Alina Bliumus (American, born 1972) & Jeff Bliumis
Alina Bliumus (American, born 1972) & Jeff Bliumis (American, born 1958), Language Barrier 4: Andes, New York, 2008, chromogenic print, 24 x 24 in. Schwartz Art Collection, Harvard Business School, 2010.12.
Born in the former Soviet Union, artists Alina and Jeff Bliumis now live and work in New York. They describe this series: "The term barrier is a statement of perceived circumstance. A confrontation with a barrier may provide also a moment of arrest, an exposure to a rip in the fabric of life that allows us to examine our behaviors, movements and communications. Language Barrier engages issues of immigration, assimilation and alienation. Uniquely printed and painted dictionaries create barriers at each location to underline the fragility of communication, the construction of language and our need for translation."