Santiago Sierra
(b. 1966, Spain)
89 Huicholes
2006
84 black and white photographs
Panorama of the art
My sketch of the art
I chose to do my art analysis on Santiago Sierra's compilation of 84 black and white photographs called 89 Huicholes. This piece features photographs taken of people from the Huichol tribe in Mexico. 89 Huicholes almost takes up a whole wall at CAM Raleigh with four rows of 17 pictures each and one row of 16 pictures. The photographs were all taken in Mexico in 2006, but the artist lives in Spain.
In these photographs, it is important to notice that the people's faces are not showing and the only visible portion of the people are the backs of their heads. While I was at CAM Raleigh, the museum's tour guide told my group that the Huichol tribe believes if a picture of their faces is taken, it will take away a part of their souls. I believe that the artist's decision to photograph this particular group of people, who only believed in showing their backs to the camera, was intentional. By hiding a person's face or just a part of their face, it seems to intrigue viewers with a sense of mystery and curiosity.
89 Huicholes is a part of the exhibit called Limited Visibility and I think this piece fits with that theme because the viewer is unable to see the full person in the photograph. For me, these photographs are trying to convey that there is so much more to a person that just what you can see. Because you are unable to see the people's faces, you are almost forced to create faces for them using your imagination. When I look at this piece, my mind tends to wander and think about the story behind the person in each of the photos.
The artist organized these photographs kind of randomly with no evident pattern. If the artist, Sierra, had sorted out the photographs, it would have taken away from the sense of freedom that is evoked from this piece. I think Sierra's decision to use photography was smart because I believe photography is as real as you can get to seeing the thing in person. If he had painted the people, the effect would have been different by making the barrier between the what the artist has experienced and what the viewer is seeing more noticeable. Another element to discuss about this artwork is that the photographs are in black and white. Sometimes, I think that black and white pictures have a greater impact than pictures in color because the colors can distract the viewers and take away from the details of the picture.
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What did you think about the curation of the room this was in? What sorts of connections or comments did the curator intend for an audience to make?
ReplyDeleteI really liked you analysis of the piece! I definitely agree with your opinion of how the randomness of the pictures enforced the piece's sense of freedom. I would've never thought of that idea and I think it rocks! Do you think its almost disrespectful to have the viewer create the stories of the people in the pictures? Could those stories be influenced by stereotypes of bias? Anyway I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was enlightened on the alternate perspective of the backs of the subjects allowing the viewer to create their own story. There is such an importance placed on looks in our society. Judgments are made based solely on outer appearance because we don't have time to get to know someone genuinely. This piece sets up the general background of the individuals but does not give enough information for us to dismiss the people. The mystery leaves the viewer wanting to know more! This was an awesome write up; I reached a new understanding of this piece!
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