The Aprons
Alfonso Muñoz
Location:
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Project Description:
The Aprons. Muñoz conceived and constructed The Aprons in 2009 for SALPICA, a project launched by Mexican-American cultural essayist, author and Amherst College faculty member Ilan Stavan. The program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department of Cultural Affairs and Amherst College, sought to foster understanding of Native American culture in the U.S. Constructed from cotton line-cook aprons and reclaimed objects, The Aprons are an admittedly cynical and deliberately literal banner of “welcome”to the meager agricultural and kitchen positions that await most who cross the border. The color red represents both the tomato fields where migrant workers slave till death and the blood spilled before, during and after the immigration process, over generations. Using key rings to unite the individual pieces of cloth into a single, soaring kite structure, Munoz clearly identifies solidarity and family as crucial fuels for the fulfillment of immigrant aspirations across the years.
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