Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
In recent years, thousands of people have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and with them, they brought objects: extra shoes, small bracelets, water jugs. Many are left behind during the arduous journey and then forgotten.
But not by two artists: a photographer and a composer.
They've roamed the vast expanse along the border, drawing inspiration from abandoned and lost objects. Their work will show at the San Jose Museum of Art in 2016.
"These things end up being loaded symbols, things that tell us where the country is headed," said photographer Richard Misrach, who has been chronicling the border region for decades.
Composer Guillermo Galindo took the objects and created instruments and musical pieces to go with Misrach's photography. The everyday objects may seem like trash to some, but through Galindo's art, they yield haunting, memorable soundscapes.
"We consider everything that we found very special and very valuable," said Galindo, who drew inspiration from the idea of the objects as powerful relics. "This is a very special project."
More images from the California Sunday Magazine's "Border Signs."