Dateline: 1991-1992
“The Land The People 500 Years Later” was a 1992 postal art exhibit, open to artists worldwide. The exhibit offered an alternative narrative to the official ongoing Quincentennial celebrations.
I had no idea what to expect when the call was issued. I typed up a press release, made copies and mailed them off to colleagues and various publications.
Sending things in the mail is an act of faith of course. Artist friends and I used to send off things to one another, a shoe, a banana, toast. Anything that we could put a stamp on - write the address in ink see what happened. The wild part is almost everything made it through - even the toast - albeit in a special postal bag.
For this exhibit I was delighted to receive works from dozens of artists around the world. Going to the mailbox was an adventure. Magazines, posters, stickers, original works of art and slides arrived as the deadline approached. The work was organized on poster boards then exhibited throughout 1992. Local cafes, art spaces and businesses lent their window spaces for temporary exhibits. Friends and I reproduced and distributed works in "zine" form and mailed out to all the project participants.
The slide show component of the exhibit was shown during local events throughout 1992 and 1993. The show was shared by myself, and colleagues in a number of cites. We distributed materials via the postal service. Each image neatly organized into slide pages with notes. The show would be exhibited then passed onto the next person on the list. Somewhere along the way it vanished.
Documenting this body of work has been interesting. I found an old slide projector, cleaned it up and took digital images of slides. (They didn’t turn out as nicely as hoped so I'm looking for new options.) Once I can find them, the slides themselves are in fairly good shape, a few of the cardboard frames needed repair. The first half of my career was documented in slides, newsprint and photographs. Transferring all of these materials to a digital format is an extended process. My plan is for all of my archives to eventually become part of various larger collections.
Images include a mix of drawings, paintings, collage and text art by; Ernest Victor, Rabascall, Rogelio Lopez Cuenca, Roberto Bedoya, Karen Atkinson, Michael B Schwartz, Guillermo Deisler, Huna and Bruno Capatti and others.
The Land The People 500 Years Later
Bibliographic Materials
Brin-Ingber, Judith
Letter with bibliography for the study of Latin American Jewry
June 1991
Delaney, Paul
Amid Columbus Festivals, Spain in Planning to Recall the Jews in its Past
New York Times April 11, 1992
Edict of Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain
Grenada, Spain March 30 1492, Promulgated April 29 1492
Elliot, Jan
Exhibiting Ideology
A Review of First Encounters: Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States, 1492-1570
Goodman, Fredrick
The Other 1492
pp 9-13
Midstream, January, 1992, Vol 38, No. 1
Krupnick, Samson
Long Before 1492, Jews persecuted
National Jewish Post and Opinion
Volume 58, number 22, February 19, 1992, page 11.
Landers, Peggy, Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Disasters pf 1492 draw Jews and Hispanics together
Arizona Daily Star, Sun October 6, 1991
Lerkin-Elkin, Judith
Colonial Legacy of Anti-Semitism
Report on the Americas, Volume 25, Number 4, February 1992, pp 4-7
Millet, Perry
Science Museum exhibit explores Spanish voyages
Pioneer Press
May 20, 1992
Montalbano, William D. Los Angeles Times
King decries Jews’ expulsion from Spain
St Paul Pioneer Press, Wednesday April 1, 1992, pg 4-A
Pfeifer, Pat
Indians decry Columbus Exhibit
Star Tribune Sat. May 30, 1992
Porter, Louis
Bellecourt throws blood on Columbus ship replica
St Paul Pioneer Press, P A-1, A-9
Sat May 30, 1992
Prince, Pat
A Columbus counterpoint
Star Tribune
Raphael, Chaim
Sephard ’92
Commentary Magazine,
Vol. 93 Number 3, March 1992
Raphael, Dr. David
Something is wrong with the plans for Sepharad 91 celebrations
American Jewish World,
Minneapolis, May 24, 1991 p.5
Rosenthal, Dr. Miriam Freund
The expulsion from Spain was a watershed moment in Jewish history
American Jewish World,
Minneapolis, January 21, 1992 p.5
Rosenthal, Dr. Miriam Freund
Roots of expulsion go back more than 500 years
American Jewish World,
Minneapolis, January 24, 1992
Silva Tana
UF Indian exhibit damaged in Minn.
The Gainsville Sun
Tues June 2, 1992
St Paul Pioneer Press Editorials
Don’t cancel exhibit about Columbus
St Paul Pioneer Press
Tues June 2, 1992
Star Tribune Editorial
True interaction at the Science Museum
Tues May 26, 1992
Star Tribune, P. 14 A
Soucheray, Joe
Why let Bellecourt vandalize exhibit?
St Paul Pioneer Press
Wed June 3, 1992
Walsh, James
Museum Won’t press charges over blood on Columbus exhibit
Star Tribune
Thurs June 4, 1992
Whitman Pearl
Letter From Madrid
pp14-16
Midstream, January, 1992, Vol 38, No. 1
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