Post-Modern Art Assignment: The Museum of the Old Colony

For this assignment, we are tasked with discovering and analyzing a post-modern art piece. I chose a specific room in the Biennale exhibition called "The Museum of the Old Colony" by Puerto Rican photographer Pablo Delano. Over the past five years, Delano has been producing his "museum," collecting photographs, objects, and videos that showcase the American colonization of Puerto Rico. An LED sign at the entrance reads "STRANIERO OVUNQUE," which translates from Italian to English as "FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE." I chose to analyze the entire "museum" to truly connect and understand Delano's motives and message and to compare his art to the post-modern present and paradigm change.

To begin, "The Museum of the Old Colony" features a room filled with black and white photos of Puerto Rico during its annexation to the United States. For context, Puerto Rico was a territory of Spain before the U.S. took over. The annexation involved abandoning Spanish culture, overruling the Puerto Rican economy, and employing the American military to control these now "American" citizens. "The Museum of the Old Colony" represents the hardships and racism Puerto Rico still faces today. Delano, in his introduction to the room, wrote: "While Puerto Ricans may possess U.S. citizenship, they live as foreigners in their own country, in the land of the colonizer, and wherever they may travel." Below are multiple photos I captured within the museum:

To the left is a black and white photo of a Puerto Rican man being arrested by three United States police officers. The image depicts the worry and threat of what he is about to face. The reason for his arrest is unknown.

To the right is a female, American police officer capturing a Puerto Rican woman on the beach. She is kneeling and reaching for her weapon. The Puerto Rican woman's face is etched with sorrow and defeat. Perhaps, this is a familiar occurrence across the beaches. 

"Children in the nursery and day-care center of the Luis Llorens Torres housing project in San Juan learning English songs." The photo to the left showcases the 'casual' racism and cultural erasure placed all across Puerto Rico. This was implemented by the U.S. to raise Puerto Rican children as "American" citizens.

Below are several photos showcasing the original Puerto Rican culture. Despite large attempts by the United States, the culture still exists today.

To the right is a photograph of a Puerto Rican farmer on his horse. Above is a United States patrol place, symbolizing how the U.S. is constantly watching and overlooking the Puerto Rican people, culture, and economy. Below the photograph is a toy place of the U.S. embassy, often played with by Puerto Rican children.

Throughout the entire "Museum of the Old Colony," Pablo Delano highlights his Puerto Rican culture and how the United States took over every aspect of the territory. From children learning the English language and adopting American culture to Puerto Rican adults being haunted by the Military Police, the annexation disrupted the core qualities of the country. What I found most interesting about this post-modern piece was the depth of expression - ranging from grief and rage to happiness and appreciation of culture -  throughout the room. 

Post-modern art is often misinterpreted as 'silly,' especially compared to the Renaissance art we studied over the past three weeks. However, I found this museum to be the opposite. The photographs brought emotions to life, compelling the viewer to ask: Why? Why destroy a culture for the 'American Dream?' Depalo brings together a collection of historical and present-day events to draw these feelings and questions forward. As Ruskin discusses in "On Possessing Beauty," "Your art is to be the praise of something that you love. It may only be the praise of a shell or a stone" (de Botton 222). Delano clearly praises his culture and the ever-resisting Puerto Rican people and their fight against the erasure brought by the Americans.

 This post-modern piece exemplifies the paradigm shift from Renaissance art to post-modern art. It bings complex emotions and shares a story connected to both history and the present. Complexity is often a key detail to post-modern art, forcing the viewer to think beyond the piece to truly understand it. Below are the only colored photographs in the room, depicting the "American Dream" and the published annexation of Puerto Rico into the United States: 

These photographs stand out in the room, compelling the viewer to consider why they are the only colored images. I have analyzed these images as representations of the idealized vision of Puerto Rico that many Americans imagined: perfect, happy, and sunny, an idyllic destination for a family vacation. Until recently, many Americans were ignorant of the racism Puerto Rican citizens faced from the United States government. This part of the museum underscores the post-modern art technique of conveying hidden messages to the viewer. Unlike Renaissance art, which focuses on religious statements, post-modern art often centers on change, political movements, and raising awareness. Puerto Rice still faces racism and abuse from the looming U.S. government, and it is crucial to take a stand and stop feigning ignorance of their pain. This paradigm shift in art emphasizes the need for social consciousness and action. 

The second noticeable paradigm change within this piece compared to Renaissance art is the use of the camera. The photographs throughout the room are manipulated to convey hidden messages, highlight abuse and celebration, and focus attention on certain aspects of the annexation. De Botton, in "On Possessing Beauty," warns against the use of a camera, stating, "Rather than employing it as a supplement to active conscious seeing, they used the medium as a substitute, paying less attention to the world than they had done previously, taking it on faith that photography automatically assured them possession of it" (de Botton 219). 

As discussed in my "Something Beautiful Assignment" post, I agreed that photography can be a detriment to future art. However, in this case, I believe Delano did a wonderful job of using the camera as a tool rather than a "substitute." The raw emotions are visible within his photographs, highlighting that it is not a single photograph that is the art, but the entire museum. This is a key take on post-modern art done "right," where the camera is a tool for drawing attention but does not overshadow the meaning. With his images, Delano still possesses his art and his muesuem. This proves the post-modern "plague" is still developing and adapting.

Post-modern art is still making a reputation for itself, and the influence of the camera, as used in this museum, is an advantage that Renaissance art could not compete with. Delano's work exemplifies using photography to draw attention to social issues without diminishing the depth and complexity of the art itself.

Overall, I really enjoyed working on this assignment. There has always been a stigma around post-modern art being 'ridiculous' and 'not real art.' This assignment has helped me see its purpose and where post-modern art is heading in the future. I also thoroughly liked researching and comprehending the Puerto Rican annexation. At the end of the Biennale tour, I ended up returning to the room. I spent an extra forty minutes in there, watching the presented videos (covering the current events revolving around Puerto Rico and the government's response to them), the objects throughout the room (some pictured below, the ones that particularly interested me), and the other photographs on the walls. "The Museum of the Old Colony" truly captured my interest and gave me a new outlook on post-modern art.