This Land is Your Land

I can think of no better place to exhibit an installation commenting on the socio-political experience of immigration than in the middle of NorthPark Center between Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom near Gucci, TOD’S, Salvatore Ferragamo and Versace. Brooklyn-based Chilean artist Iván Navarro’s work, “This Land Is Your Land,” features three water tower structures. Each vessel contains a different neon word or image. Growing up in Chile under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, Navarro was used to the power being cut off in the evening by the government to keep people in their homes and enforce curfews. In all of his work, Navarro uses electric light as a means of social commentary. “This Land Is Your Land,” which got its name from the Woody Guthrie folk classic, is no exception. Glowing from within the tower, the words “ME/WE” and “BED,” along with an image of a ladder, are reflected continuously inside. The installation is on view Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. from now until May 2015 on Level One of NorthPark. For the next year, every time a lady who just dropped a grand on a Fendi clutch will feel the plight of the American immigrant on her way to grab a latté with the girls. More info at northparkcenter.org.
Sun., June 22, 12-6 p.m.; Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Starts: June 22. Continues through May 9, 2014