In 1989 Texas artist Michael Tracys retrospective exhibition, Terminal Privileges, completed its tour at the Menil Collection in Houston.

Tracy then returned to his home on the Texas/Mexico border to perform a ritual sacrifice of the exhibitions centerpiece, Cruz: La Pasión.

The sacrifice of the cross was an effort to call attention to the border as a cultural-trade zone as well as a free-trade zone.

This performance was titled: River Pierce.

Twenty years later, in 2009, the border is under siege. The war on drugs has been lost, and immigration policies have failed.

This is a small sample from two (of four total) documentaries made during the Terminal Privileges retrospective in Mexico City and the River Pierce performance along the Texas / Mexico border. These documentaries were made with consumer 8mm video gear. Grainy and hand held, and edited with an early "fly-by-wire" system they now seem to only underscore the spirit of the whole event.

For more information: rziebell@cinelandia.com