Past Projects – SPARC Digital Mural Lab

[collapse id=”Collapsible Group Item 1″][citem title=”Yasmin Santis – Art,el Movimiento, and Immigrant Rights” id=”citem_34″ parent=”collapse_34″]Art,el Movimiento, and Immigrant Rights
Yasmin Santis
703447711
Professor Judy Baca
Katherine Smith
During the time when the Chicano movement, el Movimiento, was in full gear in the 1960’s, there was a smaller revolution brewing within the Chicano community – a revolution so culturally daring that it has still not yet become a social standard. Many Chicanas inside the Chicano community were fighting for their rights to be treated equally, while the community at whole was fighting for the respect and rights they deserved in American society. This intra-communal struggle still mirrors that of all Latinos in the U.S. fighting to be recognized, breaking stigmas, and demanding for their rights. It is this parallel between the independent Chicanas who became artists and the Latino immigrants that have created an empathetic connection. Because of their gender Chicanas are subjugated and subjected to an inferior status, to strict barrier lines painted around them that prevent them from venturing outside of the traditional docile mother role so valued in Latino culture (Anzaldua, 1999). Chicanas who dared to venture in the masculine world of the arts were discouraged, under represented, and ignored. Because immigrants do not speak English very well or their skin is not the right color they too are subjugated and subjected to stigma and ostracism – when they seek jobs that is socially deemed too “white collar,” they are discouraged. There are two Chicana artists that have, against all odds, successfully created socially dynamic discourses through their pieces. Maria Elena Castro created a zestful installation inspired by these very same xenophobic sentiments; “Green, GO!” 2008 tells a story of immigration, bigotry, and hope. And it is in Ester Hernandez’s drawing “Virgen de las Calles” 2001 that shows the viewer just how difficult life is once the immigrants get to the U.S., creating allusions in almost every icon. Latino immigrants and Chicana artists both face stigma and ostracism when they cross a physical or communal barrier in order to seek a better opportunity for themselves – whether that means entering a new land or creating a new cultural standard. Thus, Chicana artists have a deeper empathetic connection with these immigrants than that of their male counterparts in respect to their artwork.

The history of the Chicana feminist movement is closely tied with that of the Chicano Movement, el Movimiento, to gain respect and rights within American society (Mesa-Bains). The resistance to oppression found in the general Movimiento is matched if not exceeded in ferocity by the Chicanas to their intra-cultural oppression through which the men dominated aspects of family as well as the arts (Mesa-Bains). Chicanas have faced many barriers to break through because it is commonly believed that “if a woman doesn’t renounce herself in favor of a man, then she is selfish” (Anzaldua, 1999). According to Gloria Anzaldua in her book Borderlands/la Frontera, the men make the rules; it is the women who transmit them between themselves and to the next generation. Anzaldua asks, “how many times have I heard mothers and mothers-in-law tell their sons to beat their wives for not obeying them, for being…big mouths…for wanting to be something other than housewives?” she claims that Chicanas only had three choices in life, the monastic life, prostitution, or housewife (Anzaldua, 1999). But slowly over time “Chicanas have renegotiated the domestic and community roles they fulfill as they migrate, become educated, and interact with their culture and larger society” (Mesa-Bains). de Alba claims in her book, Chicano Art Inside/Outside the Master’s House: Cultural Politics and the CARA Exhibition, that Chicana feminism is Third World. By interacting with the larger society of America, a country that is known for its First World feminism, or “White feminism,” Chicanas see that their oppression is “identified in its concern over class and colors as key nodes of subjectivity and oppression” (de Alba 1998). It was only through the creation of groups and networks specifically designed for Chicanas that these women could start transforming themselves and the future generations of women into something beyond the home. For example, Las Mujeres Muralistas was an extremely important group for the “empowerment of Chicanas in el Movimiento, for they challenged the sexist and stereotypical notions within the Chicano Art Movement that women were physically not able and politically not ‘meant’ to create murals” (de Alba). One of the artists mentioned earlier started her political career in this exact group. Ester Hernandez started out as an apprentice to one of the Maestras in 1974, toting around with her, her son – the only member of the group to have had a child at that point (Ruiz and Koroll, 2006). This surprising detail alone is evidence toward the change that these very women were trying to perpetuate and make into reality. That there was a small group of women, working on something supposedly designated for men only, to have not had children yet, indicates that they were either unmarried or putting off pregnancy in favor of being an artist. This assertion of individuality as well as breaking free from cultural traditions as early as the 1970’s shows how strongly Chicana artists desired to be artists and not the docile Chicana woman.

As mentioned above the Chicana Movement was occurring at the same time as el Movimiento, where the Chicano community as a whole was working on getting the rights and respect for themselves as well as for Latino immigrants. Just like the women in the Chicano community, immigrants were a sub-group of American culture being oppressed, pushed into societal roles, and were prevented from receiving basic rights. The difference between the Chicana artists’ oppressors and the immigrants’ oppressor is that instead of it being an entire gender forcing their will onto another gender, immigrants face oppression from government policies, societal stigmas, and deep-rooted stereotypes. There are current policies that allow an individual from Mexico or other Latin American countries to enter the U.S. temporarily for work but simultaneously prevents these very same workers a successful and permanent settlement in America (Cardenas). They encourage the low-cost labor but discourage migration and citizenship, which further perpetuates the idea of Latinos and Chicanos as foreigners, outsiders of American society – this impedes Chicanos, who are American, from receiving the respect and same treatment as immigrants from Europe or Asia (Cardenas). These sentiments of xenophobia are passed from generation to generation in what is “White America,” just like the concepts of how a woman in the Chicana community should act are passed on to future generations. It was policies like these that have created the socio-political situation of where the U.S. market of today demands migrant workers while the U.S. government does not permit them as legal residents. These U.S. policies have only impeded the natural progress and social mobility of Chicano communities in America. And it is the artists that have exposed these policies, social schemas, and communal prejudice for what they really are. These Chicana artists use their empathetic connection to create moving pieces on tough topics like immigration and the border.

Maria Elena Castro is on of those Chicana artists; she was born in 1974 and grew up in Riverside, California. Her father was born in the U.S. but was raised in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. She grew up listening to Sinaloan Banda music that her father played and helped him create papier-mâché figures for Easter – a precedent for some of her work as an artist later in life. Castro’s installation “Green, Go!” 2008, is a tribute to her father, was influenced by recently becoming a mother, as well as a reaction to anti-immigrant web forums she came across, “I was in a very angry place with this work…they say when you’re a mother your claws come out. That’s how I felt. I felt very protective of my daughter and of my father’s memory” (Johnson 2008). For example, while reading the ant-immigrant sentiments online she came across a claim that Mexicans breed like rabbits and that they are invading the U.S. (Favre 2008). This particular detail is manifested in her installation as the heads and faces of the hanging papier-mâché figures; they have rabbit like ears and some even have small noses that appear to be snout-like.

Castro covers a lot of topics in this installation including sense of being “alien,” the word “gringo,” and the Virgen de Guadalupe joining forces with the Statue of Liberty. Just like creating Human-Rabbit hybrids, other aspects of her work have fascinating meaning behind them. The figures themselves are swathed in Mexican-thrift store paper and are floating above the installation below, most in a diving position, as if to implicate they are invading the land below. But this “land below” is teeming full of green and silver extra-terrestrial-like objects that could pose as mechanical. A lot of cultures outside of the U.S. view America as a purely mechanical country – like one giant machine run by millions of smaller machines. In fact, the word for America in American Sign Language is closely related to the word for machine (Culver 2003). She portrays the figures as sinister, showing them as many anti-immigrant groups feel them to be. She further proves this point by taking both the Virgen do Guadalupe and the Statue of Liberty and combing them into one single icon. As if to say that the Latino culture is so embedded into the American culture, that without it, America would not be America. That feminine icon is a symbol of assimilation – how American culture is nothing without its immigrant groups, the Irish, the Jews, the Asians, and the Latinos to name a few. This installation in it of itself is a depiction of what Castro believes to be the Chicano community’s success in finally breaking down societal barriers. Castro has even assimilated the word gringo into her pun-title “Green, go!” which itself comes directly from the “phrase ‘Green, go!’ that was shouted by Mexicans at green-uniformed U.S. troops during the countries’ 19th century wars” (Johnson). Instead of this phrase being a war cry, or even a derogatory term used by Latinos for Americans, Castro is instead using it to indicate the need to seek opportunity; to literally go to the green, whether green in this particular instance means money or something new. As an artist Castro herself has crossed the gender and socio-economic barriers found in Chicano communities. She has used her creative expression and this connection between her struggle and immigrants’ struggle to create a strong piece about alienation, bigotry, fear, assimilation, and ultimately cultural triumph.

Ester Hernandez has been working on culturally triumphing within the gender roles of women in the Chicano community as well as bringing to light how immigrants are treated in the U.S. Hernandez was born in 1944 of one of six children to Mexican farm workers in Dinuba, California. Hernandez comes from a family of artists, and according to her “my mother carried on the family tradition of embroidery from her birthplace in north central Mexico. My grandfather was a master carpenter…and my father was an amateur photographer and visual artist” (Ruiz and Korrol, 2006). Her childhood and surroundings are other components of her inspiration: working in the fields and the communal spirit of friends and family provided her with the necessary aesthetic development. In 1960 Hernandez left to attend the University of California, Berkeley following her talent to the visual arts. In the 1970’s she worked closely with the renowned female artist-collective Las Mujeres Muralistas for three years. It is the combination of attending U.C. Berkeley and working with Las Mujeres Muralistas during the politically charged 1970’s era that “helped Ester [to] develop her socio-political artistic identity and her consistent commitment to political activism” (Hernandez). A part of Hernandez’s main focus in much of her art is to empower the underdog – especially women and immigrants. This also extends to her real life where she is committed to physically empowering the elderly and the disabled of her community in San Francisco, California. Like most of her fellow Chicana artists she produces works to instigate social change will providing service and create change, she restructures the feminine through social critique. She subverts and recontextualizes in order to transform social stigmas into cultural norms (Mesa-Baines).

In her pastel drawing “Virgen de la Calles” 2001, Hernandez does not fail in providing a politically and socially charged piece. The title itself is an allusion to the Virgen de Guadalupe, a strong icon in the Latino community. But in this instance, the virgin is that of the streets, almost as if the woman depicted in the drawing is a saint herself like the Virgen of Guadalupe. She further pushes this point with the woman wearing a shawl over her head, draped as the Virgen drapes hers. This shawl is the only symbol of the woman’s Latino heritage, her other clothes and the other objects are American. Her oversized red sweatshirt has “USA” boldly embroidered into it, clarifying that this woman is an immigrant to the U.S. and not in her native country. She appears to be middle-aged, probably with a family and children. She stands on the side of the road, looking out to the viewer as if asking the viewer to purchase the roses in her bucket labeled “futura.” It is literally stating that her flower business is her future, her greener pasture on the American side she hopes to find. Furthermore, the flowers, stated as her future, are not placed in her hands but rather in that labeled bucket – the bucket of American whims and market.

This piece “pays tribute to the dignity, strength, and perseverance of immigrant women, as they strive for a better life for themselves and their families” (Hernandez). Her drawing shows the viewer the hardships immigrants face when they come to America. Selling flowers on the side of the road is not a business in the American markets. It is an undocumented job that pays cash as to avoid taxes – it is under-radar, designated for the lowest of the classes, and has no emotional reward for the individual. The viewer can see on the woman’s face lines of tiredness and pre-mature aging that comes from hard work, enduring hours of cold, rain, heat, vile motorists who scream bigotries. Her meek stance and placement of hands are there as if to convey that she knows her place in American society as well as the Latino community: a docile and poor woman. Hernandez’s use of color in the roses can also be interpreted as symbols of this woman’s femininity. Red roses are hailed to represent love and nurturing while white is that of purity, innocence, and docility; all of which are qualities are valued in a woman in the Chicano community (Anzaldua, 1999). Hernandez created this immigrant character with such familiarity and care that the viewer feels the very same connection Hernandez possesses. She is a Chicana artist who has spent much of her life breaking down cultural barriers and creating new standards – she is an artist who has connected with her subject matter in “Virgen de las Calles,” who understands how hard it is to seek a life outside of the norm and the familiar, to struggle living a life where one is hailed as an outcast or that of an inferior status.

Both Castro and Hernandez’s pieces are compelling; they provoke discussion, strong emotions, as well as introspective thinking. Castro portrays the first step of many Latino immigrants, the actual crossing of the border, facing immediate discrimination fueled by xenophobic sentiments. The immigrants come to U.S. and see that much of their culture has already been embedded into American society, as seen by the amalgam of Virgen de Guadalupe and the Statue of Liberty icon. Then it is Hernandez that picks up the story and continues with the hardships they face once they are in the country. Their work is important to American society, to show the day-to-day person how thousands of people suffer. Latino immigrants, whether they are legal or illegal, cross the tangible border between the U.S. and Mexico; they face physical as well as invisible barriers of violence and prejudice during the actual process of crossing as well as while they are living within U.S. borders. Chicana artists also break through barriers, albeit invisible ones. They cross the borders of gender roles in order to become independent and accomplished artists. Chicana artists must overcome just as many and more hardships as an immigrant does. Breaking free from the traditional ties of the Chicano community ostracizes the individual, decreases her chances of being considered a “good woman” in her community. A Mexican immigrant is also ostracized in the American community, taken advantage of, looked down upon if their English is not up to par, and has barely any chance of being considered a “good citizen” or even as an “American.” The parallels between these two subjugated social groups are uncanny; they are connected and will always be. Chicana artists are of the few that have successfully broken all barriers, have crossed all borders. They rose above the prejudice and created a whole new class of artists and of immigrants: those who refuse to be treated as nothing less than human.

Bibliography

Anzaldua, Gloria (1999). Borderlands la Frontera. Aunt Lute Books, Retrieved October 26, 2008, from http://sparcmurals.org/ucla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=64

Cardenas, Gilberto Art and Migration: A collector’s View. Caras Vemos, Corazones no Sabemos, Retrieved October 26, 2008, from http://www.carasvemos.org:8082/de Alba, A. G. Chicano Art Inside/Outside the Master’s House: Cultural Politics and the CARA Exhibition. University of Texas Press. 1998.

Favre, Jeff. (November 21, 2008). Border journeys Fowler exhibit explores Mexican migrants’ struggles. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from Ventura County Star Web Site: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/nov/21/border-journeys-fowler-exhibit-explores-mexican/?partner=RSS

Hernandez, Ester. (2008). About the Artist. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from Ester Hernandez the Artist Webs site: http://www.esterhernandez.com/eh-contact.html

Johnson, Reed. (October 15, 2008). Art About Movement. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from LA Times Web Site: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/15/entertainment/et-immigrationart15

Marentes, Carlos, Cynthia P. (1999). The Bracero Program. Retrieved October 26, 2008, from The Farmworkers Webstite Web site: http://www.farmworkers.org/Welcome.html

Mesa-Bains, Amalia. “El Mundo Feminino: Chicana Artists of the Movement – A Commentary on Development and Production.” Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, 1965-1995. ed. Richard Griswold del Castillo. UNM Press, 1990

Ruiz, V, & Korrol, V (2006). Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press.

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[citem title=”Natalie Shusterman : Carmen Lomas-Garza and Linda Vallejo: Final Comparative Paper” id=”citem_35″ parent=”collapse_34″]Natalie Schusterman
Final Comparative Paper: Carmen Lomas-Garza and Linda Vallejo

Female strength and empowerment through visual form has managed to be a prevalent issue in Chicana art for quite a long time. It has existed through the breaking with tradition in society as well as the traditions of fine art. While many Chicana artisits have pushed these boundaries, they have also continued to maintain the core values of the Latin family and the fine art aesthetic. Two Chicana artists that have been able to push artistic boundaries while keeping with Latin culture and tradition are Carmen Lomas Garza and Linda Vallejo. Both women are extremely talented artists, not only in the Chicano community, but in the fine art community as well. For example, Carmen Lomas Garza has been able to create work that not only represents customary family traditions; she has also painted work in a high art form. Her artworks resonate with me because they are unique, yet reminiscent of other periods of art such as Medieval and Early Netherlandish painting. I also decided to focus on Carmen Lomas Garza because her work manages to be beautiful and uncomplicated at the same time. The work that I connected best with is titled, ‘Empanadas’ due to the subject matter of the work. It is a painting that I am able to comprehend and even relate to from my own personal experiences. I can remember on many occasions being in my grandmother’s kitchen watching her and other family members making empanadas. This painting’s visual statement is so ordinary, yet it manages to bring about happy memories from my childhood vacations to Colombia. The second artist I chose to write about is Linda Vallejo and more specifically, her work ‘Electric Chair.’ After hearing her lecture, I knew I wanted to focus on her because I found her work and her life to be really interesting. She has been able to make it as a professional artist, all the while having a family in true Mexican tradition. “Electric Chair” stood out to me the most because of its beautiful colors, almost negative-like appearance, and its unique placement with a chair a ball representing earth.
Lomas Garza’s, ’Empanadas’, shows a large family gathered around a kitchen making traditional empanadas. The image shows what appear to be a husband and wife, their children, and possibly the husband’s brother and wife with their children. This looks like a family reunion or just a simple weekly dinner with two families coming together to prepare the meal. The children seem to be less involved, looking at the cat, eating empanadas, and generally just avoiding the work aspect of making this traditional Latin food. One of the women is preparing the empanadas and placing the filling in the dough, while one of the men rolls out the dough. Everyone in that kitchen has a role to the person viewing the painting. In a way, it keeps the viewer in front of the work just examining every person and asking themselves what each person is doing. For example, the adults are congregated around the island, working on the empanadas and talking, while the little children eat the food around the kitchen, creating a balance in this work. The kitchen itself is very brightly colored and warm, which is customary of a Latin kitchen in any part of the world. The men are dressed in a conservative style of clothing while the women are wearing vibrant 1950’s style dresses, which also brings about a sense of old tradition and customs. This style of dress seems to be the norm in such a rural part of Texas, where Lomas Garza was raised. Physically, this painting represents life, color, vitality, and warmth.
The painting style of Carmen Lomas Garza tends to lack in dimension, which adds to the simplistic aesthetic of her artworks. It is a style that may be considered folk art and some art historians may be low-art and not quite as refined, yet I find that it is really technical and a high-art form. Just by examining her body of work, it’s obvious that each painting is really intricate. This way of painting is reminiscent of a medieval style, with the little figures as Professor Baca pointed out, “that the boys appear as a little men.”(2) Besides her detailed work, the flat styles of her images are also a common look of the Early Netherlandish dating back from the 15th through late 16th centuries in Holland. This style was incredibly elaborate and complex, while remaining flat, simple, and with a clean usage of line. It’s a form that is under appreciated in comparison to what is considered fine of art of today and the fine art of the High Renaissance.
After looking at this painting closely, I can see that this work is expressing the message of family and tradition. This painting does not necessarily focus on the Latin American family; it also manages to convey the message of family among many different cultures and people. It is an artwork that defines fine art, community, and the Chicana movement. By doing this, Carmen Lomas Garza is able to break the stereotype that Chicana art is something simple and unrefined. Her work is precise, vivid in color, and personal. Lomas Garza’s work stirs up a sense of emotion, comforting memories, and core family values. These values include respect, tradition, pride of one’s heritage, and family.
The second artist I decided to discuss is Linda Vallejo because I find her work to be extremely unique and varied in style. Vallejo’s “Electric Chair” is part of a series of paintings done with the theme of nature in mind, all the while shown electrified. The image, done on a screen, depicts a tree on the bottom and in reverse coming down from the top. It appears to be quite old because it is full of lengthy branches and roots that cover the bottom of this work. The branches stretch out horizontally across the painting, exploding into immense pink leaves that have been formed into the shape of clouds. Above these leaves there lie round, puffy storm clouds in vibrant hues of blue, yellow, and bright pink. These colors blend with each other and as they overlap, the shades become even more interesting. Among Linda Vallejo’s other artworks from the “The Electrics” series, I found this one to be rather innovative and different due to the use of color in comparison to her other works, as well as the integration of a screen, chair, and ball composed of tree fragments. Behind the screen there is white chair with a ball sitting on top of it. While the front panel is a print from a painting, the side panels are clear so the viewer can look at this piece from different angles and perspectives.
Linda Vallejo has a unique point of view and it really shows in her work. Although her other paintings are equally beautiful and interesting, “The Electrics” shows a style that reminds me of a film negative, punctuated with bright colors. I found this look to be really different to look at because it doesn’t come across as a standard style of painting. As described by Linda Vallejo;

“In “Electric Chair,” the viewer looks through a digital, electrified tree, to find a chair, and sitting on this chair is the symbol of a destroyed earth. If we search for the electric and psychedelic qualities of nature we may find a connection to and respect for our natural world and its amazing beauty. (3).
In some respects, Vallejo was channeling her youth and her commitment to nature in this piece by bringing together the two mediums to express psychedelic visuals with her respect for the earth.
Carmen Lomas Garza and Linda Vallejo are two very unique and individual artists; yet fall into the same category as Chicana artists. While both women identify themselves with this type of art form and culture, they have many differences. For example, Lomas-Garza considers herself to be a first generation Chicana artist, while Vallejo identifies with being a second generation Chicana artist. Another difference between these women involves customary Mexican values; Linda Vallejo chose to marry and have children while working on her career in art while Lomas-Garza did not. She went on to become an extremely well known artist without having children and following the more traditional path. Although Vallejo did follow this path, she was still able experience both aspects to her life: the art world and her family. In terms of artwork, Lomas-Garza’s work has a rather specific style that is easily recognizable. Her paintings are self-explanatory and the content is generally quite literal. These works also send a message of family, tradition, and Mexican culture and heritage. On the other hand, Vallejo’s works are constantly changing and “Electric Chair” is no exception. Her body of work is ever changing, as there isn’t one defining look or characteristic. Vallejo’s artworks are not literal and need further analyzing to fully grasp her concept and message. Her artwork also has a spiritual meaning that usually transcends art and nature, nature and man. This approach to art allows her to speak her beliefs and ideas about nature and the environment through a visual medium.
Despite these differences, both of these artists share some similarities as well. For example, both Carmen Lomas-Garza and Linda Vallejo are both very well educated in the arts. They were raised with the belief that pursuing higher education would further their understanding of the arts. Regarding their artwork, both women have a spiritual meaning to their work. Although Lomas-Garza’s work is literal in its subject matter and meaning, many of her paintings represent a spiritual experience that she witnessed as a child. On the other hand, Vallejo’s art draws heavily from spiritual meaning and experiences in her life. In “Electric Chair” there is a spiritual connection between a person’s view of nature and earth. Another similarity between Lomas-Garza and Vallejo relates to their style of painting. Both women use extremely vivid colors to create a bold statement in their work. Although these colors are different between both artists, they are still bright and exude light and vibrancy. The other style that appears to be similar is the two-dimensionality of these paintings. These works tend to be quite flat and without very much depth to them. The last similarity I found in these two artworks has to do with the subject matter. Carmen Lomas-Garza’s painting, ‘Empanadas’ shows a literal view of her recounting memories of her youth, and in that same respect, Linda Vallejo’s painting, ‘Electric Chair’ represents her youth during the age of psychedelics and her involvement in indigenous hallucinations.
After analyzing these two empowering female artists of the Chicana movement, I found them to be much more similar than I initially thought they would be. Upon first look at the two artworks I chose, I saw only differences, yet I knew that there would be an underlying connection of the two works and the two artists.

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[citem title=”Jessica Juarez: The Empowerment of Latinas: Comparing Interpretations of La Virgen de Guadalupe” id=”citem_36″ parent=”collapse_34″]Jessica Juarez
World Art M128
Prof. Baca
December 3, 2008

The Empowerment of Latinas: Comparing Interpretations of La Virgen de Guadalupe

Yolanda Lopez’ Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen of Guadalupe is not the only piece of art that has depicted La Virgen de Guadalupe in a different light. Ester Hernandez’s Virgen de las Calles and Alma Lopez’s Our Lady are two pieces of art that depict two different versions of La Virgen de Guadalupe in which, may seem radical and insulting to some people and beautiful art statements to others. These three artists create different visions of La Virgen and continue to push the limits of the Catholic Church while encouraging others to express a different or new point of view, even if no one else shares the same view. Each artist empowers Latinas in a very different way by using a political icon to enforce it and pushes boundaries in different ways.

Yolanda Lopez was born in 1942 in San Diego, California as a third-generation Chicana. In the late 1970’s, while still working for her Masters in Fine Arts, she designed a series of paintings in relation to La Virgen to further humanize La Virgen and sanctify Latinas. She not only used herself, but her mother and grandmother as well and depicted each one doing a different activity. She uses her art as a tool for political and social change and identifies with others who dare to question boundaries and limits clearly shown in this piece.

Y. Lopez’s work of art has a similar backdrop as the traditional Virgen de Guadalupe except the sunrays are more vibrant and spacious. In Y. Lopez’s piece the centerpiece is herself as a different version of La Virgen. She depicts herself as a marathon runner, running out of the sunrays, away from the moon and trampling over the angel that traditionally is supposed to be holding her in place. Because she is running she is wearing white track shoes and is stepping over the angel that has colored wings that coincide with the American flag colors. This bright-colored woman contrasts from the cool tones of the background and makes her stand out; making the audience believe that this woman is about to run out of the picture itself. This dark-skinned woman has a bright smile, shoulder-length dark hair and is wearing a bright pink dress with short sleeves that end at her forearm and goes down to her knees. The pink dress still has similar gold clovers and figurines that La Virgen has on her dress/robe. The right side of the dress goes up enough for the viewer to see her muscular thigh and calves. She is also wearing a belt at her waist and not above it like La Virgen and the indigenous traditionally used it to show motherhood. She is holding the traditional blue-green colored cloak with yellow stars in her left hand and a serpent by its neck in her right hand.

Obviously this art piece is completely different from the traditional image that has existed for over 400 years. Beginning with the background, the traditional one is simpler and painted in earth tones compared to the vibrant and cool tones Y. Lopez uses. The oval and sunrays are bigger and much more spread out in Y. Lopez’s piece than the traditional image. This is to make the piece more realistic and to help the center figure stand out more. Indigenous women who had their hair down signified that they were still young and unmarried, which is why La Virgen has her hair down because she is still a virgin (INBSMG, see Bibliography). However, Y. Lopez has short hair to show her independence and rebellion against society’s stereotypes for women. The traditional Virgen de Guadalupe looks down instead of forward because it was disrespectful for indigenous women to look at men in the eye (INBSMG). In Y. Lopez’s piece she looks forward and straight into the viewers’ eyes because she is equal to men and is empowered to look at anyone in the eye. Both cloak and robe that La Virgen traditionally wears completely covers her from head to toe, except for a shoe. All indigenous women covered themselves as a sign of respect and to maintain a positive and respectful image within society. Y. Lopez not only shows both shoes, but her muscular legs and arms as well to not only demonstrate the same agility and athleticism that men have, but to beautify a woman’s body as well. The fact that in Y. Lopez’s piece she is wearing her belt around her waist and not above it like La Virgen could suggest that she has a voice and is independent enough to make choices on her own, including sexually.

The angel is often mistaken for a boy, but in fact is a young adult or even argued to be a middle-aged man. Gaspar de Alba states that the reason he is being trampled over is because he represents patriarchy because he is supposed to be holding her in place (141). However, because the woman is empowered and independent she does not need the angel to restrain her anymore. Stepping on it is Y. Lopez’s way of fighting against patriarchy and giving Latina women a voice for themselves. It is also important to note that in the traditional image the angel’s wings are green, white, and red like the Mexican flag, but in Y. Lopez’s piece the angel’s wings are blue, white and red like the American flag. This is to hint that the patriarchy she is attacking is in the United States.

No serpent appears in the traditional image and it is very interesting to see that Y. Lopez chose to incorporate the serpent in her piece. Gaspar de Alba states that Lopez uses a “serpent in her hand like a staff of power” (141). The serpent represents Coatlalopeuh, the fertility and Earth goddess, also known as Coatlicue the serpent skirt (Anzaldua, 49). Anzaldua states that the Spanish and Catholic church “desexed Guadalupe , taking Coatlalopeuh, the serpent/sexuality out of her” (49). “By holding the snake in her hand, [Y.] Lopez demonstrates that Guadalupe is still Coatlalopeuh and thus ties Mexican-Americans to their indigenous roots” (Barnes). It also empowers her because she is taking control of her sexuality and demanding that it be normalized and accepted among women as it is among men. Y. Lopez once again empowers herself and creates her own space to push boundaries.

Ester Hernandez is another artist that dares to push boundaries and humanize La Virgen de Guadalupe. Hernandez was born and raised in San Joaquin Valley, California and is known for her socio-political depictions of Chicana/Latina women. As a leading artist she embalms politics, social critics, and questions existing borders in her art. Her political activism and community pride is so clear in her detailed art that it touches people’s hearts. La Virgen de las Calles, a 40”x30” pastel on paper, is a piece created in 2001 that resembles the traditional Virgen and yet is completely different from it at the same time. Hernandez has a couple of paintings that relate to La Virgen, but the one I chose was the most rebellious one and made the biggest statement. Hernandez humanizes her Virgen in a different way than Lopez does.

Virgen de las Calles is almost the opposite of the traditional Virgen de Guadalupe—in regards to using similar characteristics from the traditional Virgen. Although Hernandez uses different tactics the viewer is still able to recognize that the figure here is a more humanized version of La Virgen de Guadalupe. The colors are very different from Y. Lopez and A. Lopez because there is a contrast of colors: vibrant colors against a dark background. With a black background La Virgen in this painting completely sticks out. Here the dark-skinned and aged woman is wearing a red sweatshirt with the words “USA” printed on it, blue jeans and black Nike shoes. By her feet sit bouquets of roses in a bucket that has a sticker with the word “future” on it. There are some similarities, however, to the traditional Virgen. She is wearing a green and red reboso or shawl over her head that is similar to the traditional Virgen’s cloak. The Virgen in this painting also has several emotions in her face as she looks forward towards the viewer, one of the emotions being humility, which also resembles the traditional Virgen.

Hernandez chose to make a dark background so that La Virgen is clearly seen. Because of the dark background the viewer’s eyes go directly to La Virgen’s face. La Virgen’s face has a lot of emotion and reaction all at once. Not only does her face read humility and a loving woman, but it also reads frustration, exhaustion, fear, and loneliness. Notice how she is the only figure in this piece. Her eyes hold all these emotions as she looks forward, almost as if she were only looking at you. La Virgen wants you to see what she is seeing and to learn about her hardships. This dark skinned woman has a stubby nose and saggy cheeks and looks like she has lived a long and hard life. I have seen this same look in other people. People who are exhausted from so much work and have no way out, almost as if they are trapped in a dark bubble (similar to La Virgen’s situation).

While La Virgen in this painting is all covered like the traditional Virgen, la Virgen is wearing clothes that men normally wear as opposed to the traditional Virgen who wears a dress and a cloak. La Virgen’s wardrobe looks comfortable enough to work in. The fact that her sweatshirt says USA and that she has a green and red reboso (to possibly affiliate her to Mexican culture) allows the viewer to question whether she is an immigrant. She might have recently crossed over and is trying to raise some money or just living off of the pay from selling these flowers. The fact that Hernandez included both the reboso and the USA sweatshirt is to point out the struggle among immigrants where they have to straddle two cultures at the same time, one that is being forgotten and the other that is being learned and replacing the other culture. La Virgen in this picture is struggling to live up to society’s demands by selling flowers, regardless of how unhappy she may be.

This humanized painting makes La Virgen more personable, someone we can relate to, and someone I can relate to. I completely connected with this piece because I have personally seen people sell flowers all over my neighborhood. These people, usually immigrants, are at a popular street corner or at a popular freeway exit. It breaks my heart when I see them in 100 degree weather trying to sell their bucket of flowers so that they can feed their family. They usually sell a couple of roses for $5 and I try to buy some from them whenever I can. Unfortunately this type of “business” is illegal and there have been many instances where sheriffs or local police have caught those selling flowers. Sometimes the sheriffs or police are nice and just ask them to leave, but I have seen other instances where the sheriffs or police yell at them, kick their bucket of flowers and even step on them before arresting them. It is such a horrible thing to see that people, humans just like you and me who are only trying to feed their family or themselves, are still being taken advantage of. These people, like the Virgen have no other way of making money and so they risk their lives in order to feed their families or to pay rent. It is the same struggle that all immigrants have and continue to face, including my grandparents and parents. Some are lucky enough to get out of it and others are forced to stay in it.

