Chiquita Manufacturers Worldwide, previously the United Fruit Firm, is the corporate behind quite a few instances of labor rights abuses, environmental degradation, and the overthrow of democratic governments in Latin America for the reason that starting of the Twentieth century. As students of up to date Latin American artwork and bananas, we really feel compelled to handle the irony of Chiquita supporting a good so deeply rooted in Latin American artwork — from its location in Miami to its many Latin American galleries, collectors, and artists.
Only a few months in the past, Chiquita was discovered liable in a civil case of the Federal United States District Courtroom of the Southern District of Florida for financing paramilitary killings in Colombia between 1997 and 2004, and the choose ordered the corporate to pay $38.3 million to the victims’ households. The corporate, credited by some for shaping the Twentieth-century mannequin of multinational companies and for pioneering fashionable advertising and public relations, earned the nickname “El Pulpo” (“The Octopus”) for the controversial extent of its energy, particularly in Central America and the Caribbean. All through the final century, the banana firm was behind a protracted checklist of violent incidents, together with the notorious 1928 Banana Bloodbath in Colombia and the 1954 coup d’état in opposition to then-President Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala. Chiquita’s art-washing as an official sponsor of Artwork Basel Miami Seashore is subsequently so appalling that it turns the abdomen.
The banana firm was behind a protracted checklist of violent incidents in Latin America.
Chiquita banana with stickers that includes the brand of Artwork Basel Miami Seashore
One Chiquita Instagram advert even incorporates a duct-taped banana, calling it “iconic, with a touch of tape.” So right here we’re once more — simply two weeks after Sotheby’s multimillion-dollar sale of Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” (2019), the highlight is again on a White, European artist. However what concerning the lots of of Latin American artists who’re truly utilizing banana imagery to confront Chiquita’s colonial abuses?
“Iconic, with a touch of tape,” Chiquita posted on Instagram, referencing Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” (2019), which not too long ago offered for $6.2 at public sale. (screenshot Hyperallergic)
Sometimes called the “capital of Latin America,” Miami has been house to rich personalities from the Spanish-speaking Americas for many years, particularly figures from the music, movie, and artwork industries. Within the discipline of up to date artwork, this bridge between america and Latin America was consolidated with the opening of the Pérez Artwork Museum of Miami in 1984. As we not too long ago defined in our opinion column for the Colombian digital media outlet La Silla Vacía, the presence of artists, galleries, collectors, and sellers of up to date artwork at Artwork Basel Miami Seashore has solely continued to develop. On this December’s version, two-thirds of the galleries come “from the Americas,” with the truthful being described as “the leading global platform for the discovery” of artwork from Latin American nations.
Given the truthful’s robust Latin American character, Artwork Basel Miami Seashore deserves greater than Chiquita’s multinational branding. As a substitute, it ought to highlight the highly effective legacy of Latinx and Latin American artwork that brazenly condemns the corporate’s practices. Is Artwork Basel Miami Seashore conscious of Luis Camnitzer’s hilarious 2016 Change.org marketing campaign to vary the title of the Republican Social gathering to the “Banana Republican Party” following the election of Donald Trump as President of america? Does Chiquita know of Rachelle Mozman Solano’s fantastical video through which the founding father of the United Fruit Firm, Minor Cooper Keith, is contaminated with Panama illness, as is the banana monoculture worldwide? Have the truthful organizers seen the 2008 Might Day collection by Andrea Chung, who at the moment has a solo present on the Museum of Modern Artwork North Miami, through which she erases farmers from classic plantation pictures to offer them a day without work? Is anybody accustomed to Nicolás Dumit Estévez’s sensible, queer Latinx impersonation of “Chiquito Banano“? Shouldn’t the map of Miami be redesigned as a banana, as in Dominican York artist Yunior Chiqui Mendonza’s poignant “Bananhattan,” recasting New York Metropolis within the fruit’s picture?
Luis Camnitzer, “Banana Flag” (2018-2020) (courtesy the artist)
Chiquita has lengthy profited on the expense of Latin American individuals, and now it’s profiting once more by selling its model at a serious artwork truthful with deep ties to the area. That is unacceptable — an organization with blood on its palms has no place within the arts, not to mention openly associating itself with Latin American tradition. Listed here are 3 ways to answer Chiquita’s photocalls, merchandising, and banana sampling carts if you happen to’re planning to attend the 2024 version of Artwork Basel Miami Seashore: Concentrate on the Latinx and Latin American artists and galleries on the truthful; select truthful commerce bananas if you happen to’re within the temper for a snack; and protest creatively. Take inspiration from artists like Karlo Andrei Ibarra, Jean-François Boclé, and Tonico Lemos Auad by carving your message into banana peels.