Indocumentado Analysis

Indocumentado is an art piece by Bianca Peña that is currently part of the Undergraduate exhibition at Herron School of Art and Design. At a first glance it looks like a regular collage with some text that gives definition to the double faces. But upon closer look at the piece this isn’t just a regular collage, but a collage that promotes multiculturalism and has the aesthetic feel that Barbara Kruger also has in her work. Bianca, similarly to Kruger, gets very political in the works of Indocumentado making multiple statements on the issue of xenophobia and immigration. Indocumentado talks about specifically about the undocumented latinx community and how they face the struggle of wanting documents and how hard it is to obtain them in America.
This piece looks heavily influenced by Kruger’s work, the strong font that paves it’s way through the photo, to the elements of using white text over black and red stripes. Though Bianca doesn’t appropriate the images like Kruger does, it can be seen that Bianca is tastefully appropriating text and other subtle designs that are throughout the piece giving the same style that pop art does. Pop art gives off the feeling of commodity, something Kruger is a strong proponent of, through the piece of Indocumentado there is a strong sense of commodity and advertising elements throughout the piece. The tears give the sense that this was once an advertisement seen on the streets but as time went on and the layers came off we see the true intention of why the art was made. By combining elements of multiculturalism, collage, advertising and conceptuality Bianca has successfully made a piece that has the same intentions Barbara Kruger had when she made her political driven