Looking at the bucket holding the flowers, the sticker on it says “future.” Although the future of La Virgen de las Calles is uncertain, I believe it is written there as a form of paying tribute to her and all the other people who work to sell flowers. This is La Virgen who symbolizes and represents the hard working people who strive to live better lives for themselves and their families. The streets are her territory because that is where she works and that is where many others work as well. That is why she represents all the other hard working immigrants because most are unfortunately in the same situation as La Virgen. Hernandez makes a bold step with this piece in personalizing La Virgen so that we can connect to it at some level. Although many already can relate to the traditional Virgen, her painting is more personal. It cuts through people’s heart and makes them consciously aware that somehow we are all connected. This piece is very powerful because of the connection it creates among its viewers. The fact that she ages La Virgen allows us to also view La Virgen in a personal level that not only makes her powerful, but the viewers as well.

Not only is Alma Lopez art print powerful, but it also causes people to get involved with her piece in a very different level than the previous two pieces. A. Lopez is a Chicana artist who dedicates her art to issues of representation of colored people. She depicts colored people through their daily lives, their experiences, beliefs, and dreams. She uses her art to deconstruct and re-figure cultural icons, like La Virgen de Guadalupe, which pushes new borders in radically new ways. Her famous piece of art, Our Lady, brings a lot of controversy among the Catholic community. Our Lady is originally a digital print created in 1999. She is currently working with Dr. Alicia Gaspar de Alba, UCLA Chicana and Chicano Studies Department’s Chair on editing a publication of essays entitled Our Lady of Controversy: Alma Lopez’s Irreverent Apparition (to be published Fall 2010).

A. Lopez used the traditional background characteristics of La Virgen de Guadalupe and then digitally inserts Raqel Salinas, a 40 year old women dressed in wreaths of flowers as La Virgen and inserts Raquel Gutierrez as the angel at the bottom. This print uses very vibrant and warm colors, which greatly differs from the earthly colored tones of the traditional Virgen and the other two artists as well. The background is this earthly red tone with the same clovers that the traditional Virgen has on her dress. It is almost as if the Virgen in A. Lopez’s print hung up her traditional dress to reveal her true side. The Lady Virgen is standing upon a platform that has the design of the cloak that the traditional Virgen has to cover her whole body. The floor under that platform is decorated by contrasting dark and light brown stripes. Surrounding the Lady Virgen are these beautiful yellow, pink, white, and red roses, possibly as an offering to her. The Lady Virgen herself does have the traditional sunrays with the outside a red earthly tone that matches the background and golden yellow and white glow seems to surround the actual body of the Lady Virgen. La Virgen depicted here wears a cloak that resembles carved stone, possibly Aztecan. The VIrgen herself has her hair down and is looking straightforward at the viewer with an attitude—something the traditional Virgen does not do. Other than the cloak La Virgen is only wearing wreaths of flowers that match the ones that surround her. These wreaths cover La Virgen’s breasts and her waist and vagina. Other than that La Virgen is completely nude and barefoot. La Virgen also stand on top of a digital black moon instead of a male angel holding the moon and La Virgen in place, there is a bare breasted female butterfly angel.

Lopez’s revolutionary piece of art caused a controversy in New Mexico, which led to a huge problem with the patriarchal Catholic community. They were insulted by her interpretation of La Virgen and tried to censor it from an exhibition at Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. The reason that they were insulted is because A. Lopez dares to push the boundary where it has never gone before and is possibly one of the most radical versions of La Virgen de Guadalupe. A. Lopez has successfully sexualized La Virgen and hence why the church is completely against it. Sexuality is a power that is usually held by men and A. Lopez empowers Latinas by showing that we too can be sexual. Not only does she want to show that Latinas are sexual, but she also wants people to accept it in a positive way. A woman’s body is beautiful and only a woman can have power over herself. Each woman should be proud of it and accept it. The butterfly angel also is controversial because it replaces patriarchy and shows that La Virgen does not need a man to stand up for herself or to voice her opinion. The Virgen’s face is also controversial because it is not submissive at all. The attitude in her face is to show her confidence and high self-esteem—something all women should have.

Dernersian states that are should form an “identity space of self-creation and active struggle against preconceived ethnic modalities that are more acceptable to dominant culture” (37). These three artists definitely push society’s boundaries in very different ways. Y. Lopez’s piece is one of the earliest pieces that dared to show La Virgen in a different light to empower Latinas. She successfully showed that Latinas do not need to be pure or submissive, but that they too have power and a voice that they should use against the patriarchal society. Hernandez’s piece is a more humanized version of La Virgen. It empowers women because it shows the struggles that Latinas endure and are not respected. She empowers Latinas to use their voice as well and to show that they are just as capable as men in doing anything. A. Lopez piece empowers Latinas in a positive sexual way. It shows them that they are beautiful, inside and out, and that they should appreciate their body and uses it in a positive way. Regardless of what the patriarchal society says, women can be sexual and it is ok. I really liked each piece because I connected with each one in a very different way and because it empowered me. Overall it is “motivating other socially engaged artists to seek new venues and artistic forms to express their own commitment to social criticism and change” (Von Blum, 89).

Bibliography:

· Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books. San Francisco, 1999. pp. 49-52.

· Barnes, Rhonda L. Demanding Social Equality: A Feminist Re-Interpretation of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Accessed October 28, 2008. http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~ws5001/virgin.html

· Dernersesian, Angie Chabram. And Yes…the Earth did Part: On the Splitting of Chicana/o Subjectivity.

· Gaspar De Alba, Alicia. Chicano Art: Inside Outside the Master’s House: Cultural Politics and The CARA Exhibitions. The University of Texas Press, 1998. pp. 139-141.

Hernandez, Ester. Official website. Accessed November 25th, 26th and December 2nd for biography and for chosen artwork. http://esterhernandez.com/index.html
Lopez, Alma. Official website. Accessed November 25th, 26th and December 2nd for biography, articles, and for chosen artwork. http://almalopez.com/index.html
Official site for Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe. Accessed October 29, 2008 for background information on La Virgen de Guadalupe. http://www.virgendeguadalupe.org.mx/ (Sited as INBSMG).
Von Blum, Paul. Other Visions Other Voices. “Barbara Carrasco” Chapter 8.[/citem]
[citem title=”Eugenia Barbuc: The theme of worker in Montoya and Fernandez’s work” id=”citem_37″ parent=”collapse_34″]Eugenia Barbuc
Chicana M175
Prof. Baca
December 4, 2008

The theme of worker in Montoya and Fernandez’s work

There are many variations in theme when considering such a wide genre as Chicana art, however one important commonality is the political. Much of the early Chicana art deals with gender politics within the Chicano movement of the late 1960s such as Yolanda Lopez’s series on La Virgin de Guadalupe, Judy Baca’s The Trés Marias, or the publicizing of the domestic spiritual space of Amalia Mesa-Bains alter pieces. Mesa Bains states, “Chicana artists focused on their cultural identities using the female lenses of narrative, domestic space, social critique…” (137) because of the lack of female representation in the movement. In the more contemporary work of Chicana artists such as Delilah Montoya and Christina Fernandez, the emphasis has slightly shifted from a feminine space to that of the traditional male space, the worker. Both artist still deal with the issues specific to Chicanas, but by capturing the worker both artists depart from the feminine space of earlier Chicana art to take on a holistic, politically charged message of the current position of Chicanos in the outskirts of American culture.

Montoya is a southwest based photographer who’s series El Sagrado Corazon depicts the sacrificial elements of culture in the religious icon of the sacred heart. Her work, created in the late nineties creates a discourse on the power structure of the past and present of the Chicano experience. Fernandez works in Los Angeles and in her series Lavandería, created in 2002, she explores the relationship between subject and object as well as the formation of barriers within urban landscapes as they correlate to domestic labor in Laundromats.

In Montoya’s series El Sagrado Corazon she is charting the history of the icon of Jesus with a burning heart crowned with thorns, in order to redistribute meaning to her Chicano identity. El Sagrado Corazon icon has an indentation of the many evolutions of the Chicano culture, much like the idea of Alison Saar, “materials have memories… [they] have experienced more than I have”(1). It is first a product of indigenous and Christian theology. It like La Virgin de Guadalupe give direct ties to an otherwise obscure past. Gloria Anzaldúa states, “La Virgen de Guadalupe’s Indian name is Coatlalopeuh. She is the central deity connecting us to our Indian ancestry”(27). El Sagrado Corazon thus becomes an image of sacrifice, not only in terms of the Christian doctrine in which Jesus is the sacrificial lamb for humanity, but also in terms of culture as a sacrificial victim, beginning with obliteration of the indigenous culture, yet ironically enough, still maintaining residual elements that lie in sacrifice itself, specifically resting in the heart and blood which the Aztecs believed to be the most valuable offerings for the Gods (“Death and Mexico“). The sacrificial lamb is also transformed to represent the Chicano people within the U.S.. Much like the sacrifice of indigenous culture, Chicanos are also forced to give up their culture in order to assimilate into the in-group for the unifying good of the nation. Thus the icon of El Sagrado Corazon is redefined to be a point of affirmation of Chicano culture and resistance to assimilation.

Jesus’ Carburetor Repair, an image from the series, is a silver gelatin print that consists of a spray painted backdrop, a Chicano male mechanic with a carburetor in the middle ground and a bottle of oil in the foreground. The floor of the image is spray painted with concentric circles, the backdrop also contains a concentric circle and a Celtic cross in the upper middle and a few hearts in flames to the lower left.

Montoya continues the discourse of El Sagrado Corazon and its relationship to Chicano culture by moving from the exploration of the past elements to the current state of Chicanos in the community in which this series is set (Albuquerque, New Mexico). She continues along the same vein of sacrifice by capturing the hand movement of the male figure which represent the mystic. Moreover we can only assume that the male figure is named Jesus, by the title, thus he becomes the sacrifical element compounded by the indigenous he also represents. He is what is name and hand movements divulge, a mestizo. In addition, Jesus is repairing a carburetor which can be viewed as analogous to the heart of a car. He is attempting to salvage the heart of a material possession while he himself is placed in the role of sacrificial lamb. Chicanos have become merely a labor force whose value is less than the material. They are the new offerings to the Capitalist gods. The power structure between Chicanos and the Caucasian majority is mirrored by the indigenous versus the European. Montoya carefully composes her image so that the male figure standing over the carburetor is adjacent to the Celtic or European cross that towers above the concentric circle that symbolizes the indigenous. Montoya however, emphasizes the spiritual and indigenous culture by placing the concentric circles on the floor, literally making it the groundwork for the Chicano culture. Moreover, it is precisely the past of conquered culture that the icon of El Sagrado Corazon is currently being used to negate.

Fernandez’s series Lavandería , done in C-print, is reminiscent of one of her earlier series entitled, Manuela S-t-i-c-h-e-d, in which her photographs deal with urban landscape and how “[b]uildings simultaneously conceal and reveal the labor within” (Fernandez). Her work deals specifically with issues unique to Los Angeles in which stratification is visibly apparent yet concurrently hidden by either opaque or transparent barriers. In Lavandería she chooses a partially transparent barrier, which are glass sliding doors, whereas in her previous series it is the visibly impenetrable walls of a sweatshop.

In Lavandería #1 the camera is positioned at eye level and a slow shutter speed is used in order to capture the image at night as well as blur the subject of her photograph. Fernandez further distances the viewer from the subject by photographing through glass doors that are spray painted, making the subject less discernable. The audience can only assume that the subject is Chicana due to the choice of language of the title. The use of graffiti creates an urban atmosphere. Fernandez is careful to construct an image of assumptions in which the audience must piece together time and place by relying on the representational. The subject is meant to be ambiguous and separated. The biggest theme according to Fernandez is, “[the] inability to bridge the gab between subject and artist”(“Artist Statement” ). The use of representation and assumption as well as the general one dimensionality of the photograph is telling of the limit of art as a representation, not a reality of complexity of the individual. Thus the subject in the photograph becomes as one sided as society views the domestic worker as merely representational, never a fully dimensional human. Moreover the inability to bridge gaps is also present in the urban landscape which Fernandez chooses to depict. The barriers that the closed glass doors represent are those of the power structure present in the layout of Los Angeles. The in-group or the Caucasian majority are physically and economically located in a separate sphere than the ethnic minorities. Los Angles thus becomes subject to not only environmental racism, but the physical manifestation of marginalization. Fernandez is playing on the idea of border culture that arises not only from national boundaries but also from the borders between neighborhoods. Graffiti does much the same thing, in which it can become a signifier for which neighborhood one belongs.

The commonalities shared by both artist is subject matter, medium and the usage of language. The theme that connects both of these pieces is that of borders and marginalization of Chicanos. Although Latinos make up the majority of the population in both Albuquerque and Los Angeles, they are disenfranchised economically, thus the similar subject of worker becomes representative of Chicano struggle. In addition both images are deeply involved in critiquing the power structure and the importance given to material possession versus humanity. Both photographs represent the worker as either a sacrifice to a material possesion or a blurred image of a domestic worker who is meant to be unseen. Language is also a main element in both pieces, specifically the usage of the title. Montoya’s title is metaphorical as well as gives an almost humorous glimpse into the complexities of Chicano identity. Fernandez’s title is simple, however it is in Spanish giving a frame of reference for the political atmosphere of the piece. Both titles also share the theme of the working class. In addition, the use of graffiti in both pieces not only reflect a new element in Chicano culture, but the marginalization of art form, or low brow art, much like Chicana/o art genre. Art, like history, is defined by the group with the most power, or the residual realities of Western imperialism.

The differences of both pieces lies in the construction of meaning through images. Montoya utilizes silver gelatin print to add more of an aesthetic and constructed value to her image. It also refers to history in which black and white photography is associated. Montoya is creating sphere that represents her reality (the painted walls and floor, the posed figures and items) and photographs the representation in order to expose the hidden layers of culture and iconography. Fernandez, on the other hand, uses color film to create more of a documentary, detached feel. Fernandez is capturing her reality with little disturbance in order to emphasis what is already there, but is ignored. Moreover, Montoya delves into the world of the spiritual as well as history in search of creating a fully complex image of a Chicano, whereas Fernandez distances herself from her subject and instead relies on the urban setting architecture to tell her story.

However these two artist choose to create imagery, they both share a political consciousness that all Chicana artists have in common. The current advancements in women’s rights has lead to a broadened narrative of Chicana art as it relates to the struggle as a whole. Thus the current trend in Chicana art has become holistic and differs from the emphasis on gender based critiques of early Chicana work. Though the unification of the Chicano struggle between genders has come much later than the start of the struggle, the idea of a completely unified movement is worth the wait.

Works Cited

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute Book Company, 1987.

“Death and Mexico.” Blueroadrunner.com. 2008. 30 Oct. 2008 http://www.blueroadrunner.com/death.htm.

Fernandez, Christina. “Artist Statement.” Pomona College: Museum of Aer. 2003. 4 Dec. 2008 http://www.pomona.edu/museum/exhibitions/archive/spring2003/fernandez/essay_fernandez.shtml.

Hooks, Bell. Art on My Mind; Visual Politics. New Press, 1995. Sparc Murals. Univ. Los Angeles California. 4 Dec. 2008 http://sparcmurals.org/ucla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=286&Itemid=74.

Mesa-Bains, Amalia. “El Mundo Femenino Chicano Artists of the Movement.” CARA Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, Wright Art Gallery, UCLA, 1991: 137-38.
[/citem]
[citem title=”Violeta Lerma: A Binding Voice: Spiritual Healing and the Community ” id=”citem_38″ parent=”collapse_34″]Violeta Lerma
Professor Baca
World Art M128
December 3, 2008

A Binding Voice: Spiritual Healing and the Community

If there is one close knitting factor that binds many Chicana artists and their work together, it is their strong sense of community and spirituality. Like it says in Other Visions, Other Voices, Chicana artist are “united by common perceptions about the world and their responsibility in it” (Blum 14). This is especially true of artist such as Linda Vallejo, Amalia Mesa-Bains and Judith F. Baca. For these artists, the masterpiece is not simply the painting, mural or installation they produce, but the process they go through, the experiences they put into and the reasons for creating one of their works of art that is the real masterpiece. What is more, their art is about a relationship to the people and the culture from which they came and the environment in which they are in. Though these artist have very different styles, mediums and methods for producing artwork, their art is bound by a strong sense of community, and spirituality which becomes a source for healing on both an individual and communal level.

As a woman of color who has lived in the United States in American culture and even in other cultures throughout the world, Linda Vallejo lends a perspective that is different than that of the mainstream art world in America. Since much of Vallejo’s influence come from Native American she has critiqued the common worldview through a spiritual lens, reflecting on “humanity’s fundamental and metamorphic relationship with nature” ( Vallejo). Through her exploration of the ties between humanity and nature, Vallejo realized that nature is above all things and that without it “humanity, history and culture as we know it are lost” ( Vallejo). She further notes that nature “is the thread that encircles and describes all of us, regardless of gender, race, age, or creed” ( Vallejo). The key point is that Vallejo noted that all humanity would be lost with out nature, thus extending her community to the whole of humanity. Many of her paintings deal with nature and the effect that humanity has on it and that it has on humanity.

In her series, The Spirit of Nature, Vallejo depicts women embedded into the fiber of nature’s actions and character. In her 2005 oil painting “Seedling 1”, a nude luminescent woman sits at the at the forefront amidst nature, but she is not only sitting on the dirt, grass and trees, she is in fact, part of the land itself, the earthy landscape actually blends out from and into her hair. The face of the woman is the focal point of the painting and what is most striking is that her gaze is aimed directly out from the painting, as if she were staring right into the viewer. However, though the woman is sitting nude in the center of the painting, her countenance expresses strength, self-assurance and peace; an image that can resonate among women everywhere regardless of their race or culture. This painting proclaims that being with conjoined and in-tune with nature, our primary source of life, gives spiritual health and self assurance. The impact of the painting provides spiritual healing to any woman looking at it. The earthy brown and olive tones immediately capture a sense of unity with nature. It is like Vallejo said in her lecture, “Everything comes full circle.” This painting came out from her experience of the spiritual connection between nature and humanity which she transferred to her community. Her experiences and realizations become like a legacy which, as an artist and fellow member of the community, she has responsibility to pass on (Blum 14).

The work of Amalia Mesa-Bains, with her altars and installations clearly touches the spiritual and provides alternate voice that “transcends the alienating view of otherness [and] promot[es] a more positive, empowering perspective” (Blum 15). While Linda Vallejo expounds on a female directed identity regardless of race, Mesa-Bains addresses the specific issue of being a Chicana/o in, like Gloria Anzaldua would say, the borderland space as well as the issue of being a woman; her style of domesticana rasquachismo deals with both of those issues. In “El Mundo Femenino,” Mesa-Bains says that “Female rasquachismo defies the cultural identity imposed by Anglo-Americans and defies the restrictive gender identity imposed by the Chicano culture.” Mesa-Bains work of bringing the altar installation, something typically taken care of by the woman and held within the household, is a direct defiance to the Anglo-American culture, who did not want to see the altar, who wanted the Mexican and the Mexican things to stay out of sight (Anzaldua 70). The aesthetic, which takes traditional domestic spaces like the bedroom, the vanity, and ofrendas like those for the Mexican Day of the Dead and “hyper-feminizes” them as a way of telling the “narrative” of family history from memories and even oral histories. The installations are compiles of photographs, small statues, toiletries, saints, and family relics for example, to recreate and display the story of the feminine past (Mesa-Bains 5).

By honoring Dolores Del Rio, a Mexican actress with both a career in both Mexico and America, In “An Ofrenda for Dolores Del Río,” a highly feminized installation, Mesa-Bains gave voice to the feminine and the Chicano. Del Rio, symbolized Mexican beauty and the fact that she was accepted in America “gave meaning and power to a generation of Chicanas suffering rejection because [they did not fit] the accepted Anglo standard of beauty” (ArteLatino). By bringing the female space of the vanity from the bedroom into the public, “An Ofrenda for Dolores Del Río” provides resonance for the Chicana community who was battling for liberation of their assigned space, the home.

However, Mesa-Bains was not only concerned with providing liberating healing to Chicanas. Her installation “Borders,” from Emblems of a Decade, resounds with the struggle within Chicano community of making a home in a foreign space. While Richard Cork, interprets that this installation “focuses on the isolation of the migrant” and “reinforces the sadness blighting the wanderer without a home” (Cork 41), Mesa-Bains need to speak for her community would negate that. The top of the chest of drawers, the main piece of the installation, is decorated with small statues, old photographs, candles, Mexican calendars, and even a Mexican flag. These relics show that the people carry the past generations with them and that they have not forgotten who they are and where they have come from. From the half opened drawers there is dirt with bits of potpourri scarred about that has spilled out from the overflowing drawers, showing that regardless of where the Chicano or the Mexican is, his homeland is with him, hi tierra, and its sweet fragrance is always with them. This notion is reinforced by the fact that viewers of the installation would add their own relics, like toy cars and even residency cards to the piece, adding to the collective voice that Mesa-Bains had already given to them. “Borders” became for many Chicanos the voice that they were waiting to be given, it became a form of healing to a people whose story had not yet been told in the way it needed to be told.

In contrast to Linda Vallejo and Amalia Mesa-Bains, whose work is individual but extends to a broader community to provide spiritual healing, Judith F. Baca extends spiritual therapy to the community predominantly through community work. Her community method of operation has curative power not only through the outcome of her work, but also and more importantly through the process of her work. Baca’s large scale works always gave a voice to the underrepresented communities and shed light on the injustices against them. Her political pieces told stories that were not documented, stories of struggle across the history of minority peoples.

Having always been surrounded by and mentored by strong female role models, Judy Baca needed to do the same. In her interpretation of the Marys of the Crucifixion, Las Tres Marias, Baca addresses identity as a Chicana woman. On the left side of the three-panel piece is a young Chicana chola, a gangster, intently gazing at the public. On the right panel, is a rendition of a portrait of Baca dressed as a 1940’s pachuca,a symbol of defiance against assimilation into mainstream culture (ArteLatino). The center panel holds a mirror in which the viewer can find herself in to become la tercera Maria (to become the third Mary). The reflection is intended to empower the viewer and to cause question about one’s “ethnicity, gender, religion, and culture” (ArteLatino). Las Tres Marias opens the door for the community to enter and participate with the piece and identify with it in order to find themselves through it.

Baca’s nationally known work, The Great Wall of Los Angelestells the histories of the people and gave even a small sense of closure to those who had never hear their story heard. What is most impacting, about The Great Wall, is its location in the flood channel of the San Fernando Valley, an area known for its Black and Mexican demographic density and the tension between them. What adds to the masterpiece of the work is the community model of working with underprivileged youth to create murals. This model allowed youth from different neighborhoods that they were all part of the same community and the same struggle and it taught them their history, their roots; it gave them healing by giving them a notion of where they come from and where they belong.

This short catalog of three great Chicana artists show the model of what a Chicana artist does. It shows the Chicana aesthetic and responsibility to speak for the community to provide spiritual healing by telling the stories of their peoples’ cultures, traditions and histories and to give voice to the stories of sufferings that have never been told. Linda Vallejo, Amalai Mesa-Bains and Judith F. Baca are a representative example of alternate voices with alternate visions.

Bibliography

Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands: La Frontera

ArteLatino http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/t2go/1la/index-frame.html

Cork, Richard. Breaking Down the Barriers: Art in the 1990s.Yale University Press, 2003

Mesa-Bains, Amalia. Domesticana: The Sensibility of Chicana Rasquache

Mesa-Bains, Amalia. El Mundo Femenino: Chicana Artists of the Movement- A Commentary on Development and Production

Von Blum, Paul. Other Visions Other Voices [/citem]
[citem title=”Eugenia Barbuc: The theme of worker in Montoya and Fernandez’ work” id=”citem_39″ parent=”collapse_34″]Eugenia Barbuc
Chicana M175
Prof. Baca
December 4, 2008

The theme of worker in Montoya and Fernandez’s work

The differences of both pieces lies in the construction of meaning through images. Montoya utilizes silver gelatin print to add more of an aesthetic and constructed value to her image. It also refers to history in which black and white photography is associated. Montoya is creating sphere that represents her reality (the painted walls and floor, the posed figures and items) and photographs the representation in order to expose the hidden layers of culture and iconography. Fernandez, on the other hand, uses color film to create more of a documentary, detatched feel. Fernandez is capturing her reality with little disturbance in order to emphasis what is already there, but is ignored. Moreover, Montoya delves into the world of the spiritual as well as history in search of creating a fully complex image of a Chicano, whereas Fernandez distances herself from her subject and instead relies on the urban setting architecture to tell her story.

Works Cited

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute Book Company, 1987.

“Death and Mexico.” Blueroadrunner.com. 2008. 30 Oct. 2008 <http://www.blueroadrunner.com/death.htm>.

Fernandez, Christina. “Artist Statement.” Pomona College: Museum of Aer. 2003. 4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.pomona.edu/museum/exhibitions/archive/spring2003/fernandez/essay_fernandez.shtml>.

Hooks, Bell. Art on My Mind; Visual Politics. New Press, 1995. Sparc Murals. Univ. Los Angeles California. 4 Dec. 2008 <http://sparcmurals.org/ucla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=286&Itemid=74>.

Mesa-Bains, Amalia. “El Mundo Femenino Chicano Artists of the Movement.” CARA Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, Wright Art Gallery, UCLA, 1991: 137-38.[/citem]
[citem title=”Christopher Leal: Pinzon, Lopez, Martinez, & Appropriation” id=”citem_40″ parent=”collapse_34″]Pinzon, Lopez, Martinez, & Appropriation
by Christopher Leal

Appropriation and the Bigger Picture in Chicana Art

Beginning in the late 1960’s, the Chicano movement began to exert artistic and political creativity throughout California and the rest of the United States. The most unique thing about the movement was and is the amount of diversity that it possesses. Artists have used multiple forms of artistic medium and have certainly attempted to explore multiple themes of the Chicano experience. Being that the movement began in the last 100 years, we can equate it and it’s characteristics with those of modern and contemporary art. Artists and subject matter are open to multiple interpretations and pieces can vary from postmodern-esque mixed media works to the most traditionally painted canvases.

Also, like modern artists such as Andy Warhol and his obsessive studies of Capitalistic symbols for example, Chicano and more specifically Chicana artists have implemented the concept of appropriation to further develop meaning in their work.

A contemporary photographer named Dulce Pinzon is an example of the most obvious form of appropriation. Working in New York City, Pinzon has created a series of photographs entitled “La verdadera historia de los superheroes,” or “The Real Story of the Superheroes.” The series, from 2005, is comprised of 20 color photographs of Mexican immigrants who live and work in New York City. The subjects are photographed at their place of work dressed in what appears to be store bought superhero costumes. This blatant representation provides the audience with a humorous slant on a very serious subject, while simultaneously presenting an iconographic symbol to be easily identified with. The most personally compelling image from the series was that of Paulino Cardozo from the State of Guerrero who is shown in Figure 1 working at a grocery loading and unloading trucks. Each photograph’s title includes who the subject is, his or her occupation, state of origin, and how much he or she sends back to their family in Mexico. Cardozo sends $300 a week back to his family. This form of income, called remittances, has become a very significant form of income for the families receiving the money and for Mexico as a whole. It also illustrates just how humble and selfless these people working far away from home are.

Working long hours in sweatshops or in the fields, immigrants sacrifice their own lives for their relatives living hundreds of miles away. And without blinking an eye, they could send most, if not all, of their paychecks back home in order to provide a better life for their relatives. Pinzon’s work is very obvious in its use of appropriation, but because of this, her photographs take on a more powerful meaning.

A better-known artist from the 1970’s, Yolanda Lopez, also uses appropriation in her artwork. Unlike Pinzon, however, Lopez borrows from the immensely iconographic religious imagery of Latin America. In her work, Mother: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Figure 2), she portrays her mother in the style of the popular images of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

“She defies ‘the weight of tradition that immobilized woman as a mythic image and fixed her in the form of a statue’… in considering the surface disappearance of the ancient, indigenous, and supreme goddess of creation and her re-emergence as the Christian Virgin, Lopez notes that this ancient goddess was not totally suppressed but transformed” (Yolanda 3).

Lopez not only transforms the image of her mother into a mythic and traditionally care-giving figure, but she also makes a comment on the colonizing of indigenous Latin America. Her use of appropriation not only allows the audience to immediately identify with the subject, but also relate to a varied amount of underlying symbolism.

Just as Lopez used the image of the Virgin to elevate the stature and underlying personal meaning of her mother, another artist from the Chicana movement named Kim Martinez also portrays her subjects in an appropriated fashion. Though there are not specific references to any historical and/or fictional subjects, Martinez portrays her heroically strong subjects in a way reminiscent of superheroes. Throughout the series, she uses several archetypal characteristics to reemphasize the strength of the individual subject. In fact, the women in her paintings demand attention and admiration. In the picture below (Figure 3), entitled Judy Baca, the subject (as are all of those portrayed in the series) is caught in mid-action with her rope, work boots, and construction helmet, a reference to Baca’s work in a predominately “man’s field” doing a predominately “man’s job”. Baca was one of the pioneers of the Los Angeles mural movement and her determination has become one of her most well known characteristics. She is also lean in the arms and legs, while the rest of the body retains the womanly shape akin to ancient fertility goddesses or UCLA’s own Standing Woman by Gaston Lachaise. The women in Martinez’s work represent the ultimate strength of the Chicana woman. Due to factors such as machismo and male chauvinism in the Chicano movement, her work is also rooted in a longing for female role models in the Chicano movement.

The Chicano movement, and in particular Chicana artists have run the gamut of artistic medium and subject matter. Their final artistic goals may be varied: whether it is explorations of the feminine hero/deity or tackling social issues like immigration, artists have turned to strategies such as appropriation in order to broaden their pieces. This is exactly what the three women discussed above have done, each using widely held tropes and archetypes to disprove misguided stereotypes, while also enhancing the meaning of their work.

[/citem]
[citem title=”Bondy Owens: A Comparative Investigation of Delilah Montoya and Ester Hernandez” id=”citem_41″ parent=”collapse_34″]Bondy Owens
Professor Judith Baca
Chicana Artists
December 4, 2008

A Comparative Investigation of Delilah Montoya and Ester Hernandez

One of the fascinating phenomenon of the art world is the existence of artists within a singular movement although they may have completely different styles, perspectives, or techniques. When looking at the work of Delilah Montoya and Ester Hernandez, two members of the Chicana movement, each artist possesses an individual vision and interpretation although they are undoubtedly members of the same artistic movement. In an installation piece by Delilah Montoya, the skillful use of film is implemented to create a dialogue about several themes. In Montoya’s piece, “La Guadalupana”, specific use of iconography, medium and composition suggests the reevaluation of ideas of spirituality, sanctity and morality. Ester Hernandez’s piece, “La Virgen de las Calles”, she also uses similar iconography and composition but her approach allows her to recreate the image of the Virgen of Guadaloupe to draw attention to the travails of immigrant women. Although both women create work that glorifies particular members of society, Hernandez takes the central figure of the Virgin and recreates her in the image of a immigrant woman while Montoya uses the figure repetitively to obscure the line between saint and sinner.

Before investigating Montoya’s poignant installation piece, a brief introduction of the artist is necessary. Delilah Montoya was born in Texas but lived in Nebraska until her early adult life (Martinez n.p.). Montoya attended the University of New Mexico where she studied printmaking and photography and earned her bachelor and master’s degrees as well as a master of fine arts (Martinez n.p.). While taking a postmodernist approach, Montoya’s work often explores the issues of her own identity as a woman within a minority (Martinez n.p.). She separates herself from the mainstream Feminist movement as she feels her identity as a Chicana deals with not only gender but also with race and class (Martinez n.p.). In her artist’s statement, Montoya elaborates on her work by stating, “I work to understand the depth of my spiritual, political, emotional and cultural icons, realizing that in exploring the topography of my conceptual homeland, Aztlan, I am searching for the configurations of my own vision” (Montoya n.p.). Taking from her own identity, Montoya looks at the world through a unique lens and produces work reflective of her individual perspective.

In Paul Von Blum’s introduction of his book, Other Visions, Other Voices, he comments on the unique experiences of Chicana artists especially in regards to social consciousness. Blum’s statement, “They have broadened their discovery of the hidden heritage of women in art by also identifying themselves with the long tradition of socially conscious art. They have likewise found a difficult search for their spiritual roots in this tradition” applies to his specific investigation of fifteen Chicana artists but this assertion is applicable to the work of Montoya (Blum 3). Blum’s assertion about Chicana artists creating work that is socially conscious pertains to Delilah Montoya’s piece. As a Chicana artist, Montoya’s work often deals with social issues that are crucial to her and her community. In Montoya’s piece, “La Guadalupana”, one can see this aspect of Montoya’s identity in that the work’s central themes of spirituality and morality are projected from a subject that is often in the spot light of social activism.

