Save the Nopal
Artist David Damian Figueroa
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The Museum of Ventura County is committed to capturing, exhibiting and creating an opportunity for community dialogue around timely issues relating to regional and national trends in arts and culture.
Last week, the curatorial team installed “Save the Nopal, 2019” by artist David Damian Figueroa in the Museum’s lobby. David Damian Figueroa has this to say of his work:
“In December 2019, a banana duct taped to a white wall sold at Art Basel Miami for $120,000. Like millions of people throughout the world, I was left bewildered that a banana and duct tape would sell for that much money… In the days that passed after the announcement of this art sale, I started to see parodies of the banana on my Facebook feed. On one page I saw a jalapeño duct taped to a wall and on another page, I saw a tamale subjected to the same fate. I continuously create content for my Facebook page and thought I should create something that would reflect the immigrant experience crossing the desert at the Mexican/United States Border. I decided I should start with a talavera plate that I purchased at a local thrift store, drywall tape from the garage that was used in a recent patch job in my home, and a nopal paddle from my garden. I put the items together, took a photograph, and titled the piece Save the Nopal, and posted it on my Facebook page.”
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“Save the Nopal, 2019” by artist David Damian Figueroa.
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Museum of Ventura County’s Chief Curator Anna Bermudez with artist David Damian Figueroa.
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In this art piece, the nopal has a dual role. It represents the people who are willing to give their cheap and hard labor in return for their chance at the American dream. The thorns in the nopal cactus represent their persecution.
The yellow drywall tape also has a dual role. It represents the Mexican / United States Border. There are square gaps in the tape that represent the deficiencies in our current immigration system. The tape also represents a jail cell at detention center where undocumented children have been separated from their parents.
The Talavera plate represents the crossing of the harsh desert where temperatures soar well over 100 degrees on the Mexican/United States border and how we conveniently see it through a rose-colored lens.
The overall meaning of this piece is in honor of the people who die crossing the border from thirst, hunger, and by exposure to the brutal heat of the desert. They are known as Los Desconocidos (The Unknown). People who are never identified by anyone. Their families back home are left wondering the fate of their loved one who was in search of his or her American Dream.
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Are you a member of the Museum of Ventura County? Explore, discover and celebrate at the Museum everyday for free!
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Become a member today and enjoy benefits that include free or discounted admission to events, lectures, and classes, advanced notice of all events and exhibits, invitation to annual Member events, and more!
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Dig Into History 3-Day Celebration
Friday, January 24, 2020—Sunday, January 26, 2020 @ 11AM—4PM Celebrate 3,500 years of cultural diversity with music, dance, crafts, and storytelling to honor the diversity of the cultures who have lived here and left their mark on history.
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California Cool Lecture Series & Documentary Screening
Saturday, January 25, 2020 @ 2—4PM Join us for an insightful panel discussion and documentary screening about modernist design, fine arts and crafts, and the creative individuals who made a lasting impact in design history.
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Author Talk, Musical Performance and Crafts
Sunday, February 9, 2020 @ 1—3PM Join us for a special afternoon with author Toni Jannotta. Following Toni Jannotta’s talk on her book, “My Little Heart, Ruthie”, there will be a musical performance and a craft for visitors to participate in.
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venturamuseum.org
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La Conchita: A Different Kind of Paradise Author Talk
February 22, 2020 @ 3—4PM Dr. Bonnie G. Kelm, Ph.D will be discussing her book “La Conchita: A Different Kind of Paradise”. Admission is free for museum members, $5 for nonmembers.
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venturamuseum.org
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Jr. Livestock Nutrition Seminar (AG)
Friday, January 31, 2020 @ 4—6PM CALLING ALL students interested in learning more about livestock feed management and selection — You are invited to join us at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula for the Jr. Livestock Nutrition Seminar.
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venturamuseum.org
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VC Master Gardeners: Grow Your Town Tomatoes (AG)
Thursday, February 20, 2020 @ 12—2PM Join in on the fun at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula with a new gardening topic each month presented by Ventura County’s top Master Gardeners. Advanced registration advised.
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venturamuseum.org
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VC Master Gardeners: Creating a Shade Garden (AG)
Thursday, February 20, 2020 @ 12—2PM Join in on the fun at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula with a new gardening topic each month presented by Ventura County’s top Master Gardeners. Advanced registration advised.
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Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.!
The Albinger Archaeological Museum is located next to Mission San Buenaventura and was once the home to 5 different cultures spanning 3,500 years of history. Learn about the Chumash Indians, Chinese immigrants and others who resided on the site by viewing displays, and archaeological digs uncovered in 1974.
Displays of stone bowls, shell beads, arrowheads, bone whistles, crucifixes, bottles, buttons and pottery inside the exhibit building are complimented outside by excavations of the foundations of the lost mission church, Native American barracks, a tomol (plank canoe reproduction), a well and the oldest standing structure in Ventura County – the mission water filtration building.
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Unbridled with the Compton Cowboys at the Ag
CLOSING JANUARY 19, 2020! The latest exhibit to ride into the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula is Compton Cowboys, a photo series documenting the work and mentorship of modern-day urban cowboys counseling at-risk youth in South Central Los Angeles.
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venturamuseum.org
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California Cool: Mid-century Modernism on the Central Coast
Step back in time to a cooler and more sophisticated era of design. This new exhibit explores the popular design movement in interior & graphic design, architecture, and urban development from 1945 to 1965.
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venturamuseum.org
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Good Earth: Tilling the Soil at the Ag
The exhibit displays tilling equipment hand-picked from the Museum of Ventura County’s farm implements collection, on display in the Ag Museum’s beautiful native gardens. Good Earth: Tilling the Soil has been extended to April 5, 2020!
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Woven Earth
Woven Earth is now open! Displaying a wide range of hand-woven baskets from the Museum’s extensive collection, this new exhibit focuses on California’s native communities and the traditions involved in making these baskets.
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venturamuseum.org
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Virgencitas at the Ag
Virgencitas showcases a select group of artistic interpretations of Mary in a variety of mediums from artists in and around Ventura County. Those artists include Xavier Montes, Ray Cirerol, Syliva Raz, Gayel Childress, Heriberto Luna and more.
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Throwing Shade at the Ag
Throwing Shade provides a simple, focused examination of the coast live oak tree and its woodland community of plants and animals. Discover how the oak survives wildfire, drought (hot and dry periods), and how it reproduces.
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venturamuseum.org
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The Journal of
Ventura County
Roll Over The Ranchos
The Museum of Ventura County is pleased to announce that copies of the Journal of Ventura County’s newest edition, Volume 61 containing “Roll Over the Ranchos” and “The Wet Winter of 1884”, are now available for sale in the Museum’s store!
Originally published in 1955, these stories have been updated with additional photographs and both “A Roll Over the Ranchos” and “The Wet Winter of 1884” have been enhanced with updated footnotes, including biographical information and additional footnotes to help the reader place the geographic references and the people in that long ago time. The Journal is made possible by the generosity of Jim Holden, Linda Hadlen, Grace Brandt, and Mary Stewart.
The journal is available for purchase for $10 in the museum store and the e-book version is available for purchase exclusively through Amazon.
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Major funding for these programs is made possible by the City of
San Buenaventura, the County of Ventura and private and community donors.
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Museum of Ventura County • 100 East Main St. Ventura, CA 93001 • 805.653.0323
Agriculture Museum • 926 Railroad Ave. Santa Paula, CA 93060 • 805.525.3100
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