Pacita Abad
New kids in class, 1994
Acrylic, oil, cloth, sequins, buttons, beads on grid-like background, stitched and padded canvas
86 x 69 inches
218.4 x 175.3 cm
218.4 x 175.3 cm
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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Produced as a recollection of Abad's time in Washington DC during the mid-90's, New Kids on the Block centers on the linguistic diversity of the public school system in Washington DC, offering portraits of children alongside a chalkboard of their names, representative of a variety of ethnic origins. Characteristic of Abad's Immigrant Experience work, the subjects depicted are simultaneously specific portraits of children she encountered, as well as standing in for a wider celebration of the increasingly multicultural makeup of the DC area. Abad's adaptation of her subjects is apparent in their notably dark complexion, and questionably accurate to their actual skin tones, as evidenced by other works in the series. This representational choice was political - Abad was insistent on centering of dark-skinned individuals, having grown up in colorist Filipino society, and experiencing further discrimination in the Western world due to her skin Meticulously arranged, Abad's composition offers a collage of materials into the trapunto's surface, from short strands of beads resembling bracelets, to lace details on clothing, string to accentuate surface, and buttons embedded into depictions of school supplies.
IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE SERIES
Focusing on immigrants to the global North, with particular emphasis on the U.S, the "Immigrant Experience" series takes on Abad's incisive questions about the possibilities of solidarity between "third world" cultures, a poignant early predecessor to the "South-South" discourse of the contemporary. Drawn out of her personal experience as an immigrant many times over during the course of her transnational life, the "Immigrant Experience" series anticipates and surpasses the limits of contemporary immigration debates by centering the lived experiences of individuals experiencing immigration, and settling into the uncertain condition we know today as the "diasporic." Making work that highlighted both the joys and injustices of this condition was critical to Abad, having been repeatedly, wrongly detained in multiple Western countries due to her status as a dark-skinned Filipina woman.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Produced as a recollection of Abad's time in Washington DC during the mid-90's, New Kids on the Block centers on the linguistic diversity of the public school system in Washington DC, offering portraits of children alongside a chalkboard of their names, representative of a variety of ethnic origins. Characteristic of Abad's Immigrant Experience work, the subjects depicted are simultaneously specific portraits of children she encountered, as well as standing in for a wider celebration of the increasingly multicultural makeup of the DC area. Abad's adaptation of her subjects is apparent in their notably dark complexion, and questionably accurate to their actual skin tones, as evidenced by other works in the series. This representational choice was political - Abad was insistent on centering of dark-skinned individuals, having grown up in colorist Filipino society, and experiencing further discrimination in the Western world due to her skin Meticulously arranged, Abad's composition offers a collage of materials into the trapunto's surface, from short strands of beads resembling bracelets, to lace details on clothing, string to accentuate surface, and buttons embedded into depictions of school supplies.
IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE SERIES
Focusing on immigrants to the global North, with particular emphasis on the U.S, the "Immigrant Experience" series takes on Abad's incisive questions about the possibilities of solidarity between "third world" cultures, a poignant early predecessor to the "South-South" discourse of the contemporary. Drawn out of her personal experience as an immigrant many times over during the course of her transnational life, the "Immigrant Experience" series anticipates and surpasses the limits of contemporary immigration debates by centering the lived experiences of individuals experiencing immigration, and settling into the uncertain condition we know today as the "diasporic." Making work that highlighted both the joys and injustices of this condition was critical to Abad, having been repeatedly, wrongly detained in multiple Western countries due to her status as a dark-skinned Filipina woman.
Exhibitions
Pacita Abad: Artists + Community, November 17, 1994 - February 12, 1995, National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington DC
American Dream, November 17, 1994 - February 12, 1995, Curated by Angela A. Adams, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
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