In Delilah Montoya’s installation piece, “La Guadalupana”, she utilizes different medium to achieve an astonishing impact on the viewer. In 1998, Montoya exhibited a work in the Musée Puech Denys, France, after receiving an invitation to create a piece based on the Virgin (Montoya n.p.). The installation piece displayed a fifteen and a half foot tall photo mural of an inmate standing in front of metal bars with his back facing the viewer. On the inmate’s back is a tattoo of the Virgin of Guadeloupe which extends from his neck to the base of his back where his handcuffed hands reside. The majority of the image is in black and white with exception of the vibrantly colored tattoo which contrasts against the muted pallet of the rest of the image. In a border around the large image of the inmate, are smaller photographs of the inmate with the tattoo but in color with several scarlet red roses somewhere within the frame. Beneath the photomural there is an arrangement of candles, roses, flags, pieces of cactus, and small depictions of the Virgin laid across a white blanket. The overall effect is overwhelming as the installation imposes itself upon an entire wall.

Although the piece immediately draws one’s attention, the various artistic components of the piece suggests an intriguing tension between the obligations of religion and spirituality and morality. In Montoya’s installation piece, the sheer scale of the image brings to the viewer’s attention details about the humanity of this man. The viewer can see the details of his hands, the intricate textures of his skin, the hair on his body. These minute details of the inmate’s body presented to the viewer through the massive scale of the piece demonstrate his physical mortality. He is a man: a being of flesh and blood. The temporary bodily nature of this man is highlighted when standing close to the piece. However, when one stands away from the piece, a different image presents itself.

The border of smaller photographs of this man with the red roses mimics the shape of the glow that is characteristic of the Virgin of Guadeloupe. The Virgin is a central figure in Chicana iconography. When looking at the specific significance of this figure within Chicana iconography the Virgin has historical been the representation of the pure and ideal women (Baca n.p.). She is often seen as a protective figure and the patron saint of Mexico City (Baca n.p.) The Virgin of Guadeloupe is a symbol of the mystic but also of wisdom and the holy (Baca n.p.). The Virgin is an undeniable symbol of Catholicism and it could be argued she is the purest figure within this canon of religious iconography. This pure image that has encompassed the back of this inmate creates a very interesting tension. The juxtaposition of this pure symbol against the realistic details flesh of the man suggests a kind of confrontation with spirituality. The viewer knows that this man is incarcerated for some deed he has been found guilty of. He is essentially a transgressor of law. The tattoo displays his adoration of the Virgin and yet he has committed some wrong in the eyes of society. This piece exemplifies the intersection of the laws of spirituality and the reality of the individual’s morality. And yet, as previously mentioned, the overall piece mimics the brilliant aura shape that typically surrounds the Virgin of Guadeloupe. In this respect, Montoya is reassessing the idea of sanctity and morality. In creating this shape around the entire body of the inmate, Montoya is smudging the delineation between transgressor and saint. She is glorifying this man like one would glorify a saint.

The altar arrangement on the floor also contributes to the suggestion of the glorification of the inmate. When describing an altar, Amalia Mesa-Bains states, “Constant formal elements include images of saints, flowers (plastic, dry, natural and synthetic) family photographs, momentos, historical objects (military medals and flags) candles and offerings. Characterized by accumulation, display and abundance, altars allow history, faith, and personal objects to commingle” (Mesa-Bains 132). This sort of aesthetic Mesa-Bains describes in the previous statement is definitely present in Montoya’s piece. Therefore, Montoya’s piece obscures the idea of morality and sanctity by portraying the inmate in a saint-like manner. Additionally, this investigation of saint and transgressor suggests the colonial origin of this symbol and the history of its creation within Chicana iconography. The colonial ties of the image of the Virgin are a key feature of the spirituality theme of this piece. It is also crucial to note that this piece was first exhibited in a French museum within a town that had a large easel of the Virgin within the town’s cathedral (Montoya n.p.). The location of the first showing of the piece is significant in that it points to Europe as the origin of the image and then Montoya replicates that image upon a living body. And that living body is that of an incarcerated man. This crucial point demonstrates the critical investigation of spirituality Montoya performs through her installation piece.

While Montoya’s piece takes the famous image of the Virgin of Guadeloupe to obscure the line between transgressor and saint, Ester Hernandez uses the iconographic image in a different way. In Hernandez’s piece, “La Virgen de las Calles” she recreates the image of the Virgin in an effort to glorify immigrant women. Hernandez’s approach to recreating the iconographic image is distinct from Montoya’s in that she touches on specific concerns of immigrant women within the United States. To understand Hernandez’s approach to her piece, it may be helpful to have a brief biography of this unique artist.

Ester Hernandez was raised in the Sierra Nevadas in San Joaquin Valley in central California (Hernandez n.p.). The San Joaquin Valley is renown for its agricultural value and subsequently a continuous farm worker struggle( Hernandez n.p.). It is important to note that during Hernandez’s youth and into her adult life, there were several momentuous developments in the National Farm Worker’s Association which may have had an influence on her ideology. Growing up in this region as a child of farm workers had a profound impact on Hernandez’s work (Hernandez n.p.). Hernandez’s family also had a direct impact on her creative development due to her mother and grand mother’s embroidery tradition from North Central Mexico, her grandfather’s skills as a master carpenter and her father’s involvement in photography and visual art (Hernandez n.p.). Hernandez is descendant of Mexican and Yaqui (Mesa-Bains 137). Undoubtedly, her family and her heritage played a major role in the creation of Hernandez’s unique identity as an artist.

Hernandez attended University of California Berkeley where she received a bachelor of arts in practice of art in 1976(Hernandez n.p.). She was also a member of the San Francisco Mission district Latina women’s’ mural group, Las Mujeres Muralistas, in the early seventies (Hernandez n.p.). This group is of premium importance when looking at the history of the Chicana movement and consequently on those who participated as the early artists of the movement. In Alicia Gaspar de Alba’s book, Out of the House, she discusses the significance of Las Mujeres Muralistas when she states, “…Mujeres was an extremely important group for the empowerment of Chicanas in el Movimiento, for they challenged the sexist and stereotypical notions within the Chicano Art Movement that women were physically not able and politically not ‘meant’ to create murals, to build scaffolding, to be on public display and withstand the comments of passersby” (Gaspar de Alba 3). This quote demonstrates the specific motivation of this group of artists. These influences are vital to understanding Hernandez as an artist. Hernandez’s past sheds some light on her individual identity as an artist who is both socially conscious and political active (Hernandez n.p.). After acquiring a brief history of Ester Hernandez’s life, a more informed analysis of her piece, “La Virgen de las Calles” can take place.

Hernandez’s piece “La Virgen de las Calles” is a profound work that reflects much about the artist’s concerns through an individual vision while using the prevalent iconographic image of the Virgin of Guadeloupe. Hernandez chose pastel on paper as her medium. The background is a dark black and the ground is etched with a gray violet color at the bottom of the piece. Standing in the center of the piece is a woman wearing a red sweatshirt with USA in large block letters embroidered across the chest. The woman has a scarf with a green and red pattern draped over her head and around her shoulders. She is wearing jeans and black Nike tennis shoes. At her feet sits a “Future” detergent bucket that now holds lush red and white roses. The woman is middle aged, darker skinned with black hair peaking from under the scarf. Her gaze is focused toward the viewer but there not much else to her expression. The bright colors of her clothes and the flowers she sells pops against the dark background. Although the figure pops against the dark background, she her expression and posture suggest a kind of habitual activity.

The use of the USA sweatshirt and the Nike tennis shoes touch on the idea of the American Dream. The tennis shoes and the sweat shirt represent the paradoxical hope for immigrant worker to attain a better lives for themselves and their family while at the same time there is exploitation to the American Dream. The sweatshirt symbolizes the worker’s determination to persevere while the Nike tennis shoes reference exploitative practices used in the production of the American Dream. The Nike tennis shoes demonstrate that often the process of production deals with exploiting labor that exists outside the confines of American labor laws. In other words, Hernandez notes the paradox of the desire for prosperity while the United States often uses abusive practices to achieve that prosperity.

Hernandez creates her own version of the Virgin to serve a specific purpose. The woman is wearing the scarf which is often seen with many classical depictions of the Virgin. Additionally, the use of red and white roses also mimics many depictions the of the Virgin and if the viewer looks at the piece from a slight distance, the shape of the roses emerging from the bucket create a crescent shape near the woman’s feet. This crescent shape is almost always found at the base of the Virgin’s feet. Hernandez has referenced the classical image of the Virgin but she has placed an immigrant woman as her Virgin. As previously mentioned, the Virgin of Guadeloupe was the symbol of the ideal and the Holy. She was praised for her mystic and protective qualities. The Virgin of Guadeloupe was and remains a revered figure of Catholicism. By placing her in this position of reverence, Hernandez is glorifying her. In this glorification, she is demonstrating the strength and determination of immigrant woman. This piece also demonstrates a part of her identity as an artist in that it speaks of her community. Amalia Mesa-Bains reaffirms this idea when she comments on Hernandez’s work. Mesa-Bains states:

Like most of her Chicana peers, she produces works of art and is of service within the community. Hernandez along with Yolanda Lopez restructures the feminine through social critique. She subverts, re-contextualizes and thus transforms culturally traditional images into a series of feminist icons.

Mesa-Bains 137

In the above quote, we see that Hernandez creates new icons through the use of traditional images that have been reconfigured. The reconfiguration of these images is ultimately is the artist’s service to the community. Therefore, Hernandez’s “La Virgen de las Calles” is the re-appropriation of the traditional image of the Virgin of Guadeloupe in a specific manner in order to draw attention to the struggle of immigrant women.

In conclusion, although there are similarities between these two incredible artists, their approach to their work is very different. Both Montoya and Hernandez use the famous iconographic image in their work in an effort to glorify their subjects. Similarly, they choose subjects that speak directly to their communities. Although, each artist has a distinctive approach to their work. Montoya implements iconography to suggest associations of purity and holiness in contrast to the realistic nature of the inmate’s body. She also utilizes the domesticana aesthetic to obscure the idea of sanctity and worship. Therefore, she literally creates space intended for reverence. WHile Hernandez recreates her own image of the Virgin by making an immigrant woman as the Virgin. Hernandez’s Virgin is an immigrant woman who is strong and determined in her own way. The diverse ways these two artists approach their work provide interesting insight and different ideas about the subject. It is with this rich diversity of perspectives that provides a forum in which to investigate these subjects that are crucial to the Chicana movement.

Works Cited

Baca, Judy. Lecture on Iconography given October 21, 2008.

Blum, Paul Von. Other Visions, Other Voices. “An Introduction”.

Martinez, Natasha Bonilla. “Biography: Delilah Montoya”. Women Artists of the American West Website. 1998. <http://www.cla.purdue.edu/waaw/Ressler/artists/ montoyabio.html> Accessed 27 October 2008.

Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. Out of the House, “The Halo And The Whores Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo”. From SPARC website. Accessed December 4, 2008.

Hernandez, Ester. Official website of Ester Hernandez. “About the Artist” “Artist’s Resume”. <http://www.esterhernandez.com/eh-about.html#>. Accessed December 3, 2008.

Mesa-Bains, Amalia. “El Mundo Femenino: Chicana Artists of the Movement-A Commentary on Development and Production” Page 132.

Montoya, Delilah. “Artist Statement”. Delilah Montoya Website. <http://www.delilahmontoya.com/ArtistStatement.html> Accessed 28, October 2008. [/citem]
[citem title=”Melanie Frontz: Juana Alicia and Santa Contreras Barraza” id=”citem_42″ parent=”collapse_34″]Juana Alicia and Santa Contreras Barraza
By Melanie Frontz
Final Paper

Two Chicana Artists Forming Their Identities

Angie Chabram Darsesian once said, “Chicana identity is something to be discovered…” Identity formation occurs in the lives of everyone. Within the lives of Chicana artists, this formation can be quite difficult, as multiple factors are involved in constructing character. The lives and works of two artists are particularly interesting when studying this topic, Juana Alicia and Santa Barraza. The following paragraphs will attempt to describe a bit about the artists and their lives, and will then elaborate on one piece of art work from each artist that portrays her quest for identity. These works will be analyzed in the aesthetic context of Chicana art. Finally, the artists and their attempts to form their identities will be readily apparent. The two artists are alike in that they form their identities through spirituality and politics which is evident in their paintings. However, what is remarkable is the different ways in which they do this. Both artists look to completely different spectrums of spirituality to form who they are. One thing that has a large impact on this is the artists’ biographies and backgrounds.

Chicana artist, Juana Alicia, was born in Newark, New Jersey in the year 1953. She grew up in a black community in Detroit. According to Alicia, her family was the only family within this community that spoke Spanish, this ethnicity coming from her father’s side. Besides English and Spanish, also within her family culture was the language of Yiddish, coming from her mother’s Jewish side of the family, which occasionally came about in conversations with her grandparents. Her neighborhood also influenced her upbringing and speech growing up in the Motown culture.[1] As is already apparent, Alicia had extremely varying influences at a young age. These influences may have begun to confuse Alicia and her view on her own uniqueness. According to Amalia Mesa-Bains, “[Chicana artists’] social roles are often in conflict, and this collision has recast the borers and boundaries of geography and identity.” [2] This confusion of identity affects the artists’ work. The differing pressures of her childhood and adult life caused Alicia to continually analyze her identity, which has created a repeating theme within her artwork, especially in one painting, “The Chi of Organizing.” This theme is her identity formation, which she discovers ultimately through spirituality.

Another artist who portrays this theme of identity is Santa Contreras Barraza. She grew up in Kingsville, Texas. Being raised in an underprivileged family caused Barraza to draw regularly and desire to be an artist. Her mother, however, had different wishes for her child and told Barraza not to go into art because she would not be able to get a job or make a living. Instantaneously, Barraza questioned herself, as a daughter and an artist. In college, after spending some time studying science, she switched to studying art.[3] Now Barraza has a passion to help artists have meaningful opportunities, maybe chances her mother told her she wouldn’t have as a child. Barraza plays with the theme of identity, and finds hers through spirituality and her culture. She paints about the traditions, myths and people of her Mexican heritage. One particular painting portraying identity formation that closely relates to Juana Alicia’s “The Chi of Organizing,” is Barraza’s “Las Soldaderas.”

As mentioned before, Alicia’s painting entitled “The Chi of Organizing” is one that touches on individuality (identity) and the spiritual woman. This watercolor painting is very busy, and made up of bright colors. A dark-skinned woman is portrayed in the middle of the piece in a meditation position with her hands cupped together. Two women stand behind her on the right and left. The woman on the left is naked with her internal organs portrayed as if on the outside of her body. This could represent her willingness for vulnerability and transparency. Her heart is one organ which is visibly displayed, which could show that she wears her heart for everyone to see. The woman on the right is holding up a poster which is a picture of a clamped fist. This fist represents power and this woman’s desire for political reform. Behind these three women stand other women each with their own uniqueness, though their actions are not visible, only their faces are.

Around the women is an array of colors. The colors are bright and give the painting a warm feeling. Some of the blue colors mesh together forming what looks like a river, possibly symbolizing life and nourishment. Two other symbols are placed within the painting on the left side. One symbol is an eye in the center of a hand. This commonly used figure represents the “…interactive bond between two essential human functions: sensing/observation (the Eye) and doing/acting (the Hand).”[4] The second sign is the Tai Chi symbol which is a star linked together on the five edges by circles, each corresponding with one of the five elements: water, metal, earth, fire and wood.[5] The last symbol encompasses nearly the entirety of the painting and it is the yin-yang symbol. It is translucent in order that the women are still visible, but it is the main theme of this piece. This mark is Chinese in origin and signifies how everything works together; in essence it shows the interaction of varying energies. The dark half represents the negative in life, while the white half is more optimistic in nature. The two balance each other out and work together.[6]

Alicia’s repeated use of the imagery of the environment and Mother Nature is significant. She shows the water flowing around the women, and has decided to paint this piece with water-colors. I believe this style was the only one that could truly reveal the image Alicia had in mind. She represents the elements in order to cause the viewer to remember the simple aspects that make up the world we live in; aspects which are so often overlooked and ignored; aspects necessary for breathing, for eating, for enjoying and for living. When looking at this canvas, and pondering all aspects and their meanings individually, it is apparent that there are multiple facets compiled within one centralized theme. Juana Alicia is attempting to organize all of her personality traits in order to feel a sense of identity.

When dissecting this piece of art, it is important to see why the artist uses busyness as a technique. She shows representations of multiple things occurring around the main character, who sits within the yin-yang symbol in tranquility with herself. Through her spirituality, she is able to find peace. Alicia is attempting to make visible the idea that everything is working together to form this beautiful representation of women. Each woman has her own agenda, and they are coexisting, working together to create synchronization. Though all diverse and extraordinary, these women have unity. These women are strong, showing who they are and not conforming to the norm. One Chicana actress said in an interview, “There is this constant stereotypical portrayal of women…virgins, whores or mothers. Is there anything else? No. But you see, women don’t come like that. Women are all three, not one or the other. And they are more things…”[7] This combination of Eastern spirituality and activism forms Alicia’s character.

Alicia, in her piece, portrays her life as la mestiza. “The Chi of Organizing,” being the title of her work, represents Alicia’s attempt to be at peace within this realm of the unknown. Though she may not feel at home in any certain location or around any certain race, she is at home within herself. She’s at home within her soul and her own energy, and ultimately, within Mother Earth. Just as this piece meshes many ideas together, forming the chaotic idea of living in vagueness, Juana lives constantly attempting to answer the seemingly simple question, “Who am I?” This idea is clearly put by author Gloria Anzaldua. She states: “The new mestiza copes by developing a tolerance for contradictions, a tolerance for ambiguity… She has a plural personality, she operates in a pluristic mode- nothing is thrust out, the good the bad and the ugly, nothing rejected, nothing abandoned. Not only does she sustain contradictions, she turns the ambivalence into something else.”[8]

“Las Soldaderas” by Santa Barraza relays a similar message. Barraza, to form her uniqueness, looks within her culture’s past. She views how women who she looks up to have held themselves as human beings, and as powerful. She forms her strong identity around history and tradition. The legends, the folklore, the land and the air all make up this distinctiveness Barraza has formed. First of all, the title of the piece is vital. Las Soldaderas were the women who followed their husbands into battle during the Mexican revolution. It is debatable whether or not these women were forced to join their husbands. Their roles were related to hospitality, cooking, carrying things, smuggling ammunition and raiding goods off corpses after a battles. Some women even acted as prostitutes when men wanted them to. The women were used in whatever fashion as was needed, or more appropriately, as was wanted. They were the women not wealthy enough to actually fight in battle because they couldn’t pay for horses.[9] So, like the Chicana artist, they were marginalized. However undervalued they were, though, they were still very brave and strong, like the women in Barraza’s painting.

The canvas, like that of Alicia’s, also has one woman in the center. The woman has brown skin and green eyes. Her face is very serious. She is wearing a cowboy hat and a peach-colored outfit/dress. She has a belt that is holding a gun to her right side, and her right hand holding it to her body. Her left hand is relaxed on her left hip. Behind her to the left is a Mexican woman. This woman is wearing a noticeably Mexican outfit and sombrero. Then, the woman to the right appears a nun, or possibly the Virgin Guadalupe. She is wearing a dress and a long blue veil over her head. The color pallet of this painting is predominately earth tones, mainly orange and red, and there is a green plant behind the woman in front.

All three of these women have similar, if not the same, faces. I believe each woman represents a facet of Barraza’s personality. The woman on the left of the painting, clearly Mexican, represents Barraza’s heritage and culture. This is where she came from. This is her bloodline. The woman on the right represents Barraza’s religion and spiritual life which is a constant theme of Chicana art. “Spirituality, religiosity, spectacle and pageantry are a prevailing aesthetic dimension of the work of many Chicana artists.” [10] Lastly, the woman in the center symbolizes Barraza’s strength and power as a woman. As Paul Von Blum said, “…[Chicana artists’] visions and voices validate the others…Their collective artistic efforts seek to transcend an alienating view of otherness by promoting a more positive, empowering perspective.”[11] This is what Barraza is doing in her painting, giving power to the women who have been extremely marginalized, both Las Soldaderas from the past, and the Chicana women today. Again, the theme of identity is apparent and it is clear that these three women represent different aspects of Barraza’s uniqueness, just as the different women and symbols in “The Chi of Organizing” represent Alicia’s character.

When viewing art by Chicanas, it becomes essential, in order to fully understand it, to look at these reoccurring themes in Chicana art as a whole: Chicana rasquachismo, domesticana, domestic space, religion, feminism, social critique, and the use of borders. Within these two works, there is not much use of Chicana rasquachismo, domesticana or domestic space. These are usually the depictions of common every-day things in the lives of Chicano/as. These include also, recreations of barrios, home life, or kitchens. Also, there is oftentimes illustration or use of altars. Although these two pieces of art do not apply these methods or ideas, they do include contrasting subtle uses of religion. Alicia uses some sort of eastern form of religiosity, maybe Buddhism or Confucianism, while Barraza practices Catholicism.

Another common theme is portrayed in both paintings, feminism. In both pieces, the artist attempts to give power to the woman. In Barraza’s, a woman is shown as a soldier. Soldiers have influence, and at times authority. In addition, this is usually the role of a man, so she could be alluding towards equality of men and women, a feminist accusation. She tries to recreate history in this piece when these women were mistreated. By doing this, she is evaluating society, a method called social critique. She, like other Chicana artists, probably feels she needs to defend who she is as a person, as her upbringings have produced a need for this strength. One Chicana artist said, “Who we are as women, as lesbians, as feminists, as Chicanas or as Latinas of many mixed backgrounds…should not inhibit our working together, but by the same token, we cannot continue to pretend that we agree on things or that the world treats us all the same. Color, dress, speech, our writing, our art, our service all mark us differently…” [12] This use of feminism and social critique is Barraza’s way of defending her identity. In Alicia’s piece, feminism is also implied. All of the women appear confident and certain. The woman holding the poster of the fist is trying to generate social change. This change she desires could be an aspiration towards equal rights, probably for the Hispanic and women. Alicia’s objective to give equality to the marginalized is what is being represented here. She uses feminism and social critique in order to be a social activist. She represents the civil liberties for people to believe and live how they please, linking back to her interest in human rights. Juana herself said, “I feel that it is my responsibility as an artist to be an activist for social justice”[13]

In addition to the use of rasquachismo, domesticana/domestic space, religion, feminism and social critique, many Chicana artists employ the use of borders. I think this is utilized completely differently in the two pieces. “Las Soldaderas” may be symbolizing the borders that are crossed between battles and wars, as more of a historical occurrence.

“The Chi of Organizing,” on the other hand, seems to lack borders. Alicia is all over the place with themes of spirituality, power, social justice, Mother Nature, etc. Her type of Chicana art is explained by Chon A. Noriega. “…Their art reveals the need to sustain, not an essential truth or an underlying coherence, but contradictory images, shapes, languages, and frames of reference.”[14] So, structure-wise, Alicia’s piece is more spontaneous, and Barraza’s is more historical.

Overall, the contrast between the ways these two artists represented their identities is very interesting. Although they both touched on topics of spirituality and politics, typical of the Chicana artist, they did this in varying ways. Alicia, being raised in a family of complex and differing beliefs and cultures, turns east for her spiritual framework. She attempts to find serenity with the multiple influences she experiences as being la mestiza. Barraza, on the other hand, being raised in a traditional Catholic Latino family, turns to her customary religion of Catholicism. Alicia looks towards activism as a whole, empowering women in order that they may find equality and be at peace, while Barraza shows an example in history when women were marginalized in order to bring light to it and attempt to prevent the repeating of history. By and large, when pondering the individuality of these Chicana artists, we are brought back to the statement: “Chicana identity is something to be discovered…” [15]

[1] http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/alicia00.htm

[2] Amalia Mesa-Bains, El Mundo Femenino: Chicana Artists of the Movement- A Commentary On Development and Production. Pg 131

[3] http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A521099

[4] www.darkfiber.com/eyeinhand/

[5] http://tap3x.net/EMBTI/j8clough.html

[6] http://fly.srk.fer.hr/~shlede/ying/yang.html

[7] Interview, Toward a Re-Vision of Chicana/o Theater History

[8] Gloria Anzaldua. Borderlands, La Frontera. Pg. __

[9] http://www.umich.edu/~ac213/student_projects06/joelan/

[10] Amalia Mesa-Bains. El Mundo Femenino pg. 133

[11] Paul Von Blum. Other Visions Other Voices. Chapter 1, pg. 15

[12] Deena J. Gonzalez (reference to Gloria Anzaldua). Speaking Secrets: Living Chicana Theory

[13] http://juanaalicia.com/about/

[14] Chon A. Noreiga. Art Official Histories.

[15] Angie Chabram Darsesian. And Yes…The Earth Did Part: On The Splitting of Chicana/o Subjectivity” [/citem]
[citem title=”Loryan Yumul: Judy Baca and Carmen Lomas Garza” id=”citem_43″ parent=”collapse_34″]Loryan Yumul
Judith Baca
Chic M175
4 December 2008

Judy Baca’s Chicana Fighter and Carmen Lomas Garza’s Chicana Traditionalist

When speaking of the concept of the “Chicana”, one may immediately search for words that evoke the struggle, the fight, and the movement of an individual who battles racial, class, and gender lines. Some who are gifted with the ability to depict these ideas through a visual medium have even created powerful pieces of politically infused art. However, it is also important to consider the other words that one might use to explain the role of the Chicana, as these descriptions segue into other artistic interpretations. The Chicana cannot not only just be viewed as the oppressed, but she can also be seen as an emblem of a culture. The Chicana plays an invaluable role in cultural tradition and ceremony. The Chicana can even be thought of as an important component of the foundation of a household. These descriptions of a Chicana have also been translated into art. Whether the role of the Chicana is described in art most powerfully carrying a political connotation or it is instead spoken with softer poignant themes of familial tradition, both convey truths about the Chicana mystique.
Judy Baca, celebrated muralist, exemplifies the artist with a voice for the oppressed Chicana. Born on September 25, 1950, Baca was raised in East Los Angeles, in an all-female home. Surrounded by the various female roles in her household, one of which being her grandmother who was an herbal healer, Baca’s Chicana identity was formed at a young age snowballing until her first major involvement with activism. (Baca) Experiencing the Chicano Movement first hand in the 1970 Chicano Moratorium, Baca was able to gain further insight into her culture’s struggle as oppressed minorities. Following her bachelor’s and masters degree in art from California State University Northridge, Baca was finally ready to begin translating her thoughts on her culture in relation to others through murals.

History of Highland Park, Judy Baca
Founding Los Angeles’ first mural program Baca is most noted for her Great Wall of Los Angeles mural in the Tujunga Wash Flood Control Channel. With this landmark, Baca received numerous sponsorships to create murals that carry the same hardy tone that most of her work carries. In 1977, Baca was given a sponsorship by Pacific Bell to orchestrate the creation of a mural that wrapped around the Highland Pacific Park Telephone Building, in what became named as a History of Highland Park. (Baca) In the mural Baca depicts various images of the inhabitants of the Highland Park area. Although the mural isn’t strictly a depiction of Chicanos, Baca does reference her Chicana background with a few candid scenes of contemporary Chicano life. In one portion of the mural Baca depicts three young Chicana and a Chicano waiting at a bus stop. In the arms of one of the women is an infant drinking from a bottle. Upon further scrutiny, the Chicano characters in the image are all carrying the same facial expression of malaise. Coupled with the lack of color, the overall mood of the piece is harsh reality. Just the setting alone of the characters of this piece waiting at a bus stop sends a political statement by itself; the commonality of the use public transportation alludes to the low socioeconomic state of most Chicanos during the 70’s civil rights era. This choice of setting is no accident or coincidence. Baca could have easily set these fictional characters in any other setting such as in a park, but instead she chooses the location of a bus stop and amplifies the scene by including a young child and the stone expressions on all of the faces of the characters. In one lecture Baca even reveals that she originally intended for a male to be carrying an infant while waiting at a bus stop. However due to censorship from her sponsors, Baca was forced to exclude such images from her mural. One can deduce that the presence of a male holding an infant while waiting for public transportation was too graphic for the sponsors to be included in the public mural. However, the role of the Chicana in the same setting with the same infant prop was apparently deemed acceptable. This inherent sexism of gender roles in regards to children is just one additionally layer this piece represents. It is notable that simply the creation of this piece in addition to the content itself conveys political issues that Baca continues to address throughout the myriad of murals she has created.

Uprising of the Mujeres, Judy Baca
Baca’s History of Highland Park is just one of many other murals that she includes blatant displays of Chicana oppression. Shortly after the creation of the mural in Highland Park, Baca’s loyalty to representing the Chicana struggle reaches an apex in a full-blown spectacle of women rebelling in her creation of the Uprising of the Mujeres in 1979. (Baca) In this piece Baca illustrates the exploitation of women working for the support of a government that places the woman, the worker, and social welfare beneath the priority of military spending. This scene of women rising from the symbolic fields of oppression (A Catholic Life) (Carmen Lomas Garza: A Retrospective) promotes the Chicana exhaustion with living subclass for little in return.
Baca’s work after her earlier murals created while knee-deep in the Civil Rights Movement, continue to echo her passion for understanding, defining, and teaching the role of the Chicana. One thing that most of Baca’s work carries is some sort of underlying political statement. Whether it is to serve as a catalyst for change, or to simply remember the nature of her people as it was in its truest oppressed sense, Baca tends to aim for the meat of the matter, regardless of how politically controversial her work becomes.
The controversy that Baca uses to fuel her artwork is her way of best telling the Chicana story. However like any complex idea, there is more than one way to explain it. On the opposite end of the spectrum of Baca, an artist known as Carmen Lomas Garza has been telling another story of the identity of the Chicana. Born in 1948 in Southern Texas, Lomas Garza experienced racism early on through the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. Like Baca, Lomas Garza grew up in a politically active family. Her mother and father were both activists in the American GI Forum, which was a congressionally chartered Mexican American veterans and civil rights organization. Inspired by her parents work, Lomas Garza started her activism by organizing Chicanos on her college campus. Like Baca, Lomas Garza’s struggle as a Chicana during the Civil Rights Movement helped spark the creation of her artistic ventures. (Carmen Lomas Garza: A Retrospective) However, in contrast to Baca, Lomas Garza’s narrative through her artwork is of a softer tone. Lomas Garza sought artistic refuge from the Chicano struggle by portraying events that highlighted important traditions and cultural distinctions of her culture. Lomas Garza states “[she] felt like [she] had to start with [her] earliest recollections of [her] life and validate each event or incident by depicting it in a visual format.” It is this common motif that all of Lomas Garza’s work shares throughout her career as a Chicana artist.

Virgin Guadalupe, Carmen Lomas Garza
When observing the work of Lomas Garza, one might be inclined to think of a children’s book, as her artwork often displays picturesque settings and simple characters involved in simple actions. Although this is true to some extent, Lomas Garza’s simplicity can be easily seen as foreign to many observers. This is because Lomas Garza’s work alludes to the distinct social customs of her cultural background. Although unidentifiable to the non-Chicano eye the overall pleasantness that is exuded from her work is still apparent. In one of Lomas Garza’s art pieces created in 1991, Virgin Guadalupe, a mother is depicted with 4 children, one of which is a young child in her arms. The family is set in front the painting of the Virgin Guadalupe and a candle vigil shrine. In this scene a story can be told if the clues are considered. A devout Catholic mother can be seen passing on the tradition of the importance of religion. Despite her heavy load of 3 children and an infant, the mother has made it a point to not only practice the rituals of her religion but also to teach her children as she allows them to light the candles as well during their prayers. The lighting of vigil candles often symbolized the existence of a prayer for each candle being lit. (A Catholic Life) This common catholic practice in the Chicano culture is just one of many that Lomas Garza illustrates in her candid works. Without blatantly touching on any political themes, Lomas Garza has managed to shed light on just one aspect of the identity of the Chicana- a generally religious and family oriented woman.

