Art and Text as Living Inquiry into Anti-Immigration Discourse

Abstract

This paper examines the connections between art and text regarding the (mis) treatment of Mexican immigrants, particularly in schools.  The paper discusses the harsh realities of anti-immigrant discourse through a series of oil paintings created to depict selected issues of Mexican immigrant experiences that are also written about in text. The main argument of this paper is that art expands the imagination of written text to provoke meanings that are interconnected to textual representation and, at the same time, creates openings for the unfolding of visceral sensations and critical meaning.