Library of Congress features Land of Milk & Honey Story Maps

The MexiCali Biennial continues its collaboration with the Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress in an upcoming Story Map contextualizing Land of Milk & Honey, a series of exhibitions which interrogate ideals of agriculture and foodways and the symbiotic relationship between California and Mexico. For the StoryMap, curators have selected four artists from the exhibition that were exhibited at “The Cheech”, a repository with strong holdings of Chicana/o/x art – much of which the museum’s namesake, actor-comedian Cheech Marin donated.

Collage of works from artists Chris Christion and Jessica Wimbley, Isidro Pérez García, Shinpei Takeda, and Ruben Ochoa, which form part of Land of Milk & Honey, a series of exhibitions that interrogate ideals of agriculture and foodways and the symbiotic relationship between California and Mexico.

The chosen artists’ works visually communicate their personal histories, connections, and experiences with topics around the Land of Milk & Honey, which was inspired by John Steinbeck’s views of California as a corrupted Eden. Researchers Samuel White and Daniel Velazquez then connected these concepts with digital resources available at the Library of Congress to identify historical patterns, bridging the past with the present. The StoryMap will serve as a visual study guide to the influences of border art, the relationships between neighboring countries, and the agricultural histories of California and Mexico, from an art historical perspective.

The following will be featured in the StoryMap:

INSCRIBING “LOST” HISTORIES IN ISIDRO PÉREZ GARCÍA’S PENCAS DE MAGUEY

HISTORIES UNEARTHED IN JESSICA WIMBLEY AND CHRIS CHRISTION’S UNAUTHORIZED HISTOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA

FLOAT FOR RECLAMATION: CONCEPTUALIZING A COLLECTIVE VIRTUAL MEMORY

RUBEN OCHOA’S COMIC CORRIDO DE TAMALES EL PRIMO: CELEBRATING THE CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY OF LOS ANGELES TAMALEROS

Land of Milk & Honey Story Map

Thank you to the curators, researchers, and artist from the MexiCali Biennial for your intellectual generosity, contextualization, and inclusion!