Quinceañera, Carmen Lomas Garza
Lomas Garza depicts other cultural traditions such as the Chicana’s Quinceañera. Created in 2001, Lomas Garza’s nostalgic nod to her Chicana rite of passage into womanhood illustrates the beginnings of a Chicana woman embarking on life. (Carmen Lomas Garza: A Retrospective) The celebration Lomas Garza’s work conveys is one of the most important moments that a Chicana will have in her life, thus it is foundational in describing the identity of a Chicana. These characteristic moments that Lomas Garzas’ works depict are her way of describing the Chicana identity to the observer.
Unlike Baca, Lomas Garza’s approach to describing the Chicana role in her art is much softer yet it is just as truthful. The Chicana in the artwork of Lomas Garza is a woman of culture. Lomas Garza’s Chicana puts the family first. Lomas Garza’s Chicana is a traditionalist. All of these characteristics that Lomas Garza instills in her artwork provide contribution towards the definition of Chicana. On the other hand, Baca’s politically fueled artwork is much more blatant and in your face, yet it still allows the observer to gain insight into the truths of what it is to be a Chicana. According to Baca’s work, as a Chicana, one is full of pride, one is an activist, and one is simply a woman dealing with the cards that have been dealt her. A Chicana isn’t someone to be taken lightly or to be overlooked. A Chicana, according to Baca is a fighter, whether it’s in the fields or simply at a bus stop.
Regardless of the observer’s preference to either of the artists, Judy Baca and Carmen Lomas Garza both are artists telling the story of the same people, in different ways. When trying to interpret the identity of the Chicana as a Mexican-American, a Latina, a Progressive Woman, or any other confining category, the interpretation leads to multiple paths. Lomas Garza and Baca although aesthetically different both tell truths about their subject matter. From the artwork of one the Chicana is shown as a fighter, to another the Chicana is a woman of culture and tradition, to both the Chicana is proud. Ultimately, however, the Chicana is a complex mash-up of all of the above. Just as the Chicana has dealt with decades of trying to convey her own identity, the artwork that depicts her by both Judy Baca and Carmen and Lomas Garza does just the same.

Works Cited

A Catholic Life. 20 11 2008 <http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/03/why-do-catholics-light-prayer-candles.html>.
Baca, Judy. Judy Baca’s Artwork. 20 11 2008 <http://www.judybaca.com/>.
Carmen Lomas Garza: A Retrospective. 20 11 2008 <http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa436.htm>.[/citem]
[citem title=”Ana Perez: Ester Hernandez and Judy Baca” id=”citem_44″ parent=”collapse_34″]Ester Hernandez and Judy Baca
12/04/08
Chic.M175
Prof. Baca, J.
Judy Baca and Ester Hernandez: Muralsand Paintings
Perhaps two of the most important Chicana artists today are Judy Baca and Ester Hernandez.Even though they have each mastered a unique technique in art, Ester having mastered the art of creating paintings and Judy becoming one of the leading muralists in the United States, they both share in common a passion for helping their community through their work. Both of their works also encompass the richness of the Mexican and Chicana culture through icons and symbols that are uniquely Mexican and very political. Although many Chicana artists have perfected the skill of creating both political and traditional art, few have been able to infuse that art with and into traditional American culture like Ester and Judy have done. It is particularly in Ester Hernandez’s parody of the Sun Maid Company: Sun Mad and in Judy Baca’s massive Great Wall of Los Angeles that both artist are able to truly open the doors to their cultural traditions, their political views based on their Mexicanidad, and a perspective that can only come out of the oppressed population.

As important as Ester and Judy’s work are in the Latino community, we cannot begin to appreciate Ester’s Sun Mad painting nor Judy’s Great Wall of Los Angeles without first learning and understanding their political influences, culture and upbringing. Ester Hernandez was born to a family of farm workers in the San Joaquin Valley in California, a place that as written in her biography is“known for its natural beauty and paradoxically the ongoing struggle of farm workers” (About the Artist). However, Hernandez was not only born into apolitical struggle but also into a family of artist. Although her family’s art could very well be described as folkloric because it was mainly embroidery and carpentry work, it was the combination of these two elements that helped create in her a passion for art that is both traditional and political.

Just like Ester Hernandez, Judy Baca’s art was also shaped by her upbringing. She was born in 1946 on South Central Los Angeles in California. Until the age of six,she was “raised in a female-dominated household that included her mother,Ortensia, her grandmother and two aunts” (Judith F. Baca-1946). It was especially her grandmother, an herbal healer and very indigenous women who“profoundly influenced her sense of indigenous culture” (Judy Baca). If fact, Judy Baca has said that if anyone could be credited with pushing her to become an artist it was her grandmother. Thus, Judy’s matriarchal household, her neighborhood in Los Angeles and later in Pacoima, California and her grandmother’s indigenous roots helped create in her love for creating art that is not only beautiful but also political and historical.

Both Hernandez and Baca’s art is extremely influenced by the place where they were born, their families and their cultural traditions. In Sun Mad, for example,Hernandez’s family struggle in the San Joaquin Valley fields becomes clear in her representation of the iconic figure of the Sun Maid lady as she becomes a symbol of death. As Hernandez notes, this piece “talks about the impact the overuse of pesticides will have on farm workers, consumers and environment”(Sun Mad). This emphasis on pesticides is not only due to her relation to farm workers but also to the polluted and contaminated environment in which she grew up. As she began to make the painting she states that she “slowly began to realize how to transform the Sun Maid and unmask the truth behind the wholesome figure of agribusiness. Sun Mad evolved out of my anger and my fear of what would happen to my family, my community, and to myself” (Sun Mad). Thus, it is this background that led to one of the more political and controversial Latina paintings.

Similar to Ester Hernandez’s “Sun Mad”, Judy Baca’s “Great Wall of Los Angeles” was also built out of a resistance to the subordinate position Latinos and other minorities have often been relegated to. Through this mural, Judy Baca found the opportunity to recount the history and traditions of California from the point of view of Chicanos and other minorities. As she states, “I want to use public space to create a public voice for, and a public consciousness about people who are, if fact, the majority of the population but who are not represented in any visual way” (SPARC). Thus, the “Great Wall of Los Angeles” is the visual representation of California’s minorities through their struggles and achievements. In fact the “Great Wall of Los Angeles “is a landmark pictorial representation of the history of ethnic peoples of California from prehistoric times to the 1950’s” (SPARC). Therefore, both “Sun Mad” and the “Great Wall”are very historical in their representations; they deal with the struggles of minorities in a very direct and politically charged way.

The similarities between these two works however is not a coincidence since they were both conceived at around the same time, a time that was still, even more than now, marked by a lot of racial tension and injustices. Hernandez began her work on “Sun Mad” in 1979 but it wasn’t until 1982 that the painting was completed to its entirety. The painting was done on a 22 by 17 in. paper with serigraph and today it hangs on the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The central position of the painting is held by a calavera, who has the same features as the Sun Maid Lady, holding a basket filled with grapes. In the background there is a huge sun that encircles the calavera and this is followed by a red background. Beneath the calavera a caption reads, “Sun Mad Raising Unnaturally Grown With Insecticides, Micticides, Herbicides, Fungicides.”Although the form of the art is relatively simple it is rich in vibrant colors and cultural and political content.

Although the content of the art and the time in which both arts were conceived are very similar, the way in which both pieces of art were developed is very different.As stated in the SPARC website the framework for the wall was begun “in 1974and completed over five summers, the Great Wall employed over 400 youth and their families from diverse social and economic backgrounds working with artists, oral historians, ethnologists, scholars, and hundreds of community members” (SPARC). Today, the wall is the largest mural in the world running across 2754 feet in the San Fernando Valley. However, although Judy Baca’s “Great Wall” is much larger than Hernandez’ “Sun Mad,” the political and cultural significance of both artworks is extremely important.

As I had noted before, both artworks are filled with traditions and culture and that initself makes these pieces of art very political. Hernandez’s culture can easily be seen in her painting of the calavera which have become so dominant in Mexican painting since Jorge Guadalupe Posada introduced them in his engravings and as we have since been used by other Chicana artists such as Amalia Mesa-Bains. Baca’s traditional Chicana culture can also be seen in the stories she recounts in the “Great Wall” and just through the tradition of mural painting which has become almost synonymous to Mexican Art since “Los TresGrandes: Siqueiros, Rivera and Orozco” adopted that art style. The politicalsatire that is almost entrenched in many of the Chicano artist can also be seenin Hernandez’s painting not only through her use of such American cultural iconas the Sun Maid Lady but also through her distortion of her and the captionthat accompanies the painting. In the same way, Baca’s political perspectivecan be seen through her strength in displaying such controversial issues as theexploitation of minorities and the racial injustices that were committed againstthem.

The importanceof these two artworks in the Latino community can only be said to be immeasurable.Neither Judy Baca’s 2754 feet of California’s history or Ester Hernandez’s distortionof the Sun Maid Lady can be measure in a way that truly explains thesignificance of their art not only because of their beauty but because of theirpolitical weight. Moreover, the significance of their art is even greater whenwe look at the content and the amount of cultural traditions they represent.Thus these paintings which are filled with empowerment and Mexican traditions arethe epitome of Chicana art because they bring forth two cultures and political struggles.

Bibliography

“About the Artist.” EsterHernandez. California College of The Arts. 25 Oct. 2008 http://www.esterhernandez.com/eh-about.html

Baca, Judy. The Great Wall of Los Angeles. LosAngeles, California. 1 Dec. 2008 <http://www.sparcmurals.org:16080/sparcone/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=53>.

Hernandez, Ester. Sun Mad Raisins. Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum, Washington, D.C. 2Dec.2008 http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=34712.

“Judy Baca.” Nation Master. 2008. Nation Master. 30Nov. 2008. <http://www.nationmaster.com /encyclopedia/Judy-Baca>.

Judith F. Baca. 2004. Smithsonian Institution. 30 Nov. 2008 < http://latino.si.edu/virtualgallery/OJOS/bios/bios_Baca .htm>.

Judith F. Baca: 1946-: Muralist, Visual Artist, Educator-Raised In A Female Household. 2008. Net Industries.30. Nov. 2008 < http://biography.jrank.org/pages/3257/Baca-Judith-F-1946-Muralist-Visual-Artist-Educator-Raised-In-Female-Household.html>.

“Sun Mad.” Del Corazon: Latino Voices in American Art.1996. Smithsonian American Art Museum.28 Oct. 2008 <http://www.latinoart.si.edu/ education/corazon/ page_about.cfm>.

The Social And Public Art Resource Center. 2008. 1 Dec. 2008 < http://www.sparcmurals.org:16080/sparcone/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1>.

[/citem]
[citem title=”Tulsi Patel: Yolanda Lopez & Kim Martinez” id=”citem_45″ parent=”collapse_34″]Yolanda Lopez & Kim Martinez
Author: Tulsi Patel

Although generations have come and gone, the unity amongst human beings is indisputable. Perhaps a key characteristic among human civilization is its sophisticated way of communication, both verbal and bodily. Without this, society as we know it could not exist, since we are dependent upon other beings for survival. With that being said, it is equally important to examine other mediums of communication such as artistry. This often overlooked phenomenon quickly fades into the background of academic and societal goals. However, this paper will challenge these preconceptions and expose the significance art plays in an evolving society by comparing Yolanda Lopez’s Virgin of Guadalupe and Kim Martinez’s Mujeres de Colores. Both Lopez and Martinez transform traditional representations of Chicanas and middle aged women respectively, redefining female empowerment with strong and unforgivable depictions.

Before analyzing Lopez and Martinez’s works, it is important to provide biographical information to better understand their perspectives and art. Yolanda Lopez was born in 1942 in San Diego, California. Lopez was raised by her grandparents and mother, who worked at an industrial sewing machine for 30 years (Hispanic Research Center). Witnessing her mother’s laborious efforts, Lopez becomes inspired. As later discussed, the Virgin of Guadalupe reflects Lopez’s appreciation for the everyday hardworking woman like her mother. Furthermore, Martinez’s artwork is also rooted within her childhood. With a Swedish, Morman mother and Mexican, Catholic father, it was determined that the female children in the family would be Catholic. From an early age, we can how Martinez is affected by gender separation and roles.

For those not familiar with Lopez’s Virgin of Guadalupe, a young energetic woman is at the center of the artwork. She is striding forward with tennis shoes and a smile on her face, as if she is a jogger competing in a race. Also, her pastel pink and orange dress is blowing upward, revealing a good part of her thigh. She takes hold of a snake in one hand and is holding a blue cloak in the other—wrapping around her like a superhero cape.

Comparing Lopez’s Virgin of Guadalupe to Kim Martinez’s Mujeres de Colores, the similarities of how both are depicted is apparent. As with Lopez, Martinez’s Dotti is striding forward at an aggressive pace. Also, she is wearing a construction hat and has rope attached near her hips. Like the Virgin of Guadelupe, she is wearing a bring color, metallic blue, that reveals plenty of skin. In addition, Dotti’s long grey hair seems to move with her, alluding to a superhero type of woman.

Furthermore, the Virgin of Guadalupe is a Mexican icon believed to be an incarnation of the Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic religion. The Virgin of Guadalupe’s importance to the Roman Catholic Chicano community is immense, as she represents a perfect being. Women especially, idolized the Virgin for her virtue and caretaker character. As a result, the Virgin of Guadalupe became an artistic and religious motif for the Chicano community. It is important to note that the Virgin befriended the outcast Indians who were at the bottom tier of the social ladder. This will come into play when discussing the socio-political status of Chicanos today.

Similar to Lopez, Martinez’s Mujeres de Colores centers on an ethnic woman named Dotti. Dotti’s old physical appearance blatantly reveals that she is middle aged. Just as the Virgin of Gaudalupe is characterized by her caretaker role, middle aged woman in society have a traditional perception of being the gentle caretaker. We can see how both Lopez and Martinez use stereotypical representations of women at large; Lopez through religion and Martinez with age.

It is important to realize that Lopez’s painting is not strictly religious, although she uses elements of religion in her artwork. Although the original Virgin of Guadelupe is blatantly bound to religion—worshipping the Virgin herself who is the mother of Jesus, Lopez stirs away from these religious ties. This is obvious by the replacement of the Virgin with a more modern woman in today’s society. In fact, she is wearing a revealing dress and tennis shoes, not the modest and more conservative wardrobe expected of the Virgin. Also, there are references to nationalism in her portrait, with an angel’s red, white, and blue wings at the bottom. Hence, religion is merely the apparatus for Lopez’s social and political statements.

Martinez’s depiction of Dotti parallels Lopez’s representation of the Virgin of Guadalupa. Just as Lopez replaces the Virgin’s expected conservative demeanor with a modern woman, Martinez’s woman is strong and fierce, fearlessly wearing a haltered ensemble. This contrasts with the stereotypical depiction of a middle aged woman as motherly and soft. Hence both Lopez and Martinez break through the boundaries of what a woman should look like in both appearance and demeanor. Furthermore, Lopez and Martinez challenge the ‘conventional’ woman through clothing and appearance.

Another major theme in Lopez’s Virgin of Guadalupe involves celebrating feminism within her own family; Lopez is famous for making prominent women family members as the center of her Virgin of Guadalupe collection, as she was raised by her mother. As another distinguished Chicana artist puts it, “By breaking the bonds of Guadalupe and setting her free, Lopez attests to the internal familiarity of the image and powerful influence of her own family members (pg 137, Mesa-Baines). Lopez is idolizing the women in her family who take on the caretaker role emulated by the real Virgin of Guadalupe. Lopez attests to this pride and empowerment by wrapping a superman-like cape over the main figure and having her grasp a snake in one hand. This shift from idols to family members strikes an important cord with feminism, as it honors women for the work they have traditionally done. Lopez’s use of tennis shoes is symbolic of celebrating women for the hard work bestowed upon them. Also, the woman’s dress is blowing upward as she strides forward in the portrait, hinting at sexuality. Hence Lopez’s portrayal of female empowerment stirs away from the submissive character of a woman to a livelier, energetic and sexualized interpretation. Alice Gasper de Alba discusses this when she says, “…Lopez portrayal of the Guadelupanan alter[s] the passive femininity of the traditional image to communicate feminist empowerment through change and physical action,” (pg 12, Gasper de Alba)

Martinez’s work captures this feminist movement by celebrating an everyday woman. Just as Lopez replaces the original Virgin of Guadalupe with family members, Martinez drew inspiration from women she personally knew. In an informative lecture given at UCLA, Martinez directly states that her artwork was inspired by the strong middle aged woman whom surrounded her. Hence, Martinez is idolizing real woman who take on the responsibilities given to them. She effectively replaces the conventional woman superhero with the people who are closest to her. Furthermore, Martinez’s Dotti exposes skin and cleavage, alluding to sexuality. Again, Martinez challenges the stereotypical depiction of middle aged women through sexuality and empowerment. Another similarity between Lopez and Martinez is their portrayal of female empowerment through physical action. Martinez’s Dotti is shown leaping forward; ready to tackle any obstacle in her way. Hence, her female empowerment is shown through physical movement. In conclusion, both Lopez and Martinez’s works respond to the stereotyped role of ethnic women. As Paula Gunn Allen says, “The dark woman has long been perceived as the dumb, the speechless, mother,” (pg 166, Off the Reservation). It is Lopez and Martinez’s artwork that defies these stigmatized boundaries of how an ethnic woman should be perceived.

Another component of Yolanda Lopez’s Virgin of Guadalupe involves a socio-political connotation. As discussed earlier, the portrait contains hints of brash criticism with the American flag colors. This is most obvious with the main figure stepping over an angel with red, white, and blue wings. This is symbolic of the Chicano community’s fight for equality in a nation often characterized by a melting pot of diversity. The strong stance taken by Lopez is homage to those who are the backbone of this nation yet are stigmatized by their racial background. This statement of empowerment is unforgiving and uplifting, as it takes grasps of Chicano pride and equality. By comparing Lopez’s work to the original Virgin of Guadalupe we can see there are many similarities. Mainly, the original Virgin of Guadalupe was painted as being a saint to the indigenous Indians; this relates to Lopez as she is appealing to the often underappreciated Chicano community in the United States.

Like Lopez, Martinez work is a response to a wider, socialized issue. Although Lopez fights for equality among the Chicano community, Martinez’s agenda involves recognizing the overlooked importance of middle aged women in today’s society. Often, middle aged woman are thought of being past their prime, where their significance in society has faded. Martinez counteracts this by portraying a relentless woman in stance and attitude. With her long, grey hair blowing with the wind, Martinez depicts a no-prisoners superhero. Also, Dotti’s construction hat and rope highlight Martinez’s underlying message of equality for women—attesting that women can do ‘a man’s job’ too.

After thoroughly analyzing Yolanda Lopez’s Virgin of Guadalupe and Kim Martinez’s Mujeres de Colores, it is clear that both artworks are similar in both physical representation and overall significance. Challenging the traditional view of women, Lopez and Martinez break free of the religious and societal boundaries put upon them. Both Lopez and Martinez defy common women stereotypes by celebrating everyday women. Also, Lopez and Martinez’s artwork contain cultural and political messages, attesting to equality for Chicanos and middle aged women. Furthermore, the significance of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Mujeres de Colores transcends a mere analytical interpretation, as they inspire their audience to create substantive change. It is this element of artwork, provoking change, which differentiates it from other types of communication. Artists like Yolanda Lopez and Kim Martinez provide a visual construction of how women are viewed in society, and more importantly, take a stand against it.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/71879324_dcf61ac400.jpg

Works Cited

1) Allen, Paula Gunn. Off the Reservation. Beacon Press: 1998.

2) Gasper de Alba, Alice. Out of the House, The Halo And The Whores Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo. University of Texas Press: 1998.

3) Mesa-Baines, Amalia. CARA: Chicano Art Resistance and Affirmation: El Mundo Femenino: Chicana Artists of the Movement-A Commentary on Development and Production.

4) Hispanic Research Center. 2001. Arizona State University. 1 Dec. 2008. <http://mati.eas.asu.edu:8421/ChicanArte/html_pages/YLopezIssOutl.html#artmaker> [/citem]
[citem title=”Cindy Zacarias: Patssi Valdez – Juana Alicia” id=”citem_47″ parent=”collapse_34″]Patssi Valdez – Juana Alicia
Chicano M175
Baca, Judith
4 December 2008

Human Condition and Its Portrayal Through Art

As the history of Chicana artist continues to evolve, Chicana artists’ artistic focus continues to expand over a various issues, such as gender and violence. The particular piece by Patssi Valdez titled L.A.T.J, focuses on the life in two cities that are largely populated by immigrants. The Serigraph L.A.T.J. expresses the notion that daily life on both sides of the border, Mexican and American, can be difficult and harsh. It is a constant struggle for survival, from finding working to finding food to eat. In Juana Alicia’s work Women With Attitude. She portrays a woman in an opposite light that society typically sees women and depicted with fortitude and strength. The focus of both paintings pertains to the issue of immigration and the struggle to survive life on both sides of the border. Both works express people constant struggle for survival not only as Chicano and Chicana in the United States but also as an immigrant in Tijuana.

L.A.T.J exhibits a combination of three photos on top of one another, while surrounded by a series of letters. On the right hand side, can seen the letters T.J., and the left hand side the letters L.A. all of which surrounded the frame of the pictures with the exception of the center that remains open. Valdez’ intention of placing a separation between the letters was not only represents the physical division of two counties with a border, but also the emotional separation that immigrants endure when leaving their county. The gap becomes a metaphor for the void that immigrants experience as they leave their nation of origin and are torn away from their families.

In the first picture, from the piece, depicts a scene of Los Angeles with buildings, highways, and cars driving in the direction of north. Valdez enforces the theme of disillusionment by revealing the ideal version of Los Angeles: a vibrant city with large buildings decorated by palm a tree that offers an immense number of opportunities. By simply driving throughout the city of Los Angeles one can observe the economical states that range from the wealthiest in Beverly Hills to the most impoverished in Compton. The wealthy version of LA is the most advertised and known, while the impoverished remain forgotten. The irony overall becomes that those in impoverished neighborhoods work for the wealth class of Los Angeles. Valdez, having grown in East Los Angeles, knew of the deep class stratification in Los Angeles: “Valdez faced many of the problems common to urban life: poverty, violence, alienation, and family fragmentation. Detached from traditional rural experience”(Mesa-Bains 139).

In the top portion of the work women’s face that is spit in half and wears a cross as an earring, can be seen. The division of the women’s face supplements the theme of separation between those in immigrants and their families. In addition, it also represents the destruction and separation of a motherland that is torn apart by the placement of borders. Gloria Anzaldua states in The Homeland, Aztlan: El Otro Mexico describes that “Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them [ . . .]”(3) Borders do not recognize the basic human needs that range from nutrition to Love, oppose to finding a resolution that would aid oppressed individuals, who arrive from countries, such as Mexico and seek work. The United States decides to shut its eyes and turn its back on a people that desperately need to ameliorated, while on the other hand spread it ideals of the American Dream, while denying it to millions in its own county. In addition, the Cross that the woman wears as an earring represents the symbol of religion that brings about hope, for those who take on the dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States. The cross, being that it hangs of the women’s right ear, T.J.’s side, also illustrates the culture that is left behind, part of which includes the Catholic religion and its many traditions.

In the mist of the large city the feeling of alienation and loss of identity becomes a reoccurring trend among those who live in the city and especially immigrants who journey to the United States in the search for work. The Middle and last section provides a perspective into the individual being that exists within the large city of Los Angeles. Unfortunately for many the movement from Tijuana to Los Angeles becomes one of disillusionment. The struggle to keeps one culture becomes incredibly difficult, as noted by Valdez in last portion of the work. Immigrants assimilate to society because society dictates that they must or else be excluded and thus alienated. Beginning with the initial steps taken being the journey to the U.S., immigrants sacrifice and leave their entire lives behind. Homes, saving, and personal items are sold in order to fund the journey to the North. Anzaldua describes a women who had sold away in hopes of prospering in the United States: “She’s sold her house, her furniture, borrowed from friends in order to pay the coyote who chargers her four or five thousand dollars to smuggle her to Chicago” (Anzaldua 12). Once completing the strenuous journey endured to border states such as Tijuana, continues when begin to cross the American border. Apart of having to possibly face death in the crossing of the border, that takes countless number of lives. Immigrants find a series of never ending obstacles of language, decimation, and violence committed against them, especially work, since employers hire immigrants and refuse to may them adequate “wages, or ensure adequate housing or sanitary conditions”(Anzaldua 12) Along with hardship of work, the paranoia of being caught and deported, prevails throughout their time working the in United States: “Isolated and worried about her family back home, afraid of getting caught and deported, living with as many as fifteen people in a room, the mexicana suffers serious health problems” (Anzaldua 12).

In Women With Attitude by Juana Alicia, she portrays a woman that is not typically seen throughout contemporary society. In women’s physical features indicate that she is a Chicana and not to be reckoned with at any moment. Tall, tough, strong with hands that demonstrate with inner strength that is found after a life long struggle against the many obstacles that constantly hinder us throughout our lives. Despite the tough exterior that she posses, she posses a sense of sensitivity that can be seen through her eyes. Through the work done on eyes, artists are able to convey more of their subject personality then other aspects of the body. The women’s eyes can interpret a multitude of things. Primarily, a readiness to defend herself against that crosses her path.

Women with Attitude addresses the issue of gender in our society since; Alicia’s portrayal of women is virtually nonexistent throughout our society. The reason being that images of women, their roles and overall appearance that derives from the popular media that visually demonstrates the definition of “women” to the public. Unlike the typical Model or Actress that exists in TV, movie and Magazine Media, the model in Alicia’s work presence a sense of strength and dominance that is rarely conveyed through the many public women figures in popular Media. Another aspect of the work, the background demonstrates a past life of struggles that she has endured and similar to Picasso and Van Gogh’s self Portraits where depict themselves in melancholy manner with a blue backgrounds, Alicia conveys the past battles that not only she had endured in her life but the those that everyday people experience, in particular Immigrants who struggle to treated like a basic human. In terms of work many working Chicanos, they struggle for receive a fair wage in an place that does not feel that they deserve one because they lack a Visa or Green Car; therefore, it is inferred they are in a sense viewed as sub-humans who are to work but not be compensated appropriately: Those who do secure a job work incredibly hard for very little pay. Some women “may work as a live-in maid [. . .] for as little as $15 a week. Or work in the garment industry, do hotel work. ” (Anzaldua 12).

Both artists portray a basic human function that existed throughout one’s life: survival. It seems that because we live in a society with law and order, that the instinctual functions that mammals possess has disappeared from us. The basic mammal instinct of survival has not disappeared; everyday as human we encounter countless struggles in our lives that overwhelm us. As a result of the events, we create exterior defenses to mask the fear and pain that emotionally encounter when facing those events. Exterior defenses can manifest themselves in a various ways. Mainly, the image that present to others tends to be the most common way defend ourselves from others. Reasons for having to create defenses rises from the fear of judgment and criticism from our fellow peers, who may take advantage of our weakened state. That basic behavior of survival can be best observed into whom live in the harsh environment best knows as the city. L.A.T.J gives a visual insight into the environment that many struggle through into order to survive each day.

One of the many reasons for existence of art is to convey an aspect of the human condition that can be examined and understood. Like a scientist observes in cell beneath a microscope in order to gain a better understanding and its function, art serves a vessel to gain a better understanding of human actions and their significance. [/citem]
[citem title=”Cindy Zacarias: Human Condition and Its Portrayal Through Art” id=”citem_48″ parent=”collapse_34″]Cindy Zacarias
Chicano M175
Baca, Judith
4 December 2008
Human Condition and Its Portrayal Through Art

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[citem title=”Kirsten Vaught: Chicana Artists Linda Vallejo” id=”citem_50″ parent=”collapse_34″]Kirsten Vaught
November 2008
Chicana Artist: Linda Vallejo

Linda Vallejo is a Chicana artist based in Los Angeles who does paintings, sculptures, and installations that reflect her multiple cultural and spiritual experiences. Linda was born in 1951 in Los Angeles, California and soon after moved to Germany after her father (from Texas) entered the Air Force. She went to schools in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Montgomery, Alabama after they returned to the states. She finished high school in Spain and went back there for some college (after Whittier). (Lindavallejo.com). Her art combines elements of gender, nature, culture, political views, and spirituality (Native American). They have many unique identities and influences. She participates in traditional Native American and Chicano ceremonies and traditions, and their influences are very apparent in her art. In her artist statement, she says that her goal “as an artist has been to consolidate multiple, international influences gained from a life of study and travel throughout Europe, the United States and Mexico” (lindavallejo.com). She says that her art is influenced by surrealism, spirituality, indigenous ceremonies, symbolism, nature, history, mythology, various cultures, gender, and artists such as Georgia O’Keefe and Salvador Dali (lindavallejo.com).

Her installation A Prayer for the Earth combines a hybrid combination of cultures, the importance of nature and people’s destruction of the earth, spirituality, history, and ceremony. Mictlantecutli and the Spanish Galleon, from the Tree People sculpture series, combines history, nature, culture, destruction, and politics. It is a recreation of a historical event in the eyes of an indigenous viewer. Her painting The Alpha and The Omega from the Los Cieloes series is apparently visually influenced by surrealist artists, such as the skies done by O’Keefe and Dali. It combines spirituality, nature, destruction, and new beginnings (depending on the viewer’s position), and symbolism. Linda Vallejo’s work combines all of these elements to produce her own voice and identity within the art world. She creates a unique blend of influences that she grew up by and experienced, such as spirituality and different cultures (American, Mexican, Spanish, Native American). A central theme in her work is hope after destruction and the hope of rebirth (life cycle). Her installation, A Prayer for the Earth, is a presentation of some of her landscape paintings with an environment she creates out of rocks, plants, sculptures, and images of destruction. At the core of the installation (presented on the floor) are pictures of destruction “surrounded by the hope of the four elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air” (http://artscenecal.com/Announcements/1104/CarnegieMsm1104.html).
The centerpiece resembles a mandala; it is a circular collection of destructive photos and sand. The photographs show images of destruction towards the earth done by the people who inhabit it, such as pollution. A Prayer for the Earth is also a feminine critique of human’s selfish destruction of nature. In this man vs. nature installation, Vallejo creates a juxtaposition of untouched nature and its beauty (the four elements and the sculptures and paintings) and destruction (shown in the centerpiece).

According to Amalia Mesa-Bains, Chicanas create a “resistant feminine commentary” by using “inversion, satire, reversals, and juxtapositions” (Mesa-Bains 132). The juxtaposition of untouched nature and the greedy destruction of the earth in her installation symbolizes “our profound connection to nature and the dire consequences of our separation from it” (Mendelsohn). The sum of the electric paintings, tree sculptures, and the centerpiece all come together to make a “sacred space that embraces the profane [… and] celebrates the earth’s beauty [while mourning] its damage […and becomes] a prayer for healing our broken relationship with the world” (Mendelsohn). A Prayer for the Earth reflects her spirituality, culture, and views on politics and nature. It holds some similarities from some other Chicana artist’s installations, such as the altars of Amalia Mesa-Bains, in that it is spiritual and has indigenous influences. According to Amalia Mesa-Bains, many Chicana artists use forms of altars in their mixed media installations to symbolize death and rebirth. “Spirituality, religiosity, spectacle, and pageantry are a prevailing aesthetic” of many Chicana artists, including Vallejo, who “use, in particular, the shrine, ofrenda, altar, retablo, and nicho box forms […to highlight] belief, healing, and celebration as elements in the ongoing lexicon of women’s work” (Mesa-Bains 133).
A Prayer for the Earth uses pageantry and spirituality to present the death of nature and the possibility of its rebirth (if the people go back to their roots in nature). Linda Vallejo’s spirituality and bond with the Native American culture is apparent in her “Tree People” series. These sculptures reflect the spirituality and closeness with nature within the Native American community. They are made out of trees, paper, and some mixed media. Her piece Mictlantecutli and the Spanish Galleon represents her view of the Spanish invasion of the Aztecs. Mitlantecutli is the Aztec “lord of the underworld” and is shown here with the face of a skull and an ear of corn at his base (California Digital Library). The Spanish ships also have native Aztec symbols attached to them, such as the feathers (sails) and ears of corn. Like A Prayer for the Earth, Mitlantecutli and the Spanish Galleon is a very spiritual piece that represents destruction of civilization and nature. Mitlantecutli, like the images in the mandala in A Prayer for the Earth, symbolizes human’s destruction of nature. He stands for the deaths of the Aztecs by the Spanish conquerors during the Inquisition and the lost civilization (including nature) as the downfall of the Aztec empire meant industrialization and destruction of natural resources as a result of Spanish gain in territory. Also the fact that she uses “rescued tree limbs” shows that she is almost bringing them back from the dead by giving them faces and identities (in the spiritual and environmental sense) (Mendelsohn).

