Beyond the Mexican Mural Class – Winter 2014

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[citem title=”Micheal McHenry” id=”citem_90″ parent=”collapse_74″]


I based my whole portrait on skateboarding, because growing up, skateboarding made me into the person that I am today. I made all my friends through skateboarding and the clothes I wear are all skate brands. Skating is a huge stress reliever and is something I look forward to every weekend, after a long week of work and school. I decided to implement downtown Los Angeles onto the wall in my portrait. I put downtown because everything I see in the city is an obstacle, from the stair cases, walls, and even curbs. Anything is skate able. The person I put skating on the wall is a symbol that when you skate in a city, the whole city is yours. Judy Baca told me he is represented as a hero. The concrete below represents my childhood and growing up skating in front of my house with my little brother. We would always play games of S.K.A.T.E, similar to horse, in order to get better. The feeling of learning a new trick is what always kept me going. The shoes on the bottom left corner represent the amount of shoes I have to go through when I skate. My shoes are always ripping and I always need to buy new ones. The deck represents how many boards I need to go through because I am always snapping them down staircases. The blue sky is a representation of my love for the outdoors. I put myself on a side wall with a picture of my girlfriend flipping me off. This picture captures the rebellious side of skateboarding. I always get harassed by cops telling me that I am destroying things but really I look at skateboarding as a form of art and all the obstacles as pieces of art. It is not a team sport and I can do my own thing, I can have my own style, make up my own tricks, and I can be creative when skating different things on the street. I used a lot of layering techniques in order to put myself, downtown LA, and the guy skating on the wall. I faded myself into the wall to make it look like I was a mural. I learned how to put shadows on the skateboard, shoes, and the guy skating on the wall. Somebody in the critique mentioned that my self-portrait looks like something you would see in a skate magazine, and that is exactly what I wanted to portray.


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[citem title=”Adrian Alfaro” id=”citem_91″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”Moisés Covarrubias” id=”citem_92″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”Karla Davalos” id=”citem_93″ parent=”collapse_74″]


I design my self portrait to be a personal reflection on my future. Currently, I am trying to figure out my life after college. Up until this point my parents and Mexican and LA descent have help shaped me most and are reflected in the background of my portrait. The peonie flowers, which are my favorite, are representing the idea of flourishing and how although I have changed and grown up, I still have a lot more change to come. My younger self is “soplando”, a cultural statement suggesting goodluck, and in doing so I am wishing myself the best of luck in my future endeavors.


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[citem title=”Pablo Simental” id=”citem_94″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”Philomena Lopez” id=”citem_95″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”David Velazquez” id=”citem_96″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”Jakeline Alezano” id=”citem_97″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”Alice Patrick” id=”citem_98″ parent=”collapse_74″][/citem]
[citem title=”Christian Maldonado” id=”citem_99″ parent=”collapse_74″]


My intention with this image is to project a visual narrative. I chose the background images as an associate with location that represents the city if Wilmington in California. Wilmington is adjacent to the Wilmington Oil Field, discovered in 1932. It is the third largest oil field in the continental United States. Consequently there are at least 8 major refineries in the Wilmington area. The figure in the foreground is a winged individual. I chose to have wings as a metaphor of rising above in relation to the background. As a result of oil refineries in Wilmington the environment and ambient are detrimental to peoples health. I superimposed the winged individual and oil refinery to create a message that captures my identity as a person that has faced environmental challenges during my life.


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[citem title=”Noe Lopez” id=”citem_100″ parent=”collapse_74″]


My project is a reflection of my identity. The people at the far bottom represent my family and friends. I symbolically placed them facing me to represent the pressure I feel to be who they want me to be. The photo of me wearing lavish clothing represents how the beholder overlooks my struggles and only looks at the exterior. The skull that covers half of my face represents my imperfections and struggle to remain true to myself. The large hands behind me represent God and His presence in my life.


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