comes down to money."

One painting depicts a Minuteman anti-illegal immigration activist as a white-capped member of the Ku Klux Klan. Another depicts Rep. Glen Donnelson, R-North Ogden, among vultures, looming over a slanted baseball field with tiny players.

Donnelson has attempted to repeal a law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition if they attend a Utah high school for three years and graduate.

Donnelson hadn't seen the painting but said people are entitled to their opinions.

"It could be if a politician is trying to uphold the law, that's what he's trying to do," Donnelson said. "He can be portrayed in any way in anybody's eyes. ... That's just free expression."

Given the charged politics and controversy surrounding the immigration debate, Lucero acknowledged that his paintings may be offensive to some. But he hopes that most people will at least develop a little more sympathy for those who he says cross the border to eke out a living.

"What if the immigration laws were that strict when their grandparents came into this country," he said. "This is the land of opportunity. What happened to that? All of a sudden, the dollar is more important than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com