She gives nature a voice by placing faces on the limbs and narrating historical events; “wounded nature is [thus] allowed to speak of loss, love, and the possibility of regeneration” (Mendelsohn). Just like A Prayer for the Earth, there is the hope of regeneration and revitalization of nature. The negative images and recreated scenes are surrounded by the possibility and hope of people respecting nature. Mitlantecutli and the Spanish Galleon is also an example of the hybridity of Chicana art. There are influences of the indigenous natives and also the Spanish culture. The use of found objects from nature and giving them mythical spirit characteristics references native Aztec (and Native American) culture. The Spanish ship references the Spanish history and the tiny bust sculpture on the ship references Spanish art of that time period. According to Chon Noriega, Chicana art usually comes in “hybrid form,” as the artists “break the rules of two cultures, two traditions, without blurring the boundaries between them” (Noriega 2). Linda Vallejo does this by including two cultures, the forgotten Aztecs and the Spanish. She combines both cultures to produce a hybrid sculpture that holds its own identity as the “other,” like many Chicanas and their art. It also references the role of women as storytellers and bearers of their family history, as Vallejo is the one recreating the historical event to pass on. The “Los Cielos” (The Heavens) series, according to Vallejo, “seeks to integrate [her] understanding and experience of ceremony, [her] personal love of nature and [her] personal healing through nature” (sparcmurals.org).

The piece I chose to discuss is titled The Alpha and The Omega. This painting can be seen in a different light according to viewers; some see it as the beginning and some see it as the end of the universe. According to Vallejo, “each viewer sees something altogether different and personal in looking at this painting” (sparcmurals.org). I personally saw worlds colliding in this image, and coming together. I see a hammerhead shark head in the blue figure, and some of the clouds resemble jellyfish stingers. It reminds me of how when I look in the sky, I make figures out of cloud formations. The Alpha and The Omega references the act of healing through nature, which A Prayer for the Earth and Mitlantecutli and the Spanish Galleon also reference. Unlike the installation and sculpture, however, she doesn’t use found objects to reference the healing (rebirth) process but a painted image. The painting also references historical context, in that it goes back to Vallejo’s inspiration from O’Keefe and Dali; the sky uses inpiration from the surrealism period.
After really looking at and analyzing (coming up with possible meanings) of The Alpha and the Omega, I started to really see the trend of rebirth in this image. The white circular cloud on the right to me stood as a symbol for the beginning of life, like an embryo (fertilized egg). After the destruction, there is hope and rebirth, a central theme in her work. One reason I was drawn to Linda Vallejo’s art is because it resembles mine and her lecture really inspired me to go further in my paintings. I especially love how she uses her spirituality and love for nature as inspiration for a lot of her work. As much as I admire her landscapes, I was really taken and inspired by the spiritual and political meanings of her installations and sculptures. They hold so many unique cultural identities and historical influences. I think A Prayer for the Earth was most successful at conveying the message of human’s destruction and selfish use of the earth’s resources.
I really liked how she used photographs, referenced history, and included paintings and sculptures to create her own “sacred space.” I think it is very inspiring for how we view the earth and how we treat it. Linda Vallejo’s art is a metaphor for the cycle of life. She shows how human selfishness and destruction can tear nature and the world apart, yet always has hope for regeneration and rebirth. The rebirth of nature relies on us, and she calls on us to change our ways and go back to our roots in order to aquire harmony. Her installation A Prayer for the Earth calls for us to learn from our past and look to nature to solve the crisis of global destruction. Mitlantecutli and the Spanish Galleon narrates historical events in the eyes of the lost Aztec empire, and signals death and deatruction in the furture if history is to be reapeated. The Alpha and the Omega is a juxtapositional image that tells the story of life after death, the life cycle.

Sources
http://artscenecal.com/Announcements/1104/CarnegieMsm1104.html
lindavallejo.com
http://www.sparcmurals.org/present/vallejo/LosCielos.html
Mesa-Bains, Amalia. “El Mundo Femino: Chicana Artists of the Movement – A Commentary on Development and Production.”
California Digital Library http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt1g5025sm&doc.view=entire_text&brand=oac
Mendelsohn, John. “Linda Vallejo.” http://www.ktcassoc.com/06artists_Install/06artists_Install_01_txtCom.html
Noriega, Chon. “Art Official Histories.”

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[citem title=”By Margarita Torres: Patssi Valdez’s Change” id=”citem_51″ parent=”collapse_34″]Patssi Valdez’s Change
Chicano M175: Chicana Arts and Artists
4 December 2008
Final: Patssi Valdez

Many artists have grown up facing challenges in their everyday lives, ranging from family trials and tribulations to money managing and finances. As this life progresses, living to painting becomes painting to live. The most talented artists popular in one concept or movement branching out from their signature works to explore different motifs and themes risking that they would steer away even the most loyal of fans.

Patssi Valdez, an East Los Angeles Chicana artist, is no exception. She is most known for her political painting and live performances as well as movie productions. Her works have allowed her to stand out from the crowd and send the message of stereotyping of the Latino population portrayed by media sources. Along with others in the Chicano group notoriously called Asco (Spanish for “nausea”), they created a movement that shows Latino treatment being unfair. The majority of Valdez political paintings were created while she was in Asco, as “Patssi Valdez” states of her political career.

But as she grew and developed as an artist, so did her works and styles. The political paintings and pictures had her in rather obscure and strange clothing and make-up; as she claims in her video interview in SPARC, she decided to stop taking pictures of herself upon turning thirty years of age. Many fans of her work were disappointed when she stopped painting her politically. To explore different styles and periods, she began to look into her Self: her past and how her choices then and now have effect on her work:

“Suddenly I wanted to show more of myself, to offer insight into my culture.

I began looking inside for inspiration.”

Plus, she confessed that her father was not around and that “helped her creative side” because she wasn’t limited, thus giving her much freedom. The politics stopped, but her individuality did not falter her career. It instead allowed her to become more of an artist, thus helping her to contemporize her Self to the world as she “changes the world in the process“, as she discusses her transition in the video interview.

“Patssi’s Kitchen” (2000) is a painting of what looks to be a typical Chicano kitchen. The painting itself looks stylistically European, due to the definite influences by Vincent Van Gogh, which automatically recalled to his “Chambre fermé Van Gogh” (1888), which portrays a bedroom of similar asymmetry (not so much painting style; Valdez’s strokes are refined).

There are floating blue orbs which cause the painting to be of a surreal classification as well as a function to guide the viewer’s eyes to what looks to be a rectangular pool; the pool is not very big, but it may bear significance in the artist‘s subconscious.

The colors used are Mexican traditional colors, but often used in paintings by other Chicano or Mexican artists and frequently appear in pottery and statuettes found in the mercado or tiangis (a massive grouping of Mexican stands) where sellers show their wares and making their income. The light navy blues and the cocoa and light browns are the typical colors used, and the orange and red tints are almost too similar to see their distinctions.

Less than a quarter of the space shows a living room, but the major focus of the painting the kitchen, hence the title. The partial view of the living room just shows a one-seat La-Z-Boy and a switched-on lamp. The kitchen itself is lively despite the absence of living beings, but would be tricky to consider the work as a still life. There was movement in the room and it still feels that there can be or there is (faintly if any). The kitchen has a few brooms leaning all over the counter and drawers unclosed with a cloth drooping over one, deducting that the people in the house were in the middle of chores but had to leave it all of a sudden for an emergency, and the household chores were something they can come back to when the former is completed or taken care of. The dining table seems to confirm it; the chairs out from under the table and dishes (apparently clean) and laying around as if after a meal.

“The Dreamer“, finished in 2002, is what I have interpreted as a Valdez self portrait. The first thing that caught my attention was the color of the background and the color of the dress. It is neutral and dark purples with stars and a crescent moon in the night sky; the color itself tells much of the artist:

A. How Valdez classifies the Dreamer. In the clothing, purple has been used in history to symbolize royalty. Kings and queens were the only ones that had access and wore this color for clothing, and the lower classes seldom came across it, suggesting high stature or importance; and

B. In terms of the sky, an Impressionistic influence is in the midst. The Romantic and traditional color of shadows and the sky were painted black or a color very similar to midnight blue. When the Impressionist movement came about in the early 19^th Century, the color interpreted for shadows and in the cold night sky changed to a very dark purple.

In addition, the Dreamer has an aura around her, suggesting that she is of a divine status, subtly referencing the Virgin of Guadalupe, whom also has an aura and is a divine icon.

The dress itself has a style of the high or elite class with a pure white handkerchief in hand. For her jewelry, she wears a necklace of large pearls along with long and dangly earrings made of pearls as well. Both the dress and the jewelry are a sign of colonization of the Spanish when the Indians were being turned into gente de rason (Spanish for “people of reason”). The Dreamer has her hair loose and flowing in the air, showing that she is not completely “colonized” into the Old World ways.

Both are obviously different at first glance, but there are the small objects that show artist’s repeat references and themes, usually making signature items in the paintings besides the initials and name in the corner of the painting. As examples with films directors:

Tim Burton has a character that associates black-and-white stripes into his or her clothing and/or items; and
Quentin Tarantino has a character carrying a black briefcase that, up till this day, that no one knows what is inside it.

Valdez does so fairly subtly. In “The Dreamer”, the Dreamer is holding a handkerchief on her left hand, but holds a rose head on her right hand up to her clavicle and partially covering her pearl necklace. The rose does not cover the pearl necklace or anything in particular, which would be a Rene Magritte trait (who is very popularly known to have fruits or flowers covering a person’s faces). In “Patssi’s Kitchen,” there is the trail of blue orbs leading outside. Both the orbs and the rose do not seem to be too significant seeing the paintings individually, but circular objects do show in both paintings, showing importance or significance. Perhaps the rose means to lead to something as the blue orbs lead to outside the house where the kitchen is located, or be a Magritte trait and the rose covers something on the Dreamer‘s body.

Many Chicana artists reference Frida Kahlo as an influence, and the way that the Dreamer is painted is typical style of Kahlo’s. She painted herself almost full body with something on her hand, like the popular “Two Fridas”: one Frida in a traditional Mexican dress holding what looks to be a seashell with her left and the other in a colonized wedding dress holding pliers which functions as a tourniquet to shut off the blood flow that intertwines the hearts of both Fridas. In the Dreamer’s case, she holds a handkerchief to symbolize her colonization, and her rose to keep her cultural roots close to her heart.

A bit expressionless on the face (Mona Lisa-like), but her eyes are closed in concentration and calm state-in-mind, as the Virgin of Guadalupe looking downward to those with affection. This can also associate to her belief of divinity.

Both paintings reference Chicano culture. “The Dreamer” is one in reference to history, portraying how a Mexican woman would be dressed when the Spanish colonization was active, yet giving an interpretation of the woman as a divinity. “Patssi‘s Kitchen” is a reference of the contemporary sort: showing an example of how a household of a Chicano family would look like. If “Patssi‘s Kitchen” did not demonstrate a typical Chicano kitchen, it showed hers in an obstructed way.

The idea of domesticana is absent in both paintings. In Professor Baca’s lecture, she quotes artist Amalia Mesa-Bains on her interpretation of domesticana was the use of objects and recycled materials to compose and create structures of art; Ms. Mesa-Bains herself is most famous for making alters out of staircases and piecing random objects to create a theme.

The overall styles of the paintings are drastically contrasting. Rita Gonzales of Current Trends claims Valdez as a blender of realism and hyperrealism. In terms of “The Dreamer”, I would agree: painting a woman is the realist component (painted as if she were real), and painting the woman as a divinity is the hyperrealist component (turning the “ordinary” woman and make her an icon). “Patssi‘s Kitchen” would be considered surreal, but not very strongly. The placements of the orbs are not normal in terms of floating in the air which would defy modern physics. The proportions that show remind me of Vincent Van Gogh‘s “Chambre fermé Van Gogh”, which portrays a bedroom of the similar asymmetry. This painting can be classified as post-impressionist, as Van Gogh has in his “Chambre fermé”.

Exploration of different ideas and concepts are never bad ideas, but it is a risk that any profession faces. As the decision made for her to stop the politics and to explore her personal life became a new thing for her, it is no different than Pablo Picasso developing his Blue period and Frida Kahlo turned Surrealist. Valdez’s personal identification came through culture. She does consider herself a Chicana, learning about and keeping to her Mexican roots while growing up in Los Angeles helped her to grow not only as an artist, but as a person. Referencing to her past and history and the traditions that she grew up are what makes Patssi Valdez who she is. Times may change and ideas thrive, and embracing that change allows an artist to grow creatively, and attract a new audience of admirers.

Bibliography:

“Patssi Valdez: Los Angeles, California 1951-Present“. Accessed 24 October 2008. http://americanart.si.edu/education/online_activities/del_corazon/artistas_06.php

Baca, Judith. “Amalia Mesa-Bains”. Lecture. 4 November 2008

Gonzalez, Rita. “Patssi Valdez: Off the Wall and Out of the Box”. San Diego Latin Film Festival 2005.

Accessed 1 December 2008. http://www.sdlatinfilml.com/trends20.html

Patssi Valdez Interview. UCLA Class at SPARC. Accessed 30 November 2008

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[citem title=”Natalie Ozdemir: Carmen Lomas Garza and Ester Hernandez” id=”citem_52″ parent=”collapse_34″]Carmen Lomas Garza and Ester Hernandez
Natalie Ozdemir

A Comparative of Ester Hernandez and Carmen Lomas Garza

Defining the Chicana artist is a feat only recently attempted. When trying to define the relatively new phrase, Chicana, no words seem to successfully encompass everything that it represents. Particularly the term Chicana artist, a rare but important breed of artist, has just recently juxtaposed itself in the American vernacular within the past few decades. Although no finite definition can encompass the broad spectrum that is the Chicana artist, the term is sure to represent pride of culture. This may be a common theme in the artwork of many Chicano artists, but the Chicana artist has evolved from its Chicano counterpart as a more conscious artist. Chicana artists range from paiting simple themes of Mexican culture like Carmen Lomas Garza, or can depict political injustices through their art like Ester Hernandez. The fact that these two artists, both Chicana artists, have very different styles is proof to how there is no definition of the Chicana artist. The work of Carmen Lomas Garza and Ester Hernandez have various similarities in depicting celebration and women in a stronger sense, but Carmen Lomas Garza focuses on the simplicity of everyday life of a Chicano family where Ester Hernandez’s pieces tend to contain more intricate themes and depict women in untraditional roles.

Both Carmen Lomas Garza’s “Cascarones” and Ester Hernandez’s piece “La Pelona” present the practice of traditions and celebrations, but Lomas Garza focuses on the theme of family togetherness while Hernandez focuses of the theme of death. Lomas Garza’s piece, painted in 1989 with gouache paint, is a 15 inch by 20 inch flattened painting saturated with deep, bright and shiny colors that centers around the memory of an adolescent Lomas Garza painting cascarones which are egg shells filled with confetti. A young girl, presumably Lomas Garza, sits near the center of the painting in a red dress with a flower in her hair while her mother in white framed glasses sits with a loving look on her face as she watches the children eagerly paint their eggs. Next to her mother is her brother who avidly paints his egg, while Lomas Garza’s other sister sits across from her cutting confetti and another brother sits next to Lomas Garza who has fallen asleep. The family celebrates this tradition around a square table in a dining room with a curtained window and blue walls with pictures of a flower and a church hung up on them. Carmen Lomas Garza’s “Cascarones” shows a family practicing a tradition together and this is the simple visual explanation of how Lomas Garza depicts the practicing of family tradition. This notion of tradition is also present in Hernandez’s “La Pelona” which is a, small six inch three dimensional braided, watermelon hated, swinging skull sculpture with spiraled cheeks, bright red lips, and forehead with a cross tattooed on it, that celebrates the classic Day of the Dead ceremony. Death in the Mexican –American culture is, according a Chicana Art website, “accepted as a continuous presence throughout one’s life,” and this was a tradition that Ester Hernandez was familiar with. Here the obvious practice of tradition and celebration is seen through the fact that this piece is symbolic of the Day of the Dead Ceremony, which in turn is a celebration of death itself.

Despite this similarity, the themes of these works differ greatly. For example Carmen Lomas Garza’s piece focuses on the theme of family and Hernandez’s piece illustrates the theme of death. Not only do these two themes differ, but they way that both artists present these themes are different as well. Lomas Garza’s theme of family togetherness is visually apparent in her piece, while Hernandez’s theme of death and the celebration of it are more apparent when analyzing the context rather than the content of the piece. Before analyzing “Cascarones” it is important to note the regional aspects of Garza’s childhood and the reason why she paints everyday rituals of the Mexican-American culture. As Amalia Mesa Baines states in “El Mundo Feminino”, “The details of Lomas Garza’s narratives signify the collective memories that make up an important regional Chicano experience,” regional referring to the South Texas upbringing of an adolescent Lomas Garza. There is also a more personal meaning to why the theme of family is present and even recurrent in Lomas Garza’s pieces. Since “Cascarones”, like all Lomas Garza’s pieces, is one that she paints from her childhood memory, it is important to note the time period in which Carmen Lomas Garza was a child, roughly around the late 1950s-1960s, in order to understand this theme of family. During this time period Carmen Lomas Garza states in her Children’s book En Mi Familia, “We [her family] were punished for being who we were, and we were made to feel ashamed of our culture. That was very wrong. My art is a way of healing these wounds…” thus acknowledging her artistic need to focus on tradition since the family provided “support and nurturing at a time and place where racism was/is prevalent.” Ester Hernandez’s piece, “La Pelona” may share the notion of celebration with Carmen Lomas aforementioned piece, but in a general outlook Hernandez’s piece is more intricate as the theme of death is not necessarily visually apparent, but is most certainly implied. This theme of death is not seen as the usual morbid and depressing connotations associated with death. Death, in the eyes of many Mexican-American’s is seen as, according to a Chicana art webiste, a “continuous presence, the counter balance that brings vitality to everyday life.” From this prospective as the website mentions, “La Pelona is not seen as a morbid or frightening image, but as a joyous expression of continuous juxtaposition of life and death.” “La Pelona” is a sculpture of a skull that is an obvious symbol of the Day of the Dead ceremony which in turn is obviously associated with death in general, yet La Pelona is a piece where Ester Hernandez communicates to the viewer that death can be a joyous celebration. All in all Ester Hernandez and Carmen Lomas Garza’s pieces both depict similar ideas of celebration, but differ in the overall themes that each piece conveys.

Both Carmen Lomas Garza in her piece “Barriendo de Susto” and Ester Hernandez’s artwork “Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Los Derechos de los Xicano’s” depict a strong female presence, but differ when it comes to how they represent the idea of this strong woman. Carmen Lomas Garza’s piece “Barriendo de Susto” (Healing Woman Chases Away Ghosts) shows a curandera, usually a grandmother who uses mystical techniques from ancient tradition to cure, standing with a broom in her hand performing a ritual on a younger woman who is laying on a square carpet with candles at each of its corners. In this 1986 fourteen by eighteen inch gouache painting the curandera literally uses the broom to sweep away all the evil from the woman on the floor. At the head of this woman is a young teenage girl kneeling holding a rosary above the head of the woman on the floor. In the right hand corner stands an armless man with a hat in his hand carrying a worried look on his face. In the lower left hand corner is an older woman who also kneels with a rosary in her hand and finally a boy sits outside in the upper left hand corner of the room probably. The setting is a small traditionally decorated bedroom with a picture of the Virgen de Guadalupe hung over a drawer and other paintings hung on a cross wall papered wall. The same flat figures are drawn on cotton paper in the Lomas Garza style of bright colors typical of her most her paintings since they are images seen through the eyes of a child. In Lomas Garza’s piece the center character, the curandera, is the main focus of the piece. The curandera is an important figure in Chicana culture because she is the one who holds the wisdom and ability to heal (curandera is the Spanish word for healer). The curandera, as described by Wikipedia, “is often respected members of the community, being highly religious and spiritual. Their primary method of healing is the supernatural because they believe that the cause of many illnesses are lost malevolent spirits, a lesson from God, or a curse.” Lomas Garza focuses on a depiction of this women is in an affirming sense. She focuses the center of this piece on the curandera and its almost as if Lomas Garza is telling the visual narrative where the viewer can understand that there is no separation from the supernatural and reality. And thus as the curandera is a mediator between both worlds, she is the single most important member of the family. It is this importance of the curandera within the context family that Garza uses in “Barriendo de Susto” to reveal the strength of woman. This depiction of a strong female is also visually present in Ester Hernandez’s “Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo los Derechos de Los Xicano’s”. This black and white etching depicts the iconic Virgen de Guadalupe in a new light emerging from her crescent arch in karate clothes adopting a karate-kicking stance with a gaudy starred cloth dangling from her head, while an angry winged cherub ready to attack rests beneath her feet. This pose is that of a fighter and its almost as if the Virgen is popping out of the painting to attack someone. The fact that the Virgen is adopting this stance is empowering because it is showing that this serine woman can also be a strong woman willing to take action and become proactive. The clothes she is wearing, specifically a karate outfit, is typical of someone ready to fight as well. Note the fact that she is wearing pants, the piece of clothing associated with the stereotypical macho man. This is also symbolic of the new role of the Chicana woman as one who can also take on more manly roles. Overall the strong woman ideal is seen through the simple visual features of the woman, symbolic of the Virgen de Guadalupe, in Hernandez’s piece.

In spite of this similarity, Carmen Lomas Garza presents the importance of women in a traditional sense where Ester Hernandez presents women taking on a revolutionary role. Carmen Lomas Garza’s “Barriendo de Susto” is a portrayal of the curandera and it shows importance of the woman in the family. Amalia Mesa-Baines also stresses the importance of the woman in family in “El Mundo Feminino” by stating, “The telling of family tales and the recording of daily events through recuerdos (memories), diaries, letters, and home altars call upon women to remember the details of a personal and familial reality. Since their roles center on relationships, women are entrusted with teaching values through the oral traditions of storytelling, sayings, songs, and family histories.” This resonates with Lomas Garza’s piece because the curandera is the story teller linking generations to one another while simultaneously preserving Mexican culture thus furthering the importance of women in the family. In complete contrast Ester Hernandez reveals the importance of woman in a completely new sense. In her etching “Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Los Derechos de los Xicano’s” Hernandez revolutionizes the classic Virgen de Guadalupe by making her stronger and less passive. Hernandez here reveals the importance of female independence, defining females outside the household. Hernandez’s biographical history comes into play when analyzing the need to support such a radical idea of women being more than housewives. Hernandez and her family of farm workers were poor dwellers of the Californian San Joaquin valley. After seeing a farm workers rally led by Dolores Huerta and Caesar Chavez Hernandez began to view her life in a different sense. In a biography present on the Ester Hernandez website it states that the combination of a “rich cultural and creative background of her childhood and the politically charged world of U.C. Berkeley in the early 70’s helped Ester develop her socio-political artistic identity and her consistent commitment to political activism.” Knowing this and noting the time period in which this piece was made, 1976, during the Feminist Movement in America, it is clear why Hernandez depicts the Virgen in a powerful way. Hernandez does this because the Virgen is an iconic image associated with purity, divinity and moral goodness in which the Chicano community can relate with and by changing the image of the Virgen to one that symbolizes the strength of women she can get this feminist idea to resonate within her own culture. Various symbols visually present in this piece also perpetuate the feminist nature in which Hernandez depicts the Virgen. An allusion to this stronger less passive icon is depicted in the Virgen’s angry facial expression. Usually the Virgen is seen with a look of love on her face, but this image shows an angry Virgen with an even angrier cherub sidekick, cherubs usually being associated with divinity, all symbolizing the new empowered nature of this modern Virgen to literally and symbolically fight back to all the machismo or sexist oppressions. Overall both Carmen Lomas Garza in her work “Barriendo de Susto” and Ester Hernandez in her piece “Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo los Derechos de los Xicano’s” depicts strong and important women, but where Carmen depicts the strength of woman within the family, Hernandez depicts the importance of a woman outside the traditional bounds of the family.
Although the work of Carmen Lomas Garza and Ester Hernandez are similar when it comes to depictions of their artwork, Carmen Lomas Garza’s focuses on simplicity and memory of the mysticism associated with everyday South Texan life where Ester Hernandez style is more concentrated on trying communicate untraditional messages to the viewer. Stylistically the two artists differ greatly. An article in the San Jose Museum of art notes that stylistically “Garza chose to focus her efforts on enhancing a sense of pride in the Mexican-American community by emphasizing the importance of everyday life.” Amalia Mesa-Baines notes “Ester is a master of communication through art and cuts to the quick, to the soul, to the corazon (heart) to the passion that touches us and helps us to understand the experiences of others–making them our own.” In spite all these differences the two artists still are united as one under the term Chicana. Although there is no finite definition of the Chicana artist, it is a term that continues to encapsulate the radically different works of many Mexican American female artists. To create a formal definition of a Chicana artist would be wrong, for it is highly probable and most certainly impossible not to exclude a certain type of artist or a type of artwork. To define a Chicana artist would only put boundaries of exclusivity on who or what the Chicana artist is. With ongoing generations the Chicana artist spectrum is destined to grow in size as these persistent and determined women continue to illustrate their identity as the culture in between through their art.

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[citem title=”Taylor Lockett: Amalia Mesa-Bains’ Domesticana” id=”citem_53″ parent=”collapse_34″]Amalia Mesa-Bains’ Domesticana
Prof. Judy Baca
Chicano/a M175
4 December 2008

Amalia Mesa-Bains’s Domesticana: A Material Transformation of a Social Space through Chicana Rasquachismo

Amalia Mesa-Bains has dedicated her artistic practice to creating works of art that examinethe social, cultural, and sexual realities of Chicana women. In their form andcontent, these pieces point toward a particular worldview characterized by deeply rooted cultural, familial, and spiritual practices. In her article, “Domesticana: The Sensibility of Chicana Rasquache,” Mesa-Bains adopts the term “domesticana” to describe the aesthetic developed from her pieces. Domesticana, a form of feminine rasquachismo, “creates a mimetic world view that retells the feminine past from a new position” (4) through the use of devices such asparadox, irony, and subversion. These techniques are “signs of the conflictual and contradictory nature of the domestic and familial world within the work ofthe Chicana artists” (5). One of the hallmarks of the Chicana rasquachismo sensibility is the great awareness of a shared attitude and support within the barrio community, setting it apart from artistic genres such as kitsch—whose creators rehabilitate a material expression while “[standing] outside the livedreality of its genesis” (2). Two altar installations by Amalia Mesa-Bains represent the interconnectedness of the Chicana community through domesticana: her ofrendas to Dolores del Rio and Frida Kahlo. Domesticana is a redemptive sensibility linked to a shared bicultural movement within in the Chicano community. It acknowledges that meanings and symbols are deeply embedded inpopular culture and practices and seeks to redefine history and perception bylocating family history and cultural belief systems and giving agencyand voice to a community that has long been denied an institutional history.

In her home altar installation entitled, “An Ofrenda for Dolores del Rio,” Mesa-Bains paystribute to a movie star and cultural icon whose fame covered nearly fifty years. The eight-foot tall altar features a photograph of del Rio and is littered with memorabilia associated with both glamour and feminine beauty. In her essay “El Mundo Femenino: Chicana Artists of the Movement—A Commentary on Development and Production,” Mesa-Bains writes that the founders of the Chicana movement hadtwo intentions: to resist the majority and oppose the intercultural rolesthrough which males dominated many facets of family, economic, community, andartistic life. She argues, “Chicana artists focused on their cultural identityusing the female lenses of narrative, domestic space, social critique, and ceremony, which filtered these nutrient experiences, contradictory roles, andcommunity structures” (131). Using these points of gender expressiveness, Iwill argue that in “An Ofrenda for Dolores del Rio,” Mesa-Bains provides avisual and concrete case for the glorification of a secular icon of feminine glamour by circumscribing a social space into a material memorial that also serves as a revision of history and remembrance of the future. The evidence carefully selected and provided by Mesa-Bains in the installation falls intothe categories of expression employed by Chicana artists as outlined in “ElMundo Femenino” and is used to say that Dolores del Rio is much more than justa movie star; she is a woman pioneer who broke through many barriers while maintaining her Chicana identity and feminine sensibilities.

“An Ofrenda for Frida Kahlo” is an installation dedicated to the famed Mexican artist to honorher own success and position as a Chicana artist and woman. In creating this particular shrine, Mesa-Bains is identifying with her heritage, independent women, and those whose bravado shatters social barriers. This altar consists ofa little stone room, placed in a landscape of dead leaves, filled with souvenirs of Mexican pop art such as pottery figures and folk toys. In “Domesticana,” Mesa-Bains asserts: “Characterized by accumulation, display, and abundance, the altars allow a commingling of history, faith and the personal” (3), suggestingthat the design of the altars is not arbitrary or haphazard, but intentionaland promoting the seriousness and legitimacy of the Chicano popular culture. Inher own art, Frida Kahlo emphasized the female perspective while uniting styles prevalent in indigenous Mexican cultures and influential European artistic movements. This is often the space many Chicana women and artists find themselves in: how does one create something meaningful and important when it does not fall into the category of ancient cultural tradition or modern European or American taste? Frido Kahlo found success in her fearlessness to blend the two worlds in her paintings. Amalia Mesa-Bains stresses the necessity for “terminologies to remain porous, sensibilities never completely named, and categories shattered” (7); a redefinition of art, beauty, gender, vocabulary, identity, and so on.

The narrative intention of the artist is essential because it is through language that women establish a significant place in the patriarchal society in which they live. While this point relates largely to the intercultural resistance of the Chicana movement, artists like Mesa-Bains use narrative to promote adialogue reflecting emancipation and centrality within a larger society. The del Rio altar features some of her personal letters to friends like Frida Kahlo. Written recordings of daily life “call upon women to remember the details of personal and familial reality” (“El Mundo” 132). By use of dialogue likeletter writing, the Chicana reaffirms her power and control over sources ofcultural narration and familial history. The narration technique employed by Mesa-Bains is especially fascinating because Dolores del Rio herself is anartist, like Mesa-Bains and Kahlo, whose main objective is to partake in anarrative through acting: reciting lines and engaging indialogue with other players for an audience seeking a captivating and satisfying story. In both her real life and career, del Rio and Kahlo symbolize the Chicana narrator who is responsible for shaping a personal, familial, and cultural identity by communicating with those around her. Whether through acting or painting, the artist is responsible for depicting a specific world-view and communicating effectively with her audience—members of her own community or those outside of it.

Mesa-Bains’ mixed-media altars are connected to the delineation of a given space in orderto understand how it functions. The home altar is a domestic space, a dedicated sacred area within a room, within a home. To classify the installation altar asa “sacred space” is perhaps inaccurate, as it is a constructed piece of art,and in its creation Mesa-Bains allows its boundaries to break down. The viewerknows not whether s/he is a part or outside of the piece. Mesa-Bains uses thespace to evoke a reflective state and to encourage the viewer to make adecision on how s/he will engage with the installation. The home altar presentsfamily histories and cultural belief systems and represents a true union ofnarrative and space. Mesa-Bains notes that the constant formal elements of thealtars “include images of saints, flowers (plastic, dried, natural, andsynthetic), family photographs, mementos, historic objects (military medals andflags), candles, and offerings” (132). These decorations build the domesticanaaesthetic—personal, familial, cultural—and allow history, faith, and personalobjects to be linked.

The palate of “AnOferenda for Dolores del Rio” is a deeply feminine pink. The drapery isthree-tiered, directing the eye to her photograph and panning out toward thebottom and sides, one can see movie stills, family pictures, a Mexican flag,lipstick, lace fans, glitter and flowers, and La Virgin de Guadalupe. In thisspace, Mesa-Bains plays with techniques of subversion by demanding the viewerconsider del Rio’s entire identity, as opposed to an arrangement that

separates each object so that itsconnotations remain intact. A few examples: one might see the Mexican flag andenvision a Chicano solider, a glossy film photograph and assume it is of amovie star befitting of the accepted Anglo standard of beauty, or glitter andlipstick and see that it is the altar of a woman in tune solely with physicalappearance. Mesa-Bains’s reconfiguring of a space marked by domestic bordersproduces a material transformation that invites the viewer into participation:it is a movement from private to public space. She creates a clear aestheticthat glorifies Dolores del Rio’s entire being; she is not only a glamorousindividual, but a Mexican woman who earned fame in Hollywood by defying anarrow standard of beauty. Mesa-Bains suggests that her beauty is universal,but also particularly Mexican.

It is a well-knownfact that Frida Kahlo’s beauty is unconventional: she is often associated withher thick uni-brow and thin mustache. The picture Mesa-Bains chose of Kahlo forher altar glorifies her feminine strength and does not shy away from her unique beauty; it is a full frontal portrait with a dark background to emphasize Kahlo’s skin and facial features. Kahlo’s self-portraits frequently contained symbols of her own pain and sexuality. Mesa-Bains’ choosing of this picture of Frida Kahlo reflects upon the common stresses and self-esteem struggles that are attached to growing up female. Beauty, as it relates to the Frida Kahlo alter, is varied: a young Chicana does not need to possess the striking face ofDolores del Rio to become an influential member of the Chicana community andthe world at large.

