Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
WHEN MEXICAN FOLKORE MEETS U.S. POP CULTURE
Border Bang is a passionate love letter to the Tijuana and US border, documenting the bootleg artifacts sold to locals and tourists alike. Reappropriating the bombardment of pop culture images is the border s reaction to global issues and events, telling viewers and consumers not to glorify these situations but rather to acknowledge them through their subversive presentation.
Border artisans and shysters digest the influx of international popular culture, reappropriating and reconfiguring images to express themselves and empower objects with subversive ideas masked underneath bold colors and text. Raised in Tijuana, Gutierrez crossed the border to the US to attend elementary and middle school. Each day, he was dazzled and entranced by the objects being sold, creating alternative narratives to the cartoon characters and celebrity portraits that he saw. Border Bang is a reflection of his childhood narrative, using images from Mickey Mouse to Tupac Shakur to convey the reflections and meditations of global events as witnessed by the border, exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture."
Synopsis
The acclaimed director of The Book of Life returns with an original art book celebrating the mix between American pop culture and Mexican folklore. This bilingual (English-Spanish) book is a loving reflection of Mexican artist Jorge R. Guti rrez's childhood narrative of the re-appropriated pop culture references he grew up with, seeing them on his daily walks across the Mexico-U.S. border. Guti rrez created more than 100 paintings in his unique style, each proposing a bootleg version of popular characters, artists, and musicians, from Spiderman and the Powerpuff Girls to David Bowie and Tupac Shakur; homage is also paid to Mexican icons, including Frida Kahlo, Pancho Villa, Lucha Libre, and the 1986 Mexican World Cup mascot.
As the new American administration's politics raises awareness about migrants all over the world, Border Bang is a love letter to diversity and cross-cultural dialogue, with appeal to fans of both American pop culture and traditional Mexican folklore.