Yearning to Breathe Free

Yearning to Breathe Free
9" x 12"
Mixed media
2020



This past Friday night my wife and I were praying (virtually) with Temple Beth Israel of Fresno, listening to the words of Rabbi Rick Winer, when I had this idea: combining the grief we have at the words "I Can't Breathe" with the hope in these words from Emma Lazarus' poem, "The New Colossus" – found in its entirety at the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

"Yearning to Breathe Free" is made with X-Men comics featuring Bishop – a mutant from the future who is the son of Aboriginal refugees who fled to America, where he was sent to a mutant concentration camp and branded with an "M" over his right eye, used to identify mutants in his era. Which is a lot of backstory, I know.

The words form a tight square on the lower half of a rectangular sheet – I wanted them to feel cramped and in need of release. And the all caps letters in multiple colors? We've seen a lot of that in the streets of America these days, so it's certainly got protest and pride as inspiration as well.

Three Dreamers

I've got three new papercuts I wanted to share with you – inspired by the story of some "dreamers."

If you're not familiar with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), here's the shorthand: it's an American immigration policy that allowed some people who entered the country as minors (and remained in the country illegally) to receive a renewable two-year deferral from deportation and eligibility for a work permit. As of 2017, about 800,000 individuals were enrolled in the program created by what was popularly referred to as "The Dream Act," and so the people in question are known as "dreamers." But DACA is in danger, and we must speak up – in support of the people that come to our shores in search of freedom and refuge and opportunity.

I'm a second-generation American, and this has always been an issue of great importance to me. We've got a statue at the edge of our country which welcomes all those who need refuge:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
– excerpt from "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

These three dreamers I've created are papercut representations of the Jewish tradition's dreamer, Joseph, known for his coat of many colors... and his long journey from favorite child to near-death to servitude to prison to leadership and, eventually, to sustainer of the children of Israel. All three papercuts include biblical references to "welcoming the stranger"; they're what I call "paper midrash."

A.K.A. Bunker
6" x 6"
Mixed media
2018

A.K.A. Bunker is made of cut-up comic books featuring Miguel Jose Barragan, known to the world as the super hero "Bunker." Originally from Mexico, he now lives in San Francisco (a sanctuary city) as a member of the Teen Titans. His coat of many colors features the purple bricks he creates with his powers, and bits and pieces of the costumes of his teammates.

Here I Am
6" x 6"
Mixed media
2018

Here I Am is made of cut-up America Chavez comics. A queer latina from the alternate dimension known as the Utopian Parallel, America's powers of teleportation led to her "undocumented" arrival in our dimension, where she started her super hero career as a member of the Young Avengers. In the background behind her are the words "All it takes is a second of trust" and two hands stretching out towards each other.

The Alien Superman
6" x 6"
Mixed media
2018

Superman is probably the most famous undocumented immigrant super hero, and The Alien Superman is made of cut-up comics featuring the Man of Steel. When his birth planet Krypton was on the verge of destruction, his parents put baby Kal-El (his Kryptonian name) in a rocket and sent him to find sanctuary on our Earth. In this papercut he stands against a desert background with a hint of a militarized and fortified border wall.

"Breathe Free" and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

It hurts me to hear people like House Speaker Paul Ryan say we should close our doors – whether he says it's a "pause" or whatever. We have a welcome sign at the border, on a statue given to us by France, and it contains America's core value: we welcome the tired and weary – the refugees who seek freedom and safety. Don't turn them away! They are us!

"Breathe Free" (shown above) is a new papercut in my exhibition, "Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes," now showing at National Council of Jewish Women / Los Angeles through November 30, 2015. This was inspired by my wife's Rosh HaShanah sermon about the Syrian refugee crisis.

The original Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, has recently “passed the torch” to a young Muslim immigrant from Pakistan. Both dedicate themselves to the ideas of peace and freedom, and the message carved in stone at the foot of the Statue of Liberty — words written by the Jewish poet, Emma Lazarus. This papercut explores the idea of America as a nation of immigrants, with a changing demographic of people all committed to the same ideals: refuge and liberty for all.

This papercut, like all of my work, is made with cut-up comic books, including:

• Avengers [Free Comic Book Day] #1 (Jun 2015)
• Captain Marvel #1 (Nov 2015)
• Ms. Marvel #15 (Mar 1978)
• Ms. Marvel #1 (Oct 2014)

The original is already sold, but you can buy an archival giclée print at my store site.