Chicanoart is characterized by a social defiance that is adopted in variation by Chicanas. Mesa-Bains declares, “Through the use of inversion, satire,reversals, and juxtapositions Chicanas express a kind of resistant feminine commentary” (132). The methods of social critique in “An Ofrenda for Frida Kahlo” involve Mesa-Bains’ inclusion of an array of popular items and toys within Mexican culture. The toys and pottery figures may perhaps be construed as kitschy through an American perspective. Mesa-Bains is aware that this perception is as deeply engrained in American culture as the importance and endurance of these items are sewn into the fabric of Mexican culture. A talented and popular visionary, Frida Kahlo herself is rumored to have greatly adored the products of Mexican popular art. Mesa-Bains capitalizes on this by questioning and subsequently subverting the meaning of these pop items. She notes the importance of this technique in “Domesticana,” writing, “In rasquachismo, the irreverent and spontaneous are employed to make the most from the least. In rasquachismo, one has a stance that is both defiantand inventive” (1). Ergo, Mesa-Bains utilizes the rhetoric and symbols of theinferior (rasquachismo) and brandishes it for a positive creative experience.She states that distinctions are to be made between “mass-produced objects and intimate expressions of sincere decoration in the domestic space” (1). As demonstrated in the Frida Kahlo altar inthe use of “kitsch” items, Mesa-Bains represents the domesticana sensibility by inverting the meaning of the items.

In her inclusion of feminine products such as lipstick, flowers, and luxurious fabrics in the del Rio altar, Mesa-Bains perhaps hints at Hollywood’s obsession with material objects and “done-up” beauty. She counteracts this point in her use of La Virgin de Guadalupe: a symbol of purity, humility, and natural feminine beauty. It is important to Chicana artists to express a political consciousness; through awareness the artist uses her art to assert her control and role in delivering a new relationship with the majority by a movement from inequality to emancipation and understanding. Intraculturally, Chicana artists take common female reflections of daily life and manipulate them in order to question the limits of the feminine. Thus, the artists do not reflect ideology, but create it. Mesa-Bains explains, “Their social critique provokes the viewer to see the benign and often domesticated versions of the feminine in new ways” (132). In Mesa-Bains’ own piece, Dolores del Riois a feminine woman concerned with looking her very best. However, she is also a legendary actress of color accustomed to the pressures of fame, business savvy, and a talented member of the arts community. She is multi-dimensional and has expanded such “domesticated versions of the feminine” (132) in being so. Mesa-Bains’s subject defies both societal and intracultural norms.

The final elementof this focusing of the Chicana cultural identity is the ceremonial. “Spirituality, religiosity, spectacle, and pageantry are a prevailing aesthetic dimension ofthe work of many Chicana artists,” writes Mesa-Bains. The ceremonial aspect of the Chicana aesthetic emphasizes belief, healing, and celebration as “elementsin the ongoing lexicon of women’s work” (133). The significance of a continualvocabulary is particularly relevant to

Mesa-Bains’s work with altar installation. Just as her spirituality and world view has shifted, her altars have taken on different meanings. In a 1991 interview she stated, “I have [personally] changed by seeing how blind faith encounters a very complex intellectual reality. Working one’s way through both is not always easy. The present works reflect the struggles I have gone through to maintain both a state of reflection or sincere belief and the capacity to understand the circumstances within which I am working” (Gonzalez 2). As faith is a journey, so too is art. The ceremonial elements used by Chicana artists serve to enhance and expand their paintings and mixed-media work. The “oferenda” and home altar always incorporates saintly figures, crosses, the Virgin Mary, and so on. The involvement of religious and spiritual iconography in these pieces asks the viewer to consider the broader, more universal, implications and meanings ofthe work as a whole. For example, does a woman like Dolores del Rio, who seemingly has the world at her finger tips, ever rely on prayers to La Virgende Guadalupe?

The varying degree of religiosity in Amalia Mesa-Bains’ work reflects the clear divide between the feminine spiritual and patriarchal Church at play in Chicana art. The altar for Frida Kahlo lacks the strong religious iconography displayed in the del Rio installation. While some of Mesa-Bains’ altar installations more clearly resemble a religious alter, others like the Frida Kahlo piece exhibit a more spiritual and nature-based concept. The small stones and dried leaves used inthe Kahlo altar differ from the ornate brightly colored flower designs of otherworks. The effect is two-fold. Firstly, it connotes a realistic representation of nature: dried leaves suggest the turning of seasons, and perhaps death; stones are a more natural building material than concrete, plaster, stucco, etc. Secondly, it harkens back to the traditional spiritual traditions of the indigenous Mexican cultures: worship, adoration, and remembrance do not occur within in the confines of a church building but in the middle of a forest or desert. The ceremonial is an important component of Chicana art that adds meaning and dimension to the artists’ goals. By carefully depicting a range of religiosity and spirituality within her body of work, Mesa-Bains does not hold one to be more important than the other: the two collaborate and enrich one another.

In her pieces “An Ofrenda for Dolores del Rio” and “An Ofrenda for Frida Kahlo,” Amalia Mesa-Bains projects “female lenses” through the inclusion of the elements of narrative, domestic space, social critique, and the ceremonial. Indoing so, she engages in an emancipation dialogue with society at large as a person of color and also provokes discourse related to the intra-cultural repression of the woman as a freethinker, an artist, an activist, and spiritual individual. The altars to Kahlo and del Rio are a celebration of the whole woman; they glorify a Mexican actress and an artist whose place and influence in the world broke racial barriers and redefined the standard of beauty. The purpose of domesticana is to establish a history, reflect a particular aesthetic, and construct a new spatial identification for the future. The importance of camaraderie is not to be forgotten in the realm of Chicana art. The genre and the women who work within it are family-oriented and have created a community amongst themselves to begin and perpetuate the dialogue that is so central to re-imagining gender and social roles. Many Mexican artists, like Frida Kahlo, have noted that they have grown up surrounded by women: mother, grandmother, sisters, aunts. Their families of women grow even larger as they age and develop friendships withinthe Chicana art community, allowing them the experience and support necessaryfor artistic expression. Dolores del Rio and Frida Kahlo are, even after death, reunited on earth through the memory and artistic vision of Amalia Mesa-Bains, who pays homage to their friendship in her inclusion of a letter between the two in the del Rio altar. The ability of Chicana art to trespass the boundaries of time, space, and culture is truly unique. There is a sense of balance in the Chicana art world in the marriage between historical, spiritual, and personal objects. Mesa-Bains remembers the history of Dolores del Rio and Kahlo, and reminds the viewer of the possibilities for the future.

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[citem title=”Carola Alexander: Contrasting photography on migrant invisibilities” id=”citem_54″ parent=”collapse_34″]Contrasting photography on migrant invisibilities
Carola Alexander

Photographer Alan Pogue’s contribution to the exhibitconsists of seven photographs that depict in intimate detail the life andexistence of migrant workers today. Although each is intrinsically differentfrom the other, in both composition and subject, the message the artists wishesto express remains intact. Pogue’s journalistic style presents the viewer witha seemingly neutral image that captures a brief moment in a person’s life.However, this brevity that each photograph embodies is precisely what gives hispieces their poignancy. In the exhibit,Pogue places contrasting images next to each other. The viewer is thus able to view differentangles of border life. Within each image, the artist captures the essence oflife in the borders as an invisible identity. Anzaldua describes this existence: “Faceless, nameless, invisible,taunted with ‘Hey cucaracho’ (cockroach). Trembling with fear yet filled withcourage, a courage born of desperation. Barefoot and uneducated, Mexicans withhands like boot soles gather at night by the river where two worlds mergecreating what Reagan calls a frontline, a war zone. The convergence has createda shock culture, a border culture, a third country, a closed country” (Borderlands/La Frontera, 11). Life inthe physical borderland is converging place for Chicano identity; a paradoxicalspace of invisibility and creation. Their presence, though seemingly insignificantdue to their poverty and lack of education becomes a source of fear and scandalfor the hegemonic social order.

Alan Pogue’s photographs areshot in black and white film. Each onefocuses on intimate facets of border life. From, their daily toil, to theirsurrounding landscapes, the land in the frontier is silent and anonymous. Thefirst two photographs are portraits of border workers. The first portrait:“Onion Picker- San Juan” shows a man kneeling on the ground, his hands tangledin a mess of roots, as he lifts his price off the ground. His surroundings are a vast land of upturnedearth, a distant and unreachable house, and a vast uninviting sky. Pogue does not try to romanticize thescene. The Onion picker’s life has norespite from the stark setting. Thesecond photograph, “Bracero – Antonie Gonzalez with 1965 Identification Card”is a frontal headshot of a man displaying his old Bracero identity card. Uponcloser examination, the viewer notices the outstanding difference between thecard holder, and the man in the identification. While a forty year difference certainly will bring about many changes.The man is nearly unrecognizable. He seems to have been shaped by the land hehas worked. His body-build, much heavier than before, shows traces of a life inthe field. He looks directly into the camera, without any display of emotion;just the calm complacency of a man who has accepted his fate. In juxtapositionto each other, the audience sees two faces of the worker: Almost as abefore-and-after effect, the first photograph focuses on the labor of themigrant. The solitude and daily hardships he must endure in the land. Thesecond is the result of a lifetime in the border. How the border not onlyshapes an identity, but a body as well.

Similarly,the photographs “Payday” and “Three-Wheel” create arresting contrasts. In“Payday” a line of workers receive their pay for the work they have been doing.The men stand in line, creating a repetitional line with their hats. On theother side, two bosses hands out checks. The bodies of the workers are relaxed,and though there are no smiles, there is little tension in the scene. One manholds a shabby looking bicycle as he waits to receive his paycheck. The bicyclemay be his only means of transportation: primitive and humble, but efficientenough for him to get around. Theworkers are on the photograph’s foreground, allowing the viewer to see andidentify the different men standing there. In the background the trees formleafy silhouettes that fill up the space behind them. In “Three-Wheel” a lineof immigrants stand in the background as they are approached by two police menin three-wheeled motorbikes. The men stay closer together, in seemingly incasual poses. But the relation between the police and the men is visiblestrained. The policemen stand in the foreground, their vehicles taking up alarge amount of space. Their machines overwhelm the scene; create a cleardistinction between the brown men, and the white cops. In addition, the vast sky behind them createsthe impression that the men’s solitude and isolation leaves them veryvulnerable. These contrasting images depict two opposite spectrums of migrantreality. The meager pay that the workers receive brings at the very least somerelief to their families, while the danger of being caught and deported byborder patrol is an ever-present threat.

One of his most strikingphotographs is the last piece in the series titled “Cañon Zapata”. Thephotograph presents a dark landscape, barely discernable except for an almostfull moon. Most of the photography iscompletely black, the night penetrating almost every corner of the piece. The bottom left corner is slightlyilluminated allowing the viewer to perceive a soft outline of a hill where asmall group of men cluster together in seeming awe of the grandeur of thesky. The figures standing on the hillare small in comparison to the rest of the photograph. They do not seem to bethe main focus of the artist. The misty aura that surrounds the hill draws theeye to notice them. The sharp whitenessof the moon on the opposite side creates both a balance to the piece and acontrast between man and nature as they stand at opposite ends. The piece appears to call attention to thehumble humanity of the figures by juxtaposing their presence with theoverwhelming darkness of the Canyon. Despite its simple beauty, the photographalso has an ominous quality. The night,the weak light that discerns the small hill, seems to be engulfed insilence. The presence of those figuresis clearly temporary, and insignificant. Life in the borders is a life ofnear-invisibility. The echoes of human presence soon lost in the infinitesilence.

Within Alan Pogue’s art, thesubaltern’s presence is felt in its human frailty. Often, as we walk pastpeople, we don’t really see them. We aresimply aware of a presence rather than a being. Pogue’s photographs force hisaudience to take a moment to acknowledge these lives of these invisibledwellers. Moreover, the beauty of hisphotos does not shock the viewer into distress like so many photographs thatadvocate for people who suffer under hegemony often do. Rather, lens capturesbrief, moments in beautiful compositions that stir our hearts through itsaesthetics.

Dulce Pinzon’s photographs focus on individual peopleliving in the peripheries of society’s awareness. In composition, subject andmessage each piece presents a complex and at times, paradoxical declaration ofhomage and criticism. The prints are all in color. The flashy, multicoloredcostumes the workers wear, immediately draws focus to them. The backgroundenvironment is almost muted by the shock of color. At first the viewer findsthe contrast between the work space and the character, clashing, absurd, andcomical. Moreover, the pieces are structured with a slight sense oftheatricality. The poses and actions of hercharacters appear staged. They are tableaus representing the routine of theday. However, the artist has taken careful consideration of the environment: Inthe piece, “The Green Lantern”, the character’s costume is composed of green,purple, black and silver cloths. Within the space she has created, thesurroundings echo the color scheme, thus creating an environment that appearsin harmony with her subject. In “Cat Woman”, Pinzon seems to capture a momentin which her heroine balances one child on her arms, while another one raisesher arms in an expression of want. The balance created by the woman standingbetween the two children presents a thought out arrangement, conscious ofsymmetry and space distribution. Despite the presentation’s aestheticawareness, the subjects appear natural and at ease in their surroundings. Theposes they take are not out of the ordinary for the jobs. The artist creates aspace that at once alienates and connects with its audience. The viewer isestranged by its contrasts, yet the characters portrayed within the photographsare American pop icons easily identified. By giving her subject American Superhero costumes, Pinzon works with itssymbolism in multiple levels: First, the artist creates a fantastical scene inwhich she highlights, acknowledges and honors the silent lives her subjectslead. The tombstone that accompanieseach piece states the worker’s name, their place of birth in Mexico, the numberof years living and working in the United States, and the amount of money theysend to Mexico each week. Through her text, the audience gains a small yetmeaningful insight into the struggle and sacrifice of her subjects. Moreover,the text and the photographs depict a vast, cold solitude. The few photographsin which her superheroes interact with other people, they are for the most partin positions of servitude; one of the most difficult, sacrifices Pinzon’sworkers must make is to sacrifice all dignity, deny their identity, andultimately relinquish their humanity. The costume the mask the workers wear isnot merely a part of a costume, but a timeless allegory of dual identity. Hercharacters in their bright, colorful, shiny spandex are indeed funny. But theweight of their invisibility, the resignation towards ridicule, exploitation,indignation, and a voiceless existence is also felt through the lack of dignityof the clothes. Second, Pinzon’s use of Americana rather than Mexican folklore createsa link between American society and their existence. In her introduction to the series the artiststates: “The Mexican economy has quietly become dependent on the money sentfrom workers in the US. Conversely, the US economy has quietly become dependenton the labor of Mexican immigrants. Along with the depth of their sacrifice, itis the quietness of this dependence which makes Mexican immigrant workers asubject of interest.” (TheReal Story of Superheroes, Dulce Pinzon, http://www.dulcepinzon.com/en_projects_superhero.htm#). The economic dependence of both Mexico andthe United States upon the cheap, labor provided by Pinzon’s workers isaddressed in the contrast between the ethnicity and socioeconomic standing ofher subjects, and their Americana in which they disguise themselves. Thisbottom denominator social group, this subaltern entity, has always existed insome form or another as part of the country’s economic base. Thus, the workerscannot simply be considered Mexican heroes, but rather American Heroes aswell. Third, Pinzon asserts theirstruggle, and their voiceless living as a critique on the society that refusesto see these people as anything else but parasites, and moreover, she callstheir existence “American”, allowing them for once to acknowledge.

Pinzonstates: “Theprincipal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave anddetermined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of anysupernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to helptheir families and communities survive and prosper” (The Real Story ofSuperheroes, Dulce Pinzon). By dressingher subjects in these fantastical costumes, the photographer creates a directlink between the ideal of an American hero, and the reality of whom amongst ustruly leads a heroic lifestyle. Each piece raises the viewer’s consciousness ofthe dire lifestyle conditions, the back-breaking job, and the unspokenknowledge of the thin income these people must earn. Her work embodies the truecharacteristics of a hero: audacity inthe face of oppression, courage in the face of invisibility, and humor in theface of despair.

Ina way, both artists make the invisible visible. Most often society makes itselfblind to the subaltern presence. Dishesare washed by themselves, garbage magically disappears at night, and freshproduce simply appears in our markets. Their existence is felt in their veryinvisibility within the context of citizen’s lives. While the United States holds to an extent asymbiotic relationship with migrant workers, society often depicts them ascriminals. Without any rights to exist, without any voice for which to claimany right these men and women are not simply under a hegemonic state, but areso far pushed under the weight of racism and prejudice, that their verypresence is not acknowledge. In this state of invisibility, people dwell, havechildren, laugh, mourn, and die without ever raising any awareness of theirexistence. Alan Pogue and Dulce Pinzonboth create a space of visibility for those who are least seen in theirphotographs. Pogue allows representation through the affirmation of theirexistence. His journalistic style of non-invasive presence captures hissubjects in intimate settings, and he is able to depict a very honest andpoignant side of his subjects. He eloquently describes their hard work, thedaily fear of being deported, the constant threat of violence, and the solitudethat they live, in a barren land amongst strangers. Pinzon’s eloquence is not so subtle; herrepresentation of the voiceless subaltern presents itself as comic realism inwhich she mixes the world of superheroes in the daily lives of immigrants tocreate an articulate rhetoric that disperses the usual stereotypes that areplaced on immigrants and Chicanos. For both artists it becomes paramount tomake the subaltern visible to a society that remains mostly blind to theirplight and their struggles. The heart,humor, and grace in which both photographers achieve that speaks of a deepunderstanding that usually comes from a keen awareness of a tragicreality. Their photographs are at onceresilient, tenuous, courageous and delicate.

The Fowler Museum’s exhibitCaras vemos, corazones no sabemos, unitesthe voices of a broad spectrum of artists coming together in an attempt torepresent, and voice the struggle of illegal immigrants. One of the most strikingcharacteristics of the exhibit is the cohesive voice that runs through itsdifferent sections, and the consciousness of the humanity of the artists’subjects. The exhibit is divided intosix distinct sections, each representing a common thesis. Each individual section explores with theviewer a distinct part of border identity. The audience starts with “The Journey” into a foreign land, and travelsalong “Barriers”, both natural and social, learns about “Human Geographies” andhow immigrants deal with “Negotiating Identities”, and finally conceptualizesthe idea of “Constructing the Imaginary” out of whatever cultural reality isleft at the end of their voyage. In her essay, “Can the SubalternSpeak”, Gayatri Spivak identifies the subaltern as subjects who are not able torepresent themselves, and cannot make their interest or needs valid within thehegemony of their society. Her text opposes the idea that Subaltern studiesattempt to provide the subaltern with a voice. Spivak’s argument denounces thenotion that the subaltern is a kind of collective individual, conscious ofhimself or herself, and able to distinguish between the subaltern and therepresentation of the subaltern by the hegemonic, imperialist discourse. Withinthe social realm, the immigrants that cross the border are nearly invisible.Aside from the faint traces of their presence one might see in quotidian life:a clean bathroom at a restaurant, or the grapes bought at the supermarket,illegal immigrants are mostly not regarded as a human entity. In Borderlands/La Frontera by GloriaAnzaldua, the chapter entitled“Aztlan, the Homeland/ El Otro Mexico”, the author identifies the subalternsand their environment in contemporary North American society: “A borderland is a vague and undeterminedplace created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. . . Los atravesados live here: the squint-eyed,perverse, the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel, the mulato, the half-breed,half-dead; in short, those who cross over, pass over, or go through theconfines of the ‘normal’” (Borderlands/LaFrontera, pg3). Within these parameters, we can identify the immigrants whocross the border, and work through the invisibility of anonymity as thesubalterns of American society. WhileSpivak’s assertion may be right to a degree, we find the representation of thesesubalterns through the linguistics of art. Art allows for the subaltern to be broughtinto the public sphere. The awareness of his presence is paramount in theexhibit. Two photographers focus on the presence of the migrant worker as asubaltern through different lenses: Inthe exhibit’s section titled “The Journey”, photographer Alan Pogue presents aseries of photographs that recounts the lives of migrant workers. The series focus on capturing the humanity ofthe onion pickers, bracerors, and the women who live with them in the bordersof society. In his photographs, Poguedepicts the hard reality of surviving and routine life and mixes it with aheartbreaking humanity, and humility of the subjects he photographs. Incontrast, Dulce Pinzon eloquently and humorously brings to light the dailystruggle of the illegal immigrant as an invisible presence in all aspects ofAmerican society. Her installation: “The Real Story of the Super Heroes”,presents a series of photographs portraying the daily lives of immigrantsworking. However, Pinzon incorporates both humor and the undercurrent ofAmerican pop culture by dressing her subjects as comic book superheroes. From Cat Woman, to the Flash, Pinzon’scharacters voice the sacrifice, and the efforts that these individuals face inorder for them and the families they left behind to survive. Both artists look at the lives of workers wholive through two very real and very different forms of adversity as borderlandpeople. Moreover, they in theirrespective forms, each artist make the audience aware that their subjects arepresent in the absence of their felt presence in our daily lives.

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[citem title=”Meena Menon: Yolanda Lopez & Esther Hernandez” id=”citem_55″ parent=”collapse_34″]Yolanda Lopez & Esther Hernandez
Professor Baca
Chicana Art 175
December 4, 2008

Our True Savior: Reinventing the Virgin of Guadalupe

The Virgin of Guadalupe, in its traditional form, emanates the image of the ideal woman—the ideal woman from the perspective of men—men who have shaped the world and its culture throughout history. Understanding the iconic place the Virgin of Guadalupe maintains in Chicano culture makes more sense given this context. She exudes the passive and modest role that men find so pleasing and non-threatening. Currently, the image of the virgin “incites feelings of ambivalence” and even anger among some women (Gaspar de Alba). They feel that Virgin of Guadalupe represents the idea that men still relegate women to the role of simple pawns in a universe dominated by them (Gaspar de Alba). Yolanda Lopez and Ester Hernandez defy this representation by updating the Virgin to fit a role appropriate for modern women to idealize.

Just looking at Yolanda Lopez’s Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe inspires a feeling of liberated euphoria in the viewer. A woman seemingly bursts out of the sky. As she runs, her powerful legs trample a red, white and blue angel in the wake of her running shoes upon the clouds beneath her feet. She wears an orange dress, cinched at the waist, revealing her strong, almost masculine figure. The force of her running provocatively lifts her dress up in the front to expose massive thigh muscles. In one hand, she clutches a navy blue and gold cloak, thrown over her shoulder and billowing behind her. Her other hand grips the neck of a grey snake, mouth open, fangs revealed. A warm glow emanates from the skin of her face and arms while rays of light reach out behind her. With a wide, teeth-baring smile, she radiates ecstatically, looking straight out of the painting and into the face of whoever dares gaze at her. Framing her face, tousles of hair fly in all directions. This woman exudes power, “[redefining] the feminine in a feminist context” (Mesa-Bains 137).

Ester Hernandez’s La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo los Derechos de los Xicanos inspires a similar awe. In black and white, Hernandez presents the Virgin, dressed in a traditional karate uniform, in mid karate kick: one leg planted firmly on the ground, and the other thrust up into the air, forming a right angle against the other. With her arms open wide, her hands form two strong fists. Her face reveals a look of stern concentration. Slipping off of her head, she seems about to completely shed her robe. The leg she stands on rests on the crescent moon which is supported by an angry-looking man. Whereas the man appears imbued with darkness, light radiates out from the Virgin. Chicanas, during the Chicano Movement, fighting gender bias as well as racial discrimination often found themselves relegated to the status of traitor. This image rejects that notion presenting a woman who can be “strong for herself and her raza” (Gaspar de Alba). The image, though simple, calls into question the legitimacy of the traditional Virgin of Guadalupe by offering a version of the Virgin that is completely empowered.

Yolanda Lopez’s Virgin renovates the idea of the traditional Virgin of Guadalupe in terms of its dynamism. When looking at paintings of the traditional Virgin of Guadalupe, one cannot avoid noticing the striking passivity of the image. Yolanda

Lopez’s Virgin renounces all things passive, seemingly jumping off of the paper into reality. The traditional Virgin’s face retains an inert and submissive quality to it; Lopez imbues the face of her Virgin with audacity in comparison. She beams ecstatically. Anything but passive, this woman represents action. While the traditional image casts her eyes downward and away from contact, the gaze upon Lopez’s Virgin doesn’t just look out at the viewer, but catches his or her eye, initiating contact, even daring the viewer to look away. The face of Lopez’s Virgin challenges the viewer, while the conventional Virgin shies away from the viewer.

Hernandez’s Virgin, also, looks anything but passive. She, too, seems about to jump off of the page. While Lopez’s Virgin’s face boldly stares out at the viewer, Hernandez’s Virgin appears concentrated upon the object of her attack. She is able to “provoke and defy,” with her eyes narrowed in deliberation, focusing directly on the aim of her kick (Mesa-Bains 136). She doesn’t look down or away, but directly at her victim. While Lopez’s Virgin challenges the viewer, Hernandez’s Virgin challenges some unseen force (presumably male dominance). In both cases they challenge the notion of woman as passive object.

Also, the hands on customary paintings of the Virgin appear bound in prayer. As opposed to this, Lopez’s version captures the hands in action. She has removed the cloak that otherwise drapes the Virgin, and one hand clutches it, thrown over her shoulder. The other hand clasps a snake just behind its head, fangs displayed in anger, but powerless in the grip of the Virgin’s hand. If one interprets the snake as a phallic symbol, the Virgin reclaims the power that men have generally wielded, and she squeezes its neck; she holds the power to allow it to live or die. So she turns the tables on the role of the Virgin but also on the role of women in general in relation to men.

Also in opposition to the traditional image of the Virgin, Hernandez’s Virgin’s arms are flung open, with her hands clenched tightly in fists. Rather than praying with her hands in hopes for some other force to wield power, she uses her own hands to wield power. Just forming fists indicates an aggressive act. However, this woman’s fists remain ready for action. In opposition to a vision of the Virgin in prayer to a higher power, this Virgin assumes the role of higher power.

Another indication of the power that resides in Lopez’s image reveals itself in the way that in opposition to the way that the original images of the Virgin portray her being held up by an angel, Lopez’s image doesn’t just stand on her own two feet, but pounds the ground with them as she crushes the angels beneath her. By making her a runner, she embraces “’women’s psychological, and physical sustaining power of endurance’” (Breaking Chicana Stereotypes). The way the traditional version has conventionally been portrayed “[deprives] her of any possibility of action or creative initiative” (Breaking Chicana Stereotypes). Lopez’s Virgin directs the action of the painting.

In Hernandez’s image, the Virgin stands upon the crescent moon which an irate-looking man holds upon his shoulders. Unlike Lopez’s image which crushes the angel beneath her feet, Hernandez reveals man’s role as support for women. He bears a substantial weight, while the woman defends. This reverses the traditional role where women carry the weight of maintaining the household and supporting men while they go out and defend.

Even the posture of the running Virgin in Lopez’s painting confronts the passivity of her predecessor. The traditional Virgin’s body appears slightly bent over, piously drawn inward and directed down. Lopez’s figure projects strength and confidence in resistance to the self-conscious image that she updates. “While retaining the transfigurable liberation of the icon” Lopez physically liberates the Virgin (Mesa-Bains 137). As opposed to the common idea that women must contend with the reality of being “prey to a sense of helplessness,” she holds her shoulders back, rather than being drawn in, projecting her chest outward and up (Anzaldua 12). This image relays the force with which this woman acts.

A symbol of force and action, Hernandez’s Virgin’s shoulders stretch back to allow her arms to thrust forth. Rather than being drawn in, she projects outward in all directions. Her arms push out, her leg flies up, “kicking at the invisible oppressor, be that Uncle Sam or the self-indulgent and overbearing Diego Riveras of the Chicano Art Movement” (Gaspar de Alba). Her body is wide open, “physically [challenging] oppression, thereby rejecting a demure posture or a humble position” (Huacuja 4). While the traditional Virgin of Guadalupe, through her posture, communicates herself as an object to be acted upon, Hernandez’s Virgin “[alters] the passive femininity of the traditional image,” communicating action, discipline and control (Gaspar de Alba).

Another concept that Lopez defies lies in the modesty of the ideal woman as portrayed in traditional paintings of the Virgin of Guadalupe. She rebels against the “closed, structured roles for women” that previously existed (Baca October 9, 2008). This confrontation corresponds to Lopez’s view that the Chicano Art Movement wrongly discouraged women from participating for lacking strength and intelligence; however they also claimed that women should not “be on public display and withstand the comments of passersby” (Gaspar de Alba). For example, the Virgin always appears draped in a blue cloak and robe that blanket her, revealing only her face and her hands. The cloak even hides her hair, only slightly allowing the very hairline to peak out. In The Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe, the runner has uncloaked herself and tossed it over her shoulder, as if it signifies a memory: something to hold on to, but not

wrap oneself in. She bares most of her arms and neck. In contrast to the traditional Virgin’s hidden hair and muted smile, her dark hair, disheveled through exertion, frames her beaming face and flies about in freedom. The way that the runner’s figure-conscious dress swings up with the momentum of her action discloses that this Virgin maintains no trepidation about exposing her muscular thighs. She openly makes an “allusion to sexuality” (Baca October 21, 2008). This Virgin fears not for showing herself off.

Though Hernandez’s Virgin’s body remains covered within the karate uniform, she still manages to defy modesty. She belies modesty by fighting with confidence and discipline. She mounts a self-assured assault upon her enemy. Modesty hides itself, while this Virgin launches herself upon the world. The force of her action releases the robe that once wrapped around her, but now slides down from off of her shoulders. She may not reveal her body to the world, but she certainly reveals a fierce spirit.

The slight glow that emanates from behind the Virgin in traditional depictions provides another example of modesty that Lopez breaks free of. In her painting, Lopez presents her Virgin-runner as being lit from within. Her face and arms shine, emitting a deep radiance. The glow doesn’t come from behind her but inside of her. She burns brightly and refuses to be ashamed. The conventional Virgin of Guadalupe seems to shy away from the light around her. Lopez’s Virgin basks in the light.

Also, in contrast to the traditional image of the Virgin, Hernandez portrays her Virgin as breaking through darkness, thereby creating light. This light bathes her in brightness, emphasized by the black and white color scheme. She, too burns brightly, radiating energy.

Yolanda Lopez and Ester Hernandez create a new icon for women to emulate. They make over the Virgin of Guadalupe to fit in with the idea that women, not only can, but should be powerful. On top of that, they must never feel the need to hide their strength to conform to other people’s ideals of what a woman should be. Just as the video, “Yo Soy Joachin” represented an “audacious presentation of people who were invisible coming to the forefront into the consciousness of the public” (Baca September 30, 2008), Lopez and Hernandez audaciously place women in the forefront of public consciousness. In their ideal, rather than cower in shadows, dynamic women burst through the background into the frontlines. This runner has left the home, where women traditionally belonged, and entered the public realm (Baca October 7, 2008). This marshal artist breaks through the notion of the passive woman. By not destroying, but modernizing the Virgin of Guadalupe, these two women provide new models for women to seek to achieve.

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[citem title=”Marisol Rocha: Yolanda Lopez and Judith Baca: Reflections on the Disenfranchised” id=”citem_56″ parent=”collapse_34″]Yolanda Lopez and Judith Baca: Reflections on the Disenfranchised
Marisol Rocha

Yolanda Lopez and Judith Baca: Reflections on the Disenfranchised

In the world of Chicana/o art, it is easy to overlook the contributions that female artists have made to enhance this field of artwork. More concisely, Chicana artists are often times not perceived or labeled as artists and when they were considered within the art field, they were patronizingly called “folk artists.” It is within this lack of acknowledgement and support from the mainstream/ contemporary art world that Yolanda Lopez and Judith Baca emerged. Even though Lopez and Baca’s artwork is Chicana art, it is imperative to address and distinguish how they came to be classified as such and also how their cultural background influenced/hindered their progression as Chicana artists. More so, the political backgrounds and messages being portrayed by these artists will be further broken down to their roots and analyzed as to note how they emerged into and succeeded in the Chicana art field.

Not merely feminists, nor merely Chicanas, nor merely artists, but all combined, Yolanda Lopez and Judith Baca broke through countless social and cultural boundaries to develop their artwork into what is now considered to be a prime portrayal of Chicana art. Like various other Chicana artists, much of what influenced Lopez and Baca can be interpreted from their childhood and upbringing, especially being young adults during the cusp of the Chicano Movement. As for their childhoods, Lopez and Baca share many similarities ranging from the region where they were born and raised, their family structure, educational progression and early careers.

