By Sophia Tareen
Associated Press
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

CHICAGO -- A window washer dressed as Spider-Man scales a building. A nanny clad as Catwoman attends to children. A pizza delivery man wearing Superman garb rides a bike with pies in the basket.

The humorous photographs by Mexican artist Dulce Pinzón depict real immigrant workers in their everyday jobs. But the images also proclaim them as superheroes who work grueling hours to make a better life for their families.

It's an idea linked to the immigrant experience in the United States and one that echoes throughout a new exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.

The collection, called "A Declaration of Immigration," is designed to challenge U.S. immigration policies and call attention to unsuccessful attempts at reform, according to the museum's president, Carlos Tortolero.

"Immigration affects the whole world," he said. "Immigrants are human beings who live in this country and contribute to this country. To be pro-America, you have to be pro-immigrant."

The approximately 100 paintings, photographs, sculptures, quilts and artifacts cover a range of immigrant experiences.

Quilts tell the story of Hmong immigrants from Laos. Photographs show a Korean family's appreciation of Elvis Presley and soccer. A retablo, or lamina, of carved figurines depicts the harrowing journeys that some immigrants make to arrive in the United States.

Tortolero got the idea for the exhibit about two years ago when Congress approved a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico. He said he was disturbed that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama voted for the fence. He considers the exhibit a way to open a discussion about immigration reform, particularly in a presidential election year.

A large sign at the entrance of the exhibit mimics the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming that the country is "a nation of immigrants."

It also says that "the construction of the wall along the United States-Mexico border would stand as a symbol of persecution, much like the 20th century Berlin Wall."

Several pieces criticize the Department of Homeland Security, particularly such immigration policies as fingerprinting foreigners at airports.

Portraits by Danish artist Anni Holm feature the faces of three women from India, Colombia and Italy; their faces consist of fingerprints.

Other works are haunting.

In a series of oil paintings by Ana Teresa Fernandez, a woman completes menial tasks in outdoor landscapes. In one, she vacuums the border at San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Written on the border wall is, "No puedo pasar indiferente ante el dolor de tanta gente," which translates roughly as, "I cannot cross [the border] indifferently without acknowledging the pain of so many people."

Other paintings and drawings depict non-citizen immigrants who have fought in U.S. wars abroad.

A comic-book-style drawing by Eric J. García shows a "G.I. Jose" poised with a gun. A line underneath him reads, "Always treated as foreigners except when needed to kill foreigners." Nearby, an Uncle Sam figure says, "Se Habla Español."

The exhibit also reflects the lighter side of immigrant life.

One installation, called "Phone Home" by Mario Ybarra Jr., is a glass case full of colorful international calling cards. A piece by Alejandro Diaz shows a series of facetious handwritten signs. One reads: "No Mexicans/No Tacos/You Better Think Twice America."

Also included is a photograph of a 2006 immigrant rights march in Chicago for which more than 100,000 people took to the streets. There's also a portrait of immigration activist Elvira Arellano, who defied a deportation order and lived in a Chicago church for a year with her young son, a U.S. citizen. It's called "Sorrowful Mother."

The exhibit runs through Sept. 7 and will not travel.