Laura Anderson Barbata facts for kids

Laura Anderson Barbata (born in 1958) is a modern artist. She lives and works in Brooklyn, USA, and Mexico City, Mexico. Barbata uses her art and performances to help people and bring about fairness. She does this by showing old traditions and working with different communities.

Early Life and Learning

Laura Anderson Barbata was born in 1958 in Mexico City, Mexico. She spent her early childhood in Mazatlán, a city in Sinaloa. Her father owned a restaurant there. During this time, she didn't have many chances to visit art museums.

When she was 10, her family moved to Europe. The first museum they visited was the Louvre in Paris. She was very impressed by a famous statue called the Winged Victory of Samothrace. This experience made her want to explore the world through drawing. She later studied sculpture and engraving in Brazil. She also studied architecture in Mexico City.

Her Art Projects

Laura Anderson Barbata's art has been shown in many countries. These include the United States, Mexico, Europe, and South America. Her artwork is part of the permanent collections at major museums. Some of these are the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.

Barbata often creates projects that involve communities. She has worked with people in the Amazon, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Norway, and the USA. Two of her important projects are "The Repatriation of Julia Pastrana" and "Transcommunality."

The Yanomami Paper Project

For the Yanomami Paper Project, Barbata worked with the Yanomami people. They live in the Amazon region of Venezuela. She learned their traditional ways. In return, she taught them how to make paper and books using local materials.

Barbata still works with this community. They have made books in their own Yanomami language. These books include drawings by the children of the community. Some of these special books are now kept in important places. These include the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library.

Transcommunality

In 2002, Barbata was an artist in Trinidad and Tobago. There, she met the person who started the Keylemanjahro School of Arts and Culture. This school had a stilt dancing program for kids after school. It helped keep children busy and taught them about the cultural tradition of stilt dancing. This prepared them for the yearly Junior Carnival Parade.

Barbata worked with the Keylemanjahro school for five years. She helped the students and parents make costumes for their performances. The group had very few supplies. They relied on help from parents in the neighborhood. The children used to paint their bodies with house paint for costumes. This paint was not safe. Also, they used the same costumes every year. This meant they couldn't win awards for new characters.

Barbata suggested that the children could design their own costumes. This would help them learn about the environment and other cultures. She worked with the school to think of themes and characters for the kids. This way, they could create new designs and compete.

In 2007, Barbata returned to New York. She continued her stilt dancing work with the Brooklyn Jumbies. This group is made up of stilt dancers from the West Indies and West Africa. Together, they held "Jumbie Camp." This workshop trained young stilt dancers. It also prepared them for street performances and the West Indian American Junior Carnival Parade.

Barbata and the Brooklyn Jumbies have done many outreach programs. They often work in areas with Mexican and African-American communities. They have also done surprise performances around New York City. In 2011, they performed "Intervention: Wall Street." This was a response to the economic crisis. The stilt dancers wore business suits and walked towards Wall Street. Barbata danced and handed out gold-covered chocolate coins. The coins had the word "Mexico" on them.

In 2015, they performed "Intervention: Indigo" in Brooklyn. This performance was about violence against African American communities. The performers wore indigo-colored clothes. These were inspired by traditional stilt dancers from Oaxaca, Mexico. They were also inspired by the "Dance of the Devils" from the Afro-Mexican coast.

Julia Pastrana

In 2003, Barbata learned about Julia Pastrana. Pastrana was a woman from Mexico who lived in the 1800s. She had a rare condition that caused her body to be covered in hair. She was sadly shown in circuses as "the ugliest woman in the world." After she died, her body was preserved and displayed in museums.

Barbata felt very sad about Pastrana's story. She wanted Pastrana to be returned to Mexico and buried properly.

In 2005, Barbata started asking the University of Oslo in Norway to send Pastrana's body back to Mexico. She even published an obituary for Pastrana in an Oslo newspaper. It announced a Catholic ceremony for Pastrana. Barbata organized this ceremony in the Cathedral of Oslo. Hundreds of people came, including circus performers who brought flowers.

Barbata sent many documents to Norway's officials. She explained why Pastrana's body should be returned. She also wrote letters to government officials, journalists, and artists in Mexico and Norway. Many people became interested in helping her project.

In 2012, the Governor of Sinaloa, Mexico, Mario López Valdez, joined Barbata's efforts. He officially asked for Pastrana's body to be returned. The University of Oslo agreed to send Julia Pastrana back to Mexico. They had some rules: her body could never be displayed again, she had to be buried (not burned), and she needed a Catholic funeral.

On February 7, 2013, Barbata confirmed Pastrana's identity in Oslo. They noticed that bolts and metal rods were still in Pastrana's feet from when her body was displayed. These were removed and placed at the bottom of her coffin. Pastrana's coffin was flown from Oslo to Culiacán, Mexico. She received a special welcome.

The next day, February 12, Julia Pastrana's coffin was taken to Sinaloa de Leyva. There were official ceremonies and a funeral mass. She was then buried in the Municipal Cemetery, following local traditions. Her coffin was covered in flowers. She was dressed in a traditional Mexican dress called a huipil. A photo of her child was placed on her chest. Her tomb was covered in thick concrete walls. This was to make sure her grave would never be disturbed again. Thousands of flowers arrived from all over the world to cover her tomb.

Barbata wrote a book called The Eye of the Beholder: Julia Pastrana’s Long Journey Home. It tells Pastrana's story from many different viewpoints. Barbata has also explored Pastrana's story through performances, photos, and animation.

Selected Art Shows

Laura Anderson Barbata's work has been shown in many places. She has had solo shows and performances, often working with others.

• Intervention: Indigo (2018) in Oaxaca, Mexico.
• Intervention: Ocean Blues (2018) in Boston and Brooklyn, with the Brooklyn Jumbies.
• Ocean Calling (2017) at the United Nations Plaza, New York.
• Intervention: Raphael Red (2017) at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
• Intervention: Wall Street (2011) in New York's financial district, with the Brooklyn Jumbies.
• Jumbies Fort Worth! (2009) in Fort Worth, Texas, with the Brooklyn Jumbies.

Her art has also been part of many group shows. These include:

• Caribbean: Crossroads of the World (2015) in Miami and New York.
• Mujeres detrás de la lente (Women Behind the Lens) (2011) in Tijuana, Mexico.
• Hecho en casa (Made at Home) (2009) at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.

Awards and Honors

Laura Anderson Barbata has received many awards and honors for her work. Some of these include:

• Artist in Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2016).
• Women in the Arts Award in Orlando, Florida (2016).
• The Current Fellow from Thyssen-Bornemisza Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria (2015).
• Honorary Fellow from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (2015).
• Photography Award from the Mexican Foundation of Film and Arts (2013).

See also

In Spanish: Laura Anderson Barbata para niños