Yolanda Lopez was born in San Diego, California in 1942 and raised in the Logan Heights community. From a young age, her family lived with her maternal grandparents who had migrated to the United States from Mexico in 1918. Being divorced, her mother supported her family by working at an industrial sewing factory. Two days after her high school graduation, Lopez moved to San Francisco and in 1968 became part of the San Francisco State University Third World Strike. Very similar to Yolanda, Judith Baca’s childhood also took place in the heart of Southern California, specifically in the Los Angeles region. Baca was born in 1946 and raised in an all-female household, which included her mother, grandmother, and two aunts. While her mother, Ortensia Baca, worked in a tire factory to support the family, Baca’s grandmother looked after and essentially raised Judith. Eventually, Judith’s mother remarried and the family moved to Pacoima where Baca was enrolled in an English speaking school. This dramatic change from living with her extended family in a Spanish speaking household to moving to a new area in which she struggled with the primary language caused Baca to become more independent and began to show more of an interest in art. In 1964, Baca graduated from Bishop Alemany High School and continued her education at the California State University, Northridge from which she received a bachelor’s degree in 1969, during the peak of the Chicano Movement.

The political background that influenced Yolanda and Judith is easy to identify and are noticeably portrayed in their artwork. The Chicano Movement was very influential in both of their emergence into the art field. Following her involvement with activist organizations, Yolanda Lopez began to produce pieces of art that depicted iconography specific to the Chicano people. Her most well-known pieces were part of the Virgen de Guadalupe series. With this series, Lopez caused a controversy that not merely brought attention to the art itself but the issues being addressed. She invited “the reformulation and/or displacement of this reified female icon [Virgen de Guadalupe] by new images, inspired in everyday work and play” (And Yes…The Earth Did Part 43). Lopez attempted to do the impossible, recreate an icon, pay homage to her grandmother and mother, and at the same deconstruct the perceived notion of what a Chicana was, all at the same time.

Judith Baca did something very similar to what Lopez did, but rather than take a widely recognized icon, Baca created a greater-than-life mural at Hollenback Park of her grandmother in 1970 labeled Mi Abuelita. This 20 feet by 35 feet homage to her grandmother that had been such a great part of her life began Baca’s career as a muralist and allowed for the community to recognize that they were not alone Mi Abuelita not merely depicted Baca’s grandmother but did so in a manner that had not been done before. Specifically, Baca broke through the social and cultural boundaries in painting a Mexican woman in a public space. This created a forced acknowledgement of the importance of the Chicano people and began Baca’s progression as a muralist.

Similarly, in her Virgen series, Lopez also paid homage to the important women in her life. What Lopez did was replace the sacred Virgen with real, ordinary Chicanas: her grandmother, mother, as well as herself. One of the most well-known pieces shows Lopez in a running pose holding a snake in her hand, the Virgen’s robe billowing in the wind behind her. Another piece shows her grandmother sitting demurely upon the imprinted robe, holding a dead snake upon her lap. And yet a third piece depicts her mother hard at work behind a sewing machine, carefully sewing the robe under the light of a lamp (see Artwork Appendix). Speaking about her paintings, Lopez states that the Virgen “has no emotional life or texture of her own…..Because I feel living, breathing women also deserve respect and love lavished on Guadalupe, I have chosen to transform the image. Taking symbols of her power and virtue I have transferred them to portraits of women I know….As Chicanos we need to become aware of our own imagery and how it functions” (Yolanda M. Lopez Works: 1975-1978, San Diego, 1978).

Judith Baca also used her religious background in one of her more famous and widely known pieces: Las Tres Marias. Arguably, this piece is interpreted to portray the three Marys of Crucifixion. In this piece, Baca used an image of a chola (the female gangster of the 1970s) and an image of herself dressed up as a 1940’s pachuca on opposite hinged panels that stood on either side of a mirror (see Artwork Appendix). In this performance piece, Baca used the “tuck and roll” method more commonly associated with low riders during that time. It is these details that tie in the whole of Chicano street culture. The three “Marys” that are personified here are again done not in a sanctifying manner but more so as an eye-opening portrayal of the generational stereotypes of Chicanas. More importantly, Baca did not use inferior figures but dominating ones, figures of young, powerful women that would not stand to be pushed around. The mirror that makes up the middle panel allows for the viewer to essentially become the third Maria.

Through her piece, Lopez effectively took a widely recognized image and reconstructed it to get a message across, to get a reaction. And that is just what the pieces did, for while the pieces attracted praise for sanctifying average Mexican women, some critics objected to the series, claiming that they were sacrilegious to the holy image. Such controversy did not stop Yolanda, in fact, she continued her artistic investigation of women’s labor issues with a series of prints called Woman’s Work is Never Done. Lopez states that “for women artists of color — despite their concern with women’s issues — ethnicity more than gender has shaped their primary identities, loyalties, and often the content of their art” (Social Protest: Racism and Sexism) and this resonates within her artwork as well.

Although these two artists have a few similarities they also have some distinct differences not merely in the mediums of their artwork but in the way that they put forth their artwork. As a muralist, Baca had a much bigger canvas and an opportunity that Lopez did not have. As a muralist, especially a community-based muralist, Baca put forth one of her best known pieces of art: The Great Wall of Los Angeles. It was using her ability to relate to and organize people that Baca was able to have the community be a part of and interact with community art projects. Baca organized over 400 young adults, most from troubled backgrounds, to help with the mural and the end result was that instead of her solely going into a community and putting a mural up, she recruited the community itself to be a part of it.

Through their artwork, Yolanda Lopez and Judith Baca tell those in power that people who have been in the margins have risen up to take their own power. Lopez and Baca “successfully redefine one of the most traditional images of the Chicana/Mexicana, thus redefining Chicanas/Mexicanas themselves, [they do] not lose sight of the tensions that frame Chicana subjectivity in real life” (And Yes…the Earth Did Part 45). Lopez re-envisioned the iconic image of the Virgen de Guadalupe in both personal and political terms to spark a discussion and, most importantly, a change as to who the ordinary Chicana is, not what she is believed to be. Baca did the same as “used her art to bring a message of hope to a marginalized and neglected population” (Other Visions, Other Voices 54).

Works Cited

Dernersesin, Angie C. And Yes…The Earth Did Part: On the Splitting of Chicana/o Subjectivity.

Lopez, Yolanda M. and Moira Roth, 1994, “Social Protest: Racism and Sexism,” in The Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 1970s, History and Impact, New York: Harry N. Abrams, p. 140.

Neumaier, Diane. “Judy Baca: Our People Are The Internal Exiles,” in Political Arts, Subversive Arts, 256-270.

Von Blum, Paul. Other Visions, Other Voices 51-61.

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[citem title=”Mari Kiridjian: Kim Martinez” id=”citem_57″ parent=”collapse_34″]Kim Martinez
Mari Kiridjian
Final Paper
Kim Martinez’ Work Overtime

“A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary.” (Borderlands) Anyone who is “the other,” in this case a Chicana, who crosses the border is considered trespassing and receives consequences for their actions. Those especially at risk are the females who rebel. They are maltreated by society and become a “prey to a sense of helplessness.” (Borderlands) This is not necessarily a physically drawn dividing line. By reflecting critically in major social and political themes Chicana artists challenge the audience with their rebellious acts. “For some, political art represents the major thrust of their creative work; for others, it is an immensely important strain of their overall efforts.” (Other Visions, Other Voices) Although there are many powerful Chicana artists who send out a strong message and stand united through the struggles of becoming acknowledged; Kim Martinez incorporates her power in her artwork through her use of bold colors and creation of a raw sense of human emotions through imagination and memory. Overtime, we see a shift in the use of colors and patterns in Kim’s work. She begins with dark colors and individuals who portray pain in their facial features or body language. She then moves on to pattern and more use of colors and towards the end she uses bold colors and super heroines. Thinking about the borders of gender and politics she uses her art to show her perspective on the corruption of society and to draw back into her memory. As an artist, Kim consolidates her personality through her art work. She’s interested in questioning the power of personal and societal structures. What makes her work interesting, is that she is not interested in practicing art for art‘s sake. Instead, she makes a connection by putting her personality and emotions in her creation. In doing so, the characters she uses show the world what it’s like being a middle aged Chicana. Although Kim did not feel separated from the Chicana community, as time went by she felt as though things added up and it began to take over her view on life. Her daily experiences began to shift her outlook and she began to make a strong contribution to the contemporary and socially conscious art.

In the painting, Art by the Mouthful, Kim uses a strong lighting technique to show that the physical being of the image is located in a dark place. This piece is quite different from the rest of her work, it strikes me as the beginning of a fearless message. It is an image of a dog eating the head of a lady whose mouth is tied to keep it from opening. This is not a colorful and happy painting, there is intense use of strong grey and dark blue to show that it takes place in a dark area with strokes of red which signify action and confidence. The interpretation I get from the painting is that the dog takes the place of a political entity and that the figure whose mouth is tied shut and the head is being eaten is powerless. It is not common to have dogs aiming at a human beings head when they are in attack mode. Usually, a dog tears in to the flesh by attacking the leg or the arm. In this case, the political figure eating the brain clearly means that individuals are not free to speak according to how they feel and they have become vulnerable to the political power that has taken over. Kim and many other Chicana artists utilize their artwork to criticize their surrounding politics, societal norms and sexist attitudes. “Sexist attitudes and practices persist deeply throughout society, sometimes only tangentially responsive to legal challenges and organized protest.” (Other Visions, Other Voices)

In her more recent work, Kim begins to work a lot with patterning. Each pattern and color scheme mean something in itself but once the image is viewed as a whole then the viewer makes sense of the statement the artist is sending out. One of my favorites during this period is one with portraits of a female and the development overtime. The first figure is an extravagant representation of a female with flashy jewelry with her hair and makeup nicely done. As you look further into the other slides you begin to see that this female figure is being stripped down from her physical features. Such as her scarf, her fitted tank top, her earrings and makeup. When you reach the end of the slides you see what used to be a beautiful Chicana has turned into a male. She was stripped of her identity and Kim does a wonderful job in clearly making a statement on the affects of community and politics on the sexist attitude.

Now that we’ve looked at Kim’s work throughout the years and saw a developing identity in her paintings; I find it very powerful to end with the most recent one, Mujeres de Colores. I point out the development of the Chicana identity in her paintings because we began with vulnerable and troublesome beings, shifted to politically attacked and fully stripped females and ended it with strong women playing the role of superheroes. Kim Martinez’s, Mujeres de Colores, the masterpiece of artwork utilizes women figures for representation of political and social issues. What makes her work interesting, is that she is not interested in practicing art for art‘s sake. Instead, she makes a connection by putting her personality and emotions in her creation. In Mujeres de Colores Kim has painted characters that are part real and part imagined. The real part is that the message that is being sent out is one that she has experienced and has derived by her memories and that she is dressing her friends in outrageous costumes. The imagined part is the visual representation of it being a female figure with certain detailing of a male persona. She uses a woman figure to suggest political, personal and social narratives. “For Kim figuration becomes a way to examine stereotypes and to present a vision of dominance and submission, representing both female power and fragility. The psychology of the figures and physicality of painted aluminum call up exoticism and a confrontational sensuality.” (Moreno) The practice of her art is her attempt to renovate personas from what was left of her memory, and to ascertain the affects that Chicanas experienced and the clear perception that was created by society.

She hid behind her artwork and yet spoke loud and clear to the world. Her artwork became a tool for her to express herself in the manner she wishes without the use of verbal language. One of the powerful paintings, the image of Wonder Woman, is a way to scrutinize stereotypes and to present a vision of supremacy and capitulation, representing female power and tenuousness. The intense color contrast choices allow this painting to stand out the most. She is a highly sexualized representation of a graceful and dignified Wonder Woman, which makes it powerful and yet vulnerable. There is stressed attention to detail and surface when looking at the facial expressions of the figure. With the comprehensive work put into the painting, Kim Martinez creates the strong sense of an unreal image. The fine detailing of the face and the texture she utilizes implies that the image is taken from a memory of hers and incorporated into the painting. The meticulous strokes in the facial area, entail pain and suffering of the Chicana group. As you carry on to look at the painting as a whole, the image then becomes a powerful woman figure. “Wonder Woman is a member of a fictional, all-female tribe of Amazons who is sent to “man’s world” as an ambassador. Among the Amazons she is known as Princess Diana; in “man’s world” she takes the secret identity of “Diana Prince.” Her powers include super strength, hand-to-hand combat ability, and sometimes flight.” (Wikipedia) The physicality of the Wonder Woman created by Kim is quite different than the fictional character. She is a middle aged Chicana who is overweight, with dark caramel color skin. She has applied lipstick and a flower in her hair to show her female fragility. The choice of background color is significant in that it shows intense social and political instabilities. The specific color contrasts Kim uses imply yearning social change in the social power and structure. No painting of hers is a painting without much depth. Kim uses the social and political distress in her work as a metaphor of her surroundings. In her surroundings, there is obvious lack of any structural power. She includes repressed cultural attributes and corruption of the political power. Utilizing an iconic super heroine, she makes a point to say that Chicanas are strong and do not deserve inequitable treatment. It then becomes a metaphor to the societal and political structure. It also “determines the effects their experiences have had on society.” (Moreno) Although, society does not treat them of importance to change they are well aware and are strong enough women to do right things for their society. Kim does an interesting job in utilizing intense color in her work to point out sensitivity. The background she uses, right off the bat, sends out an intense message that is difficult to miss.

By portraying women as superheroes, it goes on to make the point that anything a male can do should be just as equally open to women. In Kim’s eyes, this included all issues such as religion, politics and social structure. Kim does a wonderful job in making it clear to society that no matter how tough or willing women are, deep down they still remain females. We may be able to put on that mask and deal with the world in ways men do but at the end of the day we keep our femininity.

Analyzing Kim’s work from the more earlier paintings to the most recent ones, there is a change in the use of her colors, strokes and overall image representation. In her earlier work she painted human beings who were troublesome consisting darker colors, sensitive to detail in lighting and more detailed brush strokes in the painting as a whole. In the mid stage of her artwork we see more faint colors and images such as machinery. She then switches over to bold colors and paints small square rooms with no outlet, stray jackets, electric chairs and handcuffs.

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[citem title=”Linda Cortez: Feminnist Identity with the Chicana Artist” id=”citem_58″ parent=”collapse_34″]Feminnist Identity with the Chicana Artist
Linda Cortez
Chicana Art 175
Prof. Judy Baca
December 4, 2008

Feminist Identity within the Chicana Artist

The Chicano Movement of the sixties and seventies functioned as a time in which many Mexican-Americans (and their allies) made an opportunity to voice their concerns about the atrocities that were prevalent within their communities. More specifically, our Chicano community began to fight for social justice by joining ranks with the farm workers, students, and war veterans (to name a few). As momentum within the movement grew stronger with each day, so did the emphasis placed on race and class. Such emphasis is clearly depicted by the countless images of virgins and Aztec warriors that were meant to ignite the hope and strength of our people. Although it was considered risky to promote work that did not fit within the issues of race and class, many individuals did not conform to the sexist traditions of the Chicano movement. Yolanda Lopez, a Chicana artist born in San Diego in 1942 and raised by a single mother, lived through the patriarchal nationalism of the Chicano movement and held many reservations (“Guide…”). Barbara Carrasco is a Chicana artist that was born in Texas in 1955 but raised in Los Angeles for most of her life (Von Blum 85).

Along with the male dominance within the Chicano movement, Barbara Carrasco also experienced the “double standards” found within the “sexist heritage” engrained within the Chicano family structure (Von Blum 85). Through an analysis of movement, racial dialogue, and color scheme we can come to see how both Yolanda Lopez and Barbara Carrasco distinctly and successfully challenge the traditional roles placed upon Chicanas within our communities. The social movements of the sixties and seventies, above all else, have demonstrated the powerful impact behind turning the oppressive (whether it is institutions, policies, or simple images) on its head. In “Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen of Guadalupe,” Yolanda Lopez takes the traditional archetype of La Virgen de Guadalupe, whose image has been attributed to the perpetuation of “prescriptive gender codes,” and transforms it into this athletically liberated she-goddess (Gaspar 11).

Yolanda Lopez’s representation of La Virgen is indicative of a movement away from the repressive ideology of Chicano patriarchal nationalism. More specifically, this movement in ideology is best captured by the running figure. This mobility highly contrasts the traditional image of the Virgen because it no longer represents a woman that is stagnantly fulfilling the roles and expectations placed upon her. It can be imagined that Yolanda Lopez’ figure is running away from being “assigned” the rigid and oppressive “sexual categories” that are attributed to Chicana women (Broyles 135). In particular, Yolanda’s figure takes off her mantle thereby transforming it into a type of victory flag, as opposed to a garment that attributes to her immobility and compliance. The transformation of the garment into a symbol of victory and the emphasis placed on mobility ultimately builds up this intense moment of liberation from the old patriarchal order. Similar to Yolanda Lopez, Barbara Carrasco challenges the roles and realities that Chicana women are expected to live by. Growing up in a family that enforced a “double standard” upon women (especially daughters) gave her a very good understanding of the restrictive roles that women played within the community (Von Bloom 85). In particular, the Chicano community placed great responsibility on women by holding them responsible for maintaining a family unit that would become a reliable source of loyalty and strength. This role was forced upon them with no respect or acknowledgement of the abusive and/or oppressive realities of their home life. Like Yolanda Lopez’ work, Barbara Carrasco’s “She’s Given a Bone” focuses on the restrictive gender roles placed upon women. However, while Yolanda Lopez’ image focuses on the liberation found in mobility, Barbara Carrasco’s piece depicts an immobile woman. The figure’s hair is clearly tied to something but the art consumer is not allowed to see what is painfully keeping this figure’s hair taught. This elusive anchor becomes the object that does not allow the figure to reach for anything (let alone a measly bone). In this manner, the pain seen in the figures mouth and face is a demonstration of the pain that women within our community must endure to gain any form of mobility, whether it be in the family or community.

Barbara Carrasco’s 1978 piece titled “Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn” further elucidates the theme of immobility. Almost immediately, the art consumer understands that this woman is not merely “in” the “ball of yarn” but rather, she is trapped and suffocated within this cylindrical image. Barbara Carrasco does a brilliant job of capturing the immobility as the yarn envelops around the woman’s hips, under her bare breasts, over her chest, and over her mouth. Juxtaposing this horrid image of strangulation is the image of the baby boot created from the very same yarn. The paradox that arises is that the very thing that can bring a woman so much joy (a baby) can also be what suffocates her as well. Through the thematic emphasis on physical immobility, Barbara Carrasco creates a piece that speaks to the spiritual and ideological immobility of the Chicana. The yarn comments on the “sanctification of motherhood” as “motherhood” is often set as the ultimate goal for an obedient Chicana (Vanegas). Within the movement, becoming a mother meant supplying the cause with more soldiers. Not only are Chicanas expected to be mothers, but they are also expected to be mothers of a particular type. The entangling nature of the yarn ultimately highlights the immobility of the pregnant figure, thereby vilifying the blind expectations and narrow definitions of motherhood placed upon Chicanas. The emphasis placed on mobility (and immobility) is fleshed out differently within the works of both Yolanda Lopez and Barbara Carrasco, even though they both function to voice a challenge against the patriarchal order. In a similar fashion, the difference found between the works of these two artists is also observed in regards to how the artists address race.

In “Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen de Guadalupe,” Yolanda Lopez does not only paint herself into the work, but by doing so, she is also casting this Virgen as a dark indigenous figure. This is crucial to note because it deeply contrasts the traditional images of the Virgen, which are never really painted as dark as Yolanda Lopez dares to do. This racial depiction, therefore, begins to question how race is valued and manipulated within our Chicano culture and community. Ironically enough, the Chicano movement had slogans and images promoting the power found within our “bronze” skin, yet many Chicanas would find themselves being scolded by their mothers, when they went home, for staying out in the sun for too long. In this manner, we can come to understand Gloria Anzaldua when she states, “Not me sold out my people but they me” (43). Yolanda Lopez challenges the racism found within her own culture by displaying herself as the dark, yet proud Virgen. It then becomes evident that through her feminist framework, Yolanda Lopez takes the opportunity to begin a visual dialogue on racial issues. Contrary to Yolanda Lopez’ “Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen de Guadalupe,” Barbara Carrasco’s “She’s Given a Bone” does not portray a dark figure at all. In fact, the racial definition of the image is completely ambiguous because it is a “4×6 [black and white] ink drawing” (Von Bloom 91). The frightening image of this racially ambiguous figure is meant to address the type of treatment that Chicanas face within our own communities. Too many times do we participate in fights for economic and racial equality, yet issues regarding gender oppression are placed entirely on the back burner.

As women, we are expected to be satisfied with the fact that we are allowed out of our homes to enter parts of the “public sphere” that our culture deems appropriate. In “She’s Given a Bone,” Barbara Carrasco addresses this “pyramid of petty tyrants” as a system that dehumanizes the women within our communities because by only perpetuating your own “cultural goals and…own careers” you are neglecting ours and thereby neglecting our own humanity (Allen 166). In this manner, the racial ambiguity found in “She’s Given a Bone” becomes irrelevant because not only is race ambiguous, but so is the figure’s humanity. The figure has the butt, legs, arms, and breasts of a human female, but her struggle seems unfitting to this humanity. This creature defines pain, as she desperately lunges for a bone that she will never reach and that will never be enough to satisfy her. Similar to her work in “She’s Given a Bone,” Barbara Carrasco also focuses less on race in “Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn.” Once again, the figure in this piece is given a racially ambiguous make-up. Barbara Carrasco’s highly limited use of color reflects this as she avoids giving racial indications, like bone structure, because the ball of yarn covers the figure’s face as it is strangulating. I do not think that Barbara Carrasco is moving completely away from a racial dialogue, but I do think that she is focusing her commentary on gender.

As mentioned before, the Chicano culture places much responsibility on women to become mothers, for one, but to also become mothers that are abiding of their roles in their community and that continue to perpetuate the gender roles and expectations onto their children. In doing so, our Chicano culture manages to turn the beautiful condition of pregnancy into a duty cast upon the female body. We lose control of our very own bodies as we are continually treated as mere vessels for reproduction (whether it be reproduction of ideology or reproduction of the Chicano soldier). Losing control of one’s own body becomes a way to lose one’s sense of humanity and self-worth, which is a message that Barbara Carrasco captures beautifully. Paying attention to the approaches made by Yolanda Lopez and Barbara Carrasco in addressing race illustrates the importance and meaning of color. It is with no such surprise, therefore, that we begin an interrogation of the use of color used throughout the entire piece and not just within the main figure. Yolanda Lopez’ “Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen de Guadalupe” is a developed piece that contrasts many characteristics of the painted images of the traditional Virgen de Guadalupe. More specifically, Yolanda Lopez’ version differs because the “oil pastel” brings out a different experience of color and light (Gaspar 12). In contrast to the traditional image, Yolanda’s oil pastel captures the color of the crayon in a fashion that is not clean and vivid. The “opaque[ness]” of the color in this image is what actually gives the image its texture (Questions…). Yolanda Lopez’ choice to use oil pastel was brilliant because the “layering” of the pastel created the texture within this “re-visited” version of La Virgen thereby transforming it from the traditionally flat and inaccessible to an image that is tangible physically, ideologically, and spiritually (Questions…). Finally, the bright opaque colors used by Lopez makes this piece optimistic. As such, the fact that this piece was created in 1978 can be interpreted as alluding to the hope and aspirations that Lopez still had for our community (Questions…).

Barbara Carrasco, on the other hand, has a very different perspective in relation to color and is demonstrated in “She’s Given a Bone.” Unlike Yolanda Lopez’ piece, this piece is a “ball point pen drawing” that has a black and white aesthetic (Von Blum 91). The simple use of the pen, however, takes nothing away from the effect that this image creates. As noted earlier, the image itself is frightening to look at, as one begins to think about the kind of pain you would have to undergo to widen your mouth to that extent. In this manner, the unbearable pain no longer stays stagnant within the dimension of the paper, and instead becomes alive when it is transplanted onto the art consumer (those who are looking at the art). The pain and frustration created by Barbara Carrasco is now experienced by both creature and consumer and successfully creates a dark and sadistic tone. This tone is vital for understanding what is at stake. Produced in 1986 (and in relation to Yolanda Lopez’ piece), we come to see that the tone that Carrasco takes on is meant to allude to the fact that our community has not done much to change its oppressive patriarchal order (Von Blum 91). The image alone creates this imperative tone, but the exclusive use of black and white extends the provocative capacity of this work to a completely different level. In this manner, color is used to accentuate the impact that the art has made on the emotional experience of the art consumer.

Barbara Carrasco’s “Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn” also follows a similar color aesthetic as “She’s Given a Bone.” The image found in “Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn” is also a very powerful image because of its depiction of a woman being strangulated by the yarn, which is a symbol of motherly toil. The soon to be mother is not seen happily threading the boot, but rather the yarn that composes the boot is happily threading her. In this manner, the image portrays a sense of helplessness that is captured by the black and white detail of the piece. Thus, from the color analysis of both “She’s Given a Bone” and “Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn” we are able to see the manner in which Barbara Carrasco adopts a tone that comes off as dark and sadistic. This, in contrast, is very different from Yolanda Lopez’ “Portrait of Artists as the Virgen de Guadalupe” in that Lopez’ piece is relatively bright and establishes a tone of hope and resilience. It is important to note at this point that although Yolanda Lopez’ work may cater to people who just want to see something that makes them feel good, the gloomy tones presented by Barbara Carrasco’s work may be a reflection of her in depth participation within the Chicano movement. More specifically, her raw and painful images become a representation of the continuous pain (that she felt first hand) administered by the Chicano ideology found within the movement.

The role of a Chicana artist may be interpreted as miniscule for many members of our Chicano community; however, they are not to be underestimated. They are often not given the credit and respect that they deserve because their work is often not considered “work.” It is under such assumption that I begin to understand the difficulty that these artists are faced with as they begin a quest to change their communities for the better. It is a difficult task to rouse emotion that would be enough to capture an audience, let alone create change. I chose to focus on Yolanda Lopez and Barbara Carrasco as feminist Chicana artists because they were truly able to capture my visual and emotional senses. Their technique, however different and interesting, allowed them to successfully convey a similar message. Yolanda Lopez chose to use a mobile indigenous figure that is surrounded by an array of color, to depict the hope and aspirations she has of getting the Chicana to run away and leave behind the oppressive patriarchal ideology of the family, community, and el movimiento. Barbara Carrasco, on the other hand, uses immobile racially neutral figures that are surrounded by a melancholic sea of black and white to arouse a sense of horror and disgust.

It is from such reaction that I come to conclude that Barbara Carrasco’s goal was not to inspire hope, but to unveil the unjust and cruel reality of the Chicana. Despite the different aesthetic paths traveled by Yolanda Lopez and Barbara Carrasco, both ultimately assert a need for change in a time when only Chicanos were allowed to ask for such change.

Work Cited

Allen, Paula Gunn. “Thus Spake Pocahontas.” Off the Reservation. Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands, La Frontera. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books, 1999.

Broyles-Gonzalez, Yolanda. Reader: Toward a Revision of Chicana/o Theatre History: The roles of Women in El Teatro Campesino.

Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. Out of the Hose, the Halo, and the Whore’s mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo- CARA’s Politics of Representation “Guide to the Yolanda M. Lopez Papers.”

Online Archive of California. 26 November 2008

Questions and Answers about Yolanda Lopez’ Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen de Guadalupe. 24 Nov. 2008

Vanegas, Sybil. “Brush with Life.” Ms. Magazine. 24 November 2008

Von Blum, Paul. “Barbara Carrasco.” Other Visions Other Voices.

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[citem title=”Mahsa Madani: Carmen Lomas Garza Vs. Ester Hernandez” id=”citem_59″ parent=”collapse_34″]Final Paper: Carmen Lomas Garza Vs Ester Hernandez
Professor Baca
Chicana Art M175
12-4-2008

Chicano Art Seen Through Carmen Lomas Garza and Ester Hernandez

Chicano art has been a term that has undergone much scrutiny and analysis. What constitutes as Chicano art? As we have observed in class, Chicano art does not fit into one specific definition. It can be political or simple, it can involve Mexican culture or it can be void of any cultural significance, or it can even portray a clash between the Mexican and the American values. Whatever the definition may be, the stereotype that has been generated about Chicano art has involved some form of political meaning; we have learned that this is not always so. While observing the artwork of Carmen Lomas Garza and Ester Hernandez, it is not difficult to see that a very distinctly diverse collection of artwork exists between the two artists, in which each artist has a different approach to creating the impossible to define and highly controversial Chicano art.

Carmen Lomas Garza was born in Kingsville Texas in the late 1940’s. Garza experienced first hand the racial atmosphere of 1950’s Texas. She sought refuge from racism through her artwork. Garza was raised in a Mexican home that praised family values and reinforced its culture and traditions in daily life, which is why her main focus in many of her artworks is the traditional Mexican family. While observing her paintings, it is easy to notice the quaint charm and character that resides in her portrayals of Mexican families. Her pieces usually recreate some form of the Mexican culture within the household in a childlike manner. They call for the remembrance of a simpler time, in the presence of family, celebrating a tradition that is uniquely theirs. Many of Garza’s pieces involve different traditionally Mexican customs and indigenous rituals, whether it is the burning of an herb to heal a sick family member, or celebrating a birthday in true Mexican fashion, they each call to the viewer to remember these times or possibly relate to these images. One piece, in particular, is “Cama Para Suenos”. In this painting, two children can be spotted, sitting on the roof of their home, gazing up at the full moon. Beneath them in the bedroom, their mother is making the bed ready for the children to sleep in, and a crucifix can be seen hanging on the wall behind her. This image recalls a time of simplicity, where children can peacefully sit and star gaze, while their apron-wearing mothers make the beds in which they will sleep in. The image is portrayed through the scope of a child, and its message calls for Mexicans to remember their culture. In the midst of racism and discrimination, Garza tries not to draw upon any of that; instead, she looks to the family for resolution. Another piece that displays the culture of the Mexican family is “El Milagro”. The image reveals a Mexican family in the front yard of their Texas home. “El Milagro”, or, “The Miracle”, refers to the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe on a water tower. The family is gathered in front of the image, with some kneeling in prayer before it, others admiring from afar. In Mexican culture, the image of the Virgin is highly revered, and will be deemed as a sort of miracle if they naturally come across it. The colors used in the painting are vibrant, making the image seem as though it exudes happiness. Chicana artists like Carmen Lomas Garza choose to tie various cultural traits into their artwork; in many traditional Mexican households, they embrace their cultural ideals; Garza incorporates this into her pieces.

Another piece that Garza illustrates her cultural heritage is “Empanadas”. In this painting, the family is gathered around the kitchen table, taking part in Empanada-making. The food brings both young and old members of the family together, and allows them to bond, while simultaneously maintaining the preservation of their culture through food.

“Quinceanera” is the depiction of a traditional Mexican “sweet sixteen” for 15-year olds. Girls in lavish pink dresses speckle the painting, with family and friends seen all around. The people are standing on different stairs, observing and admiring the ladies in their gowns, while mixing and mingling. The painting has the essence of a photo in the style of a children’s story book. The kids are playing, the girls are getting ready, and the environment exudes festivity.

Carmen Lomas Garza’s style is unique; it breaks the negative stereotype of Chicano art having political ties to it, but in actuality, she does make a political statement in her work without the negative stereotype. In its place, she is reinforcing a new, positive stereotype of Chicano art; it allows the viewer to bypass the racism that Garza, along with many other Chicanos were forced to confront. Instead, the viewer is looking at the heritage of that ethnic group, and will embrace it. In Garza’s works, they can easily find childlike images that are very relatable, making her paintings almost transcend Mexican culture. Her paintings speak to many in a simple, yet meaningful way, making a new and unconventional stereotype unique to Carmen Lomas Garza.

In contrast, Ester Hernandez’s works can be easily deemed as the stereotypical “Chicano art” pieces: Highly political. Hernandez, growing up in the San Joaquin Valley of California, witnessed the struggles of the local farm workers. They worked in toxic atmospheres, were exposed to many different pesticides, contracted various illnesses due to their toxic exposures, and were granted very little rights in return. Hernandez used the struggles surrounding her to inspire her artwork. Later attending the highly liberal University of California, Berkeley, it is no wonder Hernandez became labeled with a “socio-political artistic identity”. Arguably, one of her most notable pieces is “Sun Mad” – a type of political cartoon with the Sun Maid Raisins logo. The logo shows the grape-picking girl in the red hood on the cover. Yet in Hernandez’s image, the girl’s body is replaced with a skeleton. The fine print reads “Unnaturally grown with insecticides, miticides, herbicides, fungicides”. It is obvious that Hernandez is making a very blatant political statement about the plight of the farm workers with her spin on the Sun Maid Raisins logo. Living in the San Joaquin Valley, she viewed the farm workers and the hardships they faced with the different pesticides and toxins, and brought the issue to light using art as her medium. Living in the heart of the turmoil was a huge signifier of what would shape her artwork. Her political statement was aimed in grabbing the viewers attention in a very different way from Carmen Lomas Garza’s works – she wanted the viewer to see the image and realize the conflict that the Mexicans and Chicanos faced. In contrast, Garza’s works hoped to bring the Mexican heritage to light, whereas Hernandez wished to acknowledge the negatives and the problems that the Mexicans face.

Another piece of Hernandez’s with blatant political meaning is “Virgen De Las Calles”. I noticed a trend in Hernandez’s works: Many of her pieces involved women, resembling the Virgin Mary, and this piece was one of them. The image shows a Mexican immigrant woman wearing a symbolic ‘ USA’ sweater, selling flowers out of a laundry detergent bucket. The sweater, bearing the nation’s acronym, signifies this woman’s pursuit for the American dream – she has come to new country to find a better life for herself, and possibly her family. She wears a scarf around her head and shoulders, giving her the look and feel of the Virgin Mary (hence the name “Virgen De Las Calles”). Hernandez is showing that this woman is essentially heroic; she performs menial labor without complaint in hopes to someday achieve success in this new world.

Hernandez’s “La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights” is a humorous view of the Virgin Mary, clothed in what appears to be a karate robe, suspended in a karate kick. This image has been called a “symbol of defiance” by Dr. Amalia Mesa Baines, and it presents an empowered picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe fighting for the rights of the Chicanos. The robe that engulfs her head and shoulders is covered in stars that resemble the USA’s national flag, and an image of a male is under the Virgin’s feet, symbolizing her strength over him.

Both Artists are Chicanos, both of their works are considered “Chicano Art”, and yet both of their works vary entirely from one another. Ester Hernandez calls on change and awareness – realize what the Mexican workers are going through and make a change, whereas Carmen Lomas Garza calls on remembrance; remember the past, remember the culture, and remember the traditions. Hernandez seeks to break Mexican stereotypes by revealing the people as hardworking and underrepresented. By doing so, she is inadvertently reaffirming the politically loaded “Chicano art” stereotype. Garza, on the other hand, also wishes to break Mexican stereotypes by showing that they are family oriented people who aim to keep their traditions alive while living in a new and unfamiliar country; Garza is replacing the politically loaded stereotype with a more light and positive stereotype that reinforces the cultural heritage above anything else. The Chicanos face a significant struggle that can be seen in their art; they are a unique people who are born of one country, but their roots belong to another. With this dual identity, they go through a pseudo-identity crisis that can be often times be viewed through their paintings. They are not American enough for the Americans, and they are not Mexican enough for the Mexicans, but their art allows them to find some sort of middle ground; for Hernandez’s viewers, they reach awareness, and for Garza’s viewers, they understand the background. Each artist is fundamentally different, but their messages both wish to address issues that are significant to them.

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[citem title=”Juan Lupercio: Comparison of Ester Hernandez’s Art” id=”citem_60″ parent=”collapse_34″]Comparison of Ester Hernandez’s Art
Juan Lupercio

Throughout the years, many Chicana artists have evolved to become well known representatives of their ethnic culture in the artistic community. It seems that Chicana artists have always included a sense of reality or truth in the context of their paintings. They have always integrated their local surroundings through the use of symbolic imagery in the work that they create. This allows the painting and or item to establish a location and allows for its spectator to be able to relate with the context of the painting due to similar life experiences. Basic themes of what a Chicana artist draws pertain to livelihood experiences or it’s their visual depiction of how they see the world. What an artist’s perceives in their surroundings can be clearly seen and incorporated into their finished product. Sometimes Chicana art is considered taboo since what they bring into perspective is something that in today’s society is known but not spoken of. Chicana artist shave created art pieces that have relevance to Chicano culture. They create art that begins to address common problems that are faced in the Latino community. Certain Chicana artists continue to create paintings that have themes that create inspiration. These themes are extremely important to an artist since it gives life to the art piece as well as orient the artist to a vision of what they are trying to express. A particular Chicana artist that incorporates important culturally based themes in her art pieces is Ester Hernandez. These themes of importance can be seen in the art works entitled La Virgen de la Calles, La Pelona, and the painted entitled Sun Mad. Through similarities and differences in the arts style, theme, and the use of materials Ester Hernandez is able to depict and incorporate important themes in order to address cultural heritage as well as be able to address important issues that help empower the Chicana women in today’s society. Through her art, Ester Hernandez is able to teach and educate people on the relevance of issues affecting Chicanos and also help in establishing a fountain to the meaning of being Chicana.

Ester Hernandez grew up with farm working parents in San Joaquin Valley of California. She has two sisters and three brothers. Ester had grown up poor most of her life. Growing up in the rural areas she was able to explore and have a greater appreciation to nature’s natural beauty. Both her parents and the community had an affect in her interest of art. Ester’s mother did traditional embroidery while her father was a visual artist and partook in photography. Mother and father worked diligently in order to give their children a prosperous future. The reason for migrating into the United States from Mexico was to increase their chances of survival as well as for their children to have a better education. Ester transferred from numerous educational institutions, “In 1973 she attended Grove Street College in Oakland and became politically active. For the first time she met people of color from diverse backgrounds.Eventually she transferred to Laney College in Oakland and finally to the University of California at Berkeley where she studied La Raza (Chicano) Studies and Anthropology, and later art. Ester attended Berkley where she pursued a degree in the arts.”(Questions 2001) Her passion for the art became more apparent when “just out of high school when United Farm Workers (UFW) marched in her hometown, Hernandez saw the banners, music, and theatrics and began to think of art as a way to change things for the better.” (Questions 2001) Ester had attended Berkeley during the free speech movement and during this time she involved herself in Chicano based student movements. During this era , Chicanas were trying to justify their role in society since the movement wasn’t addressing women issues of equality. During these times of sexual bias, Ester found the will power to overcome these prejudicial ideas of sexuality and racism. Through her artwork Ester has able to transcend Chicana beliefs in her work. She has been able to manifest art pieces that established Chicana tradition and significance of identity. For the last two decades, Ester has incorporated relentless willpower, compassion,experiences, and the dreams of numerous Chicana women in her art work.

Ester Hernandez has become an inspiration to women by showcasing Chicana culture and the empowerment of women in various art pieces. Three art pieces that provide a foundation for this entitled La Virgen de la Calles, La Pelona, and Sun Mad.

The first is the La Virgen de la Calle. This painting was created in 2001. It was created using pastel on paper. The image is of an older ethnic woman wearing a red sweater with the letters U.S.A.embroidered on it. She has on blue jeans and a pair of black Nike sneakers. On her head a red/green blanket draped over head like a veil giving her the appearance of the Virgin de Guadalupe. In front of her a bucket of white and red roses and labeled on the bucket the word Future. The image gives us an immigrant woman who is working on the streets in order to make a living. The clothes she wears gives us a sense that this immigrant woman has made the transition into assimilating into America’s way of living. The roses represent the future income that will be made as well as the money that will be used to provide for her families well being. The U.S.A.sweater signifies the opportunity America has provided for this woman. She has migrated into America for the chance of wealth and opportunity. The veil over her head gives the female the symbolic imagery of the Virgin de Guadalupe. Ester Hernandez brings into perspective the willingness of the immigrant worker. Through her portrayal of the woman in this picture she tries to convey the self less sacrifice as well as the devotion of an immigrant woman trying to make a living. She incorporates the vision of the Virgin de Guadalupe because she is a relevant religious iconic figure that many Mexican women see as an inspiration as well as a spiritual identity that is able to bring change and hope.

The religious iconic figure of the Virgin de Guadalupe is of major significance and one that many Chicanas are able to relate with. She is a symbol of nationalism and of the Mexican cultural identity. The image is no longer related to only being a religious identity, “Today Guadalupe has been reinterpreted a san empowering symbol of liberation and action rather than as female passivity.In contemporary society the populist appeal of the image cuts across all sectors of Mexican life, and her image is displayed not only in churches, but can also be seen in taxis, buses, on tee-shirts, amulets and as tattoos.Chicano and other Latino societies helped establish the Virgin of Guadalupe a san archetypal emblem of mestizaje.” (Silva 2004) The image of Guadalupe is one that has been recorded ever since the era of the Aztec’s. Upon her miraculous appearance “in 1531 the Virgin Mary appeared in the form of a young mestizo woman to the neophyte Indian Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill, the location of Tonantzin’s shrine. Between December 9 and 12, the Virgin of Guadalupe continued to appear and requested through Juan Diego that a church dedicated to her be built on the site. When the bishop-elect of Mexico City, Juan de Zumárraga, demanded proof, the Virgin told Juan Diego to gather roses from a nearby hillside, put them into his tilma(cloak) and bring them to the bishop. When the roses where released, the Virgin’s image was imprinted on the tilma, which now hangs in the Basilica in Mexico City and is an object of veneration, daily devotion, and a major pilgrimage site.” (Silva 2004) The Virgin of Guadalupe evokes the power of the women. She is a female life giver that screams feminism and transcends a feminine face in god. The Virgin de Guadalupe continues to be a significant religious figure as well as an image of cultural identity. She is seen in banners during famous battles as well as in signs during marches. An example of her image used in marches, “In the 1960’s César Chavez marched with the image when the United Farm Workers went on strike.” (Silvia 2004) She is mother god who is able to heal wounds and bring prosperous change. “Octavio Paz once said, “There are two beliefs deeply imbedded in Mexican consciousness:belief in the lottery and belief in the Virgin of Guadalupe.” (Silvia 2004) Ester’s uses this religious iconic figure to manifest the identity of the Virgin de Guadalupe in immigrant women since theytoo are an inspiration to all women since they are overcoming diversity in this country as well as bringing change and hope to their own family. The identity of the Virgen de Guadalupe continues to be molded into various identities since there seems to be “an ongoing attempt to rediscover the “indigenous” origins of Guadalupe,depicting her as an embodiment of Tonantzin-Coatlicue, goddess of the cosmos,sacred guardian and mother image for the Mexican nation.” (Silvia 2004)

The second art piece by Ester Hernandez is entitled LaPelona. The art piece was made in1980. This is a clay mask painted in acrylic. The face of the mask is painted in white and depicts the face of a smiling skull with red lips. She has a small cross on her forehead. On her head a hat in the shape of an upside down watermelon painted in red and adorned with black seeds. The base of the watermelon hat is adorned with blue/gold color brim. On the side of the mask turquoise/silver earrings and braided with blue ribbons is actual clipped real hair from Ester Hernandez. This face mask encompasses the vision of how Ester Hernandez wishes to see herself after death. The usage of these colors brings into perspective cultural relevance of Mexican- American acceptance of death.

In Chicano culture,the Day of the Dead is a cultural festivity celebrated in the month of November of every year. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition that includes altar offerings to the deceased. This is a day where the death of loved ones is remembered and celebrated. It is aday where the spirit of the dead are expected to return home and adequate nourishments and offerings are to be made. These offerings include a wash basin and towel so the dead may freshen up. It also includes offerings of alcoholic beverages, fresh water, atole (corn starch based drink), cigarettes, sweetened breads, an entire Mexican meal, and chocolates. Four main elements of nature are included in the altar and they include:earth, wind, fire, and water. In Ester’s mask Earth is represented by the Watermelon. Wind is represented by the hair and earrings. Fire is usually represented by a wax candle but in her mask it could be represented by the use of fire to make the clay mask. Water is usually represented by a container so in Esters art piece the clay mask itself can act as a container. The Day of the Dead has been a symbol of Mexican culture for many years, “In Mexico the Day of the Dead is a holiday that tends to be a subject of fascination for visitors from abroad. With its rare mix of pre-Hispanic and Roman Catholic rituals, it is also a perfect illustration of the synthesis of pre-Hispanic and Spanish cultures that has come to define the country and its people.” (Palfrey 1995) The Day of the Dead is a tradition that is seen throughout Mexico and in the United States by the Chicano community. In households“children are given sugar skulls, and toy-like skeletal figures engaged in everyday activities, such as playing instruments, going to school, reading newspapers, or riding bicycles. In such traditional communities death is accepted as a continuous presence throughout one’s life.” (Palfrey 1995) Ester Hernandez throughout her childhood partook n these traditions with her family and as an adult is able to obviously incorporate these cultural traditions in her art piece. Ester’s creation of this art piece encompasses the realization of not being fearful of death. She ties in cultural significance to this piece by including references pertaining to the Day of the Dead. Through her use of her own hair and the lips on the mask she is able to convey feministic attributes to the mask as well as her own identity into the piece. She sees death as the beginning of the end of an adventurous and joyous life. In Ester’s own words, “La Pelona and I are not strangers.I’ve always enjoyed laughing at and creating images of a mischievous parrandiando muerta [partying dead woman]. This friendly interaction makes me appreciate life. Joining this with my love of small things, I created this miniature ceramic mask. I have dressed her as I would my own calavera(skeleton)–muy alegre, con su sandia, turquesa, diente de oro, y pelo largo y negro [very happy, with her watermelon, turquoise, tooth of gold and long black hair]. QueViva La Vida! [Long Live Life!]” (Questions 2001)

The third art piece by Ester Hernandez which incorporates important Chicano issues is entitled Sun Mad. It was produced in1981 on serigraph and through the use of superimposed imagery Ester recreates a popular iconic image in order to make evident the reality of the use of pesticides in agricultural fields. Through the use of this prevalent icon, she is able to make a bold statement on the problem in order to find a solution.

The painting draws the spectator in through its vibrant red background. In the center, a skeleton figure wearing a white sun dress with a red bonnet holding a basket with a bushel of grapes. In the back of the skeleton figure an image of a vibrant yellow sun. Without any words the spectator is able to draw similarities to that of the iconic image of the Sun Maid Raisin. Under the figure the yellow words “SUN MAD” and in white text “RAISINS UNNATURALLY GROWN WITHIN SECTICIDES-MITICIDES-HERBICIDES-FUNGICIDES.” The image sends a provocative message of the use of unnatural practices in order to grow a household consumable product and how these unsafe practices are killing the agricultural worker. Through the use of parody we see the effects that the harmful insecticides have on the workers. These carcinogenic pesticides have caused death to the workers as well as deformities. The Washington State Labor Council states, “California farm workers have elevated levels of leukemia and stomach, uterine and brain cancer.” (Farm Workers 2007) Esters art piece points the finger at the Sun Maid Company without being verbally expressive. These accusations are made because she personally experienced these unsafe practices herself. Esters anger became more apparent when she had visited her mother in 1979 and then reading about poor drinking water conditions in the Mexican neighborhoods. She then remembered how poor the working conditions were when she worked in the agricultural fields of San Joaquin Valley. She focused her anger at the grape companies that made profits from the poor working conditions and wages of immigrants. After seeing both her sisters had been diagnosed with cancer she began Sun Mad and by doing so she contributed in the United Farm Workers grape boycott and in the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Ester states, “Sun Mad evolved her own rage at having unknowingly been contaminated by poisonous pesticides used in the fields where she worked.” (Mesa-Bains 136)

Ester Hernandez has always been in the front lines prevailing in the fight in establishing equal rights for farm workers. She closely worked with Cesar Chavez in order to impose safety measures as well as institute proper work conditions to all agricultural workers. The book entitled El Mundo Femenino stated the following about Ester’s role in Chicano Movement, “Crucial to her visual commitment to the issues of empowerment is her lived commitment to social service among the elderly, the disabled, and the farm workers within the cultural institutions of her community.”(Mesa-Bains 137) The art piece incorporates the reality of how Chicano farm workers under hazardous environmental practices struggle to make a descent living as well as how the Chicano farm worker is an under represented minority group.

Ester Hernandez is an artistic visionary that wishes to showcase equality of race and tries to incorporate cultural education in her art pieces. Every art piece that Ester creates embodies the female persona. Each is obviously different and is reflected on the theme that Ester wishes to tackle. Of the three art pieces it is evident that each piece establishes different themes: La Virgen de la Calles is about selfless sacrifice and the determination of the immigrant women and Ester’s symbolic imagery to the Virgen de Guadalupe. La Pelona is about individual identity and how cultural factors that influence a Chicana’s perspective regarding death. The third art piece entitled Sun Mad was created to showcase the devastating affects of poor working and living conditions and about the movement in establishing equal rights for Chicano’s. La Virgen de la Calles and La Pelona bring in cultural significance to both art pieces. Ester does this by incorporating an important religious iconic figure in the theme La Virgen de la Calles and by making an important significant relevance to a cultural holiday in La Pelona.

All three art pieces are different in artistic style and in the use of material. Each art piece Ester uses suitable materials that make the piece appropriate for the theme. La Virgen de la Calles is on paper using pastel. This makes the piece simplistic and draws the spectator to the theme of the piece. It also allows the symbolism of the Virgen de Guadalupe to not be saturated with too much background color. La Pelona is a clay mask and painted using acrylic paints. Ester’s use of these materials helps tie cultural relevance to the art piece with that of the Day of the Dead. The last piece Sun Mad was created on serigraph. The purpose was for mass production of the art piece and for everyone to be able to afford it. Ester’s work in the depiction of the Sun Mad painting helps give power to the female artist more specifically that of the Chicana who has taken part in the issue of Chicano/a inequality by helping excel the relevance of the problem through her painting.

Overall, Ester Hernandez is one of many Chicana artists that have established themselves in trying to improve equality for the Chicano community by using art as an educational tool. Through the use of similarities and differences in the arts style, theme, and artistic materials Ester Hernandez is able to use relevant cultural themes in order to address important issues that help empower the Chicana women of today’s society.

Bibliography

Silva, Zenis Sacks Da The Hispanic Connection Story: Virgin of Guadalupe by Rose Anna Mueller Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated March 2004

Rodriquez, Jeanette. Our Lady of Guadalupe:Faith and Empowerment among Mexican-American Women. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.

Questions and Answers about Ester Hernandez Website: http://mati.eas.asu.edu:8421/ChicanArte/unit2/ester/q.a.hernandez.html 2001 Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University.

Last Accessed: November 30, 2008

Wolf, Eric R. “The Virgin of Guadalupe;A Mexican National Symbol.” Journal of American Folklore. 71, 1958.

Rodriquez, Jeanette. Our Lady of Guadalupe:Faith and Empowerment among Mexican-American Women. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.

Palfrey, Dale Hoyt The Day of the Dead – Mexico honors those gone but not forgotten Mexico Connect, 1995

Mesa-Bains, Amalia El Mundo Feminino: Chicana Artists of the Movement – A Commentary On Development and Production pg. 131-140 Course Reader

Heyman, Therese Thau Posters American Style New York and Washington, D.C.:Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with the National Museum of American Art,1998.

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[citem title=”Leslie Mejia: Victoria by Connie Arismendi ” id=”citem_61″ parent=”collapse_34″]”Victoria” by Connie Arismendi

The one installation/video that stood out to me was “Victoria” by Connie Arismendi. It was a piece dedicated to the 18 undocumented people who died in a truck as they were being transported to the U.S. The intense heat had killed all the 18 people while they were in Victoria Texas. In the description of the piece she mentions how these people’s names were never mentioned in the news media. So she created a piece in which the victims name would be recognized and finally put a name to the bodies that were found in the truck. She incorporates a black and white video of different images of Victoria Texas with a big Virgen painted on the wall where the video is playing. She also created a small pond with rocks from the Rio Grande where she placed the names in the water of the victims in this tragic incident. La Virgen is looking down on the names which can be interpreted as her protecting the victims who had died crossing the border

Its one of the largest pieces in the exhibition and it stood out to be because of La Virgen and how important she is to immigrants on both sides of the border. I interpreted the image of La Virgen looking down on the names of the victims in the pond as her reminding us that she is always there looking and protecting her children. By looking down on the name she is too remembering them and although people might have not known the names of the victims she knew who they were. She felt their fear and their pain, as their dreams were never fulfilled. She never forgot about them as they made their journey to the U.S or as they died due to the heat. La Virgen, one of the most important icons for Chicana/os and Latina/os is seen as a figure that will protect and watch over you in difficult times. As Chicana/os and Latina/os we always hope for a miracle from La Virgen and when I saw this image it reminded me of an apparition and what I imagine I would see if I ever saw her.

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[citem title=”Jessica Juarez: Art Exhibition:Diff Interpretations of La Virgen” id=”citem_62″ parent=”collapse_34″]Art Exhibition: Diff Interpretations of La Virgen

[IMG]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a78/mattiegomez/Listen.jpg[/IMG]

Incase anyone is interested in attending an art exhibition of different interpretations of La Virgen de Guadalupe then check this out:

Various artists come together to display their interpretation of La Virgen

Artist Reception: Saturday, December 6th, 6pm-9pm

Artists: Arturo Sandoval Diaz, Augusto Marin, Chela Bañuelos, Chris Langlais,
C. Louise, Cora Ramirez-Vasquez, Dana Wyss, Ernie Lucero, George De Los Santos,
LaTeefaH WriGht, Lori Pond, M.E.R., Matt Cunningham, Mavis Leahy,
Nadine Maria Kiernan, Patricia Varela, Pilar Grother, Pita Da Veiga,
Ryan Ethington, Temoc, Vanesa Andrade
*Jewelry by Kate Enes, Liza Theval and Lee Janson
*Textiles by Jamie Badore

La Virgen de Guadalupe is one of the world’s most important religious and cultural icons. This image of a maiden cloaked in stars and standing on a crescent moon has been revered, reinterpreted and reinvented over its 400 year history.
In Mexico, people join together for the festivities of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on December 12th. This is one of the most important dates in the Mexican calendar. Thousands of the faithful from around the country make the most important pilgrimage of all those undertaken during the year to the Basílica of Guadalupe, in Mexico City, where the miraculous image of la Virgen is kept.
There are many faces of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of Lourdes, La Macarena of Seville, the black Virgin of Czestochowa and many more can be seen in every part of the world. Not only are their statues in churches, her image is seen in murals, clothing, tattoos, cars, etc.
Our annual December show allows artists to display their own interpretation of La Virgen. Whether it be traditional or not, visual or musical, it is bringing people together through art.

Join us for this continuing annual event!

Artist Reception: Saturday, December 6th, 6pm-9pm
Free Event, All Are Welcome
***Extra parking available behind gallery

Location:
PICTURE THIS Gallery & Custom Framing
4130 Norse Way
Long Beach, Ca 90808

Exhibit Dates: Dec. 2, 2008-Jan. 3, 2009
Gallery Hours: Tue-Fri Noon-6pm, Sat 10am-4pm

For more info, please call 562.425.4861
www.PictureThisGallery.weebly.com

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[citem title=”Loryan Yumul: Censorship and its Effect on the Politically Infused Art of Minorities” id=”citem_58″ parent=”collapse_58″]Censorship and its Effect on the Politically Infused Art of Minorities
Loryan Yumul
Judith Baca
Chic M175
30 October 2008

Censorship and its Effect on the Politically Infused Art of Minorities

Aristotle believed that the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. Regardless, when observing the work of an artist one is generally inclined to immediately try and draw conclusions, make inferences, and eventually form an opinion. These renderings, however, should never effect the artist’s creation of the piece itself if the integrity of their work is to remain completely true and organic. Should external ideas influence a change in a piece of artwork, the message whether intended or not, will also be changed. Such a situation can be seen in the creation of Judith Baca’s mural La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra. Displayed on one of the walls of USC’s Topping Student Center, Baca and a group of students created a mural depiction of a chronological clash of Chicano ancestry dating back to Aztecan times in the Los Angeles area. The mural aims to show the connection between the sustenance of the land and the Chicano inhabitants living on it. In addition, the mural touches on politics with depictions of the Chicano struggle steeped deep in multiple stratifications of earth representative of the Chicano conflict through the ages. (El Centro Chicano) It is this dynamic of the piece that sparked the controversy that led to its censorship and subsequent altering. In one portion of the mural, Baca’s original sketch included an image of a Chicano lynching underneath a highway alluding to the mass hangings of Chicanos during the Civil Rights Movement. (Neel) However, upon review of the sketch, those that were funding the creation of this piece demanded censorship. Despite Baca’s efforts to explain the intentions of the image as a reminder of events rather than threatening jab against the oppressors of the Chicano race, Baca was left with the ultimatum of censorship or withdrawal of funds. Baca eventually conceded and La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra was created sans any images of lynching. Regardless of whether or not Baca’s decision to remove the image from the mural was the correct one, the decision has forever changed the piece from its original form to something a little less powerful and a little more politically correct. This censorship is notable because it is works such as the original sketch Baca made that fully empower an oppressed minority. As such, any unnecessary filtration can compromise the original message of the piece.

Because of the censorship of La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra, the piece lost some of its truth. In an interview with Diane Neumaier, Baca explains, “If you deny the presence of another people and their culture and you deny them their traditions, you are basically committing cultural genocide.” (Neumaier 256) The harrowing truth that more Chicanos were lynched in California than any other race or ethnicity during the Civil Rights Movement will forever remain an important part of Chicano history that affects their culture. To deem a depiction of this fact represented in an image as inappropriate and ban its presence can only hinder the overall message of the mural itself. By removing this image from the mural, even against her original will, Baca essentially removed a piece of Chicano history from a story that she and the students were trying to tell. The piece no longer sent the same message with the same volume, and was essentially changed into a different piece of art.

The compromising of any artist’s work is noteworthy, however it is especially important to highlight the occasion when the art is meant to help empower a group that at one point was oppressed, underrepresented, or in struggle of reform. An art piece with a purpose, although ultimately just art, can be much more. Baca’s piece additionally served as a medium through which an important message was being sent. In order for this message to have been sent in its full intensity in which Baca meant, the mural used as a medium needed to be presented as it was meant to be, without any sugarcoating based on the fears and insecurities of others.

The simple fact that there was even a need to remove the lynching image from the mural illustrates the significance of the image istelf. The claims made by the funders of the La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra indicated that the image was inappropriate and too graphic for a student setting. It was suggested that the image wasn’t necessary to convey a message and that the rest of the mural was approved for completion. However, as with any art, subjectivity determines the presence of obscenities. Furthermore, the exclusion of a component in a piece of art changes the perception of the viewer from what it would have been. For example, in Carmen Lomas Garza’s Barriendo de Susto, one of the images in her painting is of a man missing a limb. Although he isn’t the main feature of the painting, Garza still chooses to add a detail that causes the viewer of the artwork to raise questions that never would have occurred if she had excluded that detail. As with Baca’s work and the censorship of the lynching, questions will never be raised and discussions will never be had about the victimized Chicano underneath the freeway bridge.

Baca’s decision to edit her original sketch for La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra whether right or wrong is irrelevant. What’s important to note is the initial reaction to the artist’s original work, the demand to censor the “offense”, and the resulting changes that are made if any are made at all. The difference between the “before” and “after” of a piece of art subject to the influence of society (such as in Baca’s case) can be marginal or profound, but there is nevertheless a difference. Furthermore, this difference marks an inevitable change to the work. Fortunately, the message doesn’t always lie in the superficial. Baca’s work, just like any other artist’s work who have attempted to depict a message supporting a movement or a cause will get some version of their message across. Despite those that derive conclusions, inferences, and opinions that are clear misunderstandings of a piece such as La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra, the artist knows the intention, and can always produce more work to eventually get their message across.

Works Cited

El Centro Chicano. 2008. 20 10 2008 .

Neel, Tucker. Artlies. 2008. 20 10 2008 .

Neumaier, Diane. Judy Baca: Our People Are the Internal Exiles.

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[citem title=”Flyn Cooley: Carmen Lomas Garza: Interaction in Nature” id=”citem_59″ parent=”collapse_58″]Carmen Lomas Garza: Interaction in Nature
Flyn Cooley
Midterm

Carmen Lomas Garza: Interaction in Nature

In the iconography of Carmen Lomas Garza food and music have the power to bring people together. Acting together to benefit family and community is a major theme in Garza’s work. People interacting with and understanding nature is also a focus. This distinct Chicana voice has powerfully made its way into a culture that rarely gives attention to similar ideas.
Garza found an audience by treating her art making as a career. The business she created is diversified but arbitrated by her own decisions. Just as within the product line of a strong brand; a fluid consistency exists from her prints, to her paintings, to her paper and metal cutouts, to her installations, and to her children’s books. Garza understands very well the commoditization of her work. To sustain a career as an artist, and to truly reach an audience, she required income from her artwork to facilitate the completion of further artwork and publicity.
Garza sees fine art prints as, “perfect for the Chicana movement, because you can exhibit, you can trade, you can donate, you can give, you can publish, you can disseminate much easier than you can with one painting”. Easily reproduced black and white etchings and lithography gave life to and sustained this artists career. The early sales of Garza’s prints went to people who became collectors and other influential people in the purchase and the showing of her later art works. The life of the artist shows that interaction with people, as shown in her imagery, is what gives opportunity, sustenance, and meaning in life. Not only does Garza interact with people as a means to sustain her career but she educates others on her own time with out the prospective of her business profiting.
To live in the culture of the United States a person must continually earn income or make profit. For a businesses to survive in the U.S. it must make profit as well. The work of Carmen Lomas Garza exists to make money since it is the commodity of her business; a business that is responsible for her income. Garza’s commodity can be seen as communications. The artist communicates her message through a structure held together by finances created by her communications, the value however, is created by human interaction and sharing experiences with each other and the land. The money involved in the process only exists because it has been defined that way by U.S. society.
The money created by the dissemination of the artists work to hundreds of thousands in a children’s book, is far less valuable than the interactions that the original art promotes, and the experiences that motivated the art works. Garza creates value outside of her business, by lecturing, giving workshops to other artists, and by displaying, explaining and pricing various works of hers in various media at carmenlomasgarza.com. Carmen Lomas Garza is an artist communicating a valuable message of empowerment through many means.
The imagery and ideas chosen by the artist are able to influence people in a way that promotes true social progress. The depiction of dancers in a steel cutout drawing, Baile, evokes positive feelings, and interactions. Hammerhead Shark on Padre Island alludes to the excitement, and importance of existing together with mother nature. Para La Cena celebrates the ways humans deliver chicken for dinner in a way that is not discreet or suppressed. Abuelitos Piscando Nopalitos shows grandparents possessing wisdom handed down though tradition which is necessary for hard times, while expressing a symbiotic relationship with the earth. Tamalada expresses a family coming together for the holidays, and working together as a unit to feed the family and its friends with great appreciation for the land. Garza’s work honors ideas and rituals that give authentic value to life.
Garza demonstrates that harvesting food from the earth and sharing knowledge and skills to attain nourishment progresses social relations. To satisfy basic human needs socially progressive people work together and celebrate their accomplishments. Garza shows that helping others and acting together is one of the most powerful choices we can make. A powerful choice doesn’t have to correspond to a powerful outcome, and a powerful outcome can come from a simple act.
Garza does paintings of particular aspects of larger compositions. In Sandia / Pedacito de mi Corazón (Watermelon / Little Piece of /My Heart) Garza emphasizes the act of cutting and serving watermelon by composing an entire painting with this single element. In Sandia the larger composition, this simple acts of cutting and serving performed by Garza’s father is satisfying eight people and two animals. As her father serves the family they are brought closer. This nourishment of the body and soul was delivered by the earth to the grandparents of Garza to her father and then to the entire family. By cutting the watermelon, and many other actions portrayed by Garza, her family is empowered with the opportunity of authentic human interaction and thought.
The ideas that this Chicana artist conveys may be simple, but simplicity can be powerful, especially in absurdly complicated world. Focusing on life in the way that the art of Carmen Lomas Garza does is fading from North American culture. I’m proud to know a Chicana artist from a section of the same culture has reached hundreds of thousands of children in the United States. I imagine the possibility of a brighter future
created by children whose imaginations are filled with ideas of cooperation with each other and nature through the promotion of this great Chicana artist.

Carmen Lomas Garza interview: http://sparcmurals.org/ucla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=74

http://www.carmenlomasgarza.com/

Images are here: http://www.carmenlomasgarza.com/artwork.html

http://www.carmenlomasgarza.com/gallery/sandiaprint.html

http://www.carmenlomasgarza.com/gallery/sandiapedacitodemecorazon.html

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[citem title=”Juan Lupercio:Immigrant Dream: The Americans Response” id=”citem_60″ parent=”collapse_58″]Immigrant Dream: The Americans Response
Juan Lupercio

The painting is of acrylic on canvas. The background painted in darkish-cloudy gray. Words in white and red spelling SEND and RETURN are expressed in box like structures indicative that the background is of a mail storage facility for outgoing mail. In the center sitting on a chair and draped and mummified in an American Flag an individual. The colors of the American Flag are vibrant and crisp. Your eyes are overwhelmed that you have no choice but too draw your attention to the painting. The individual’s neck entangled with barbed wire with a sender’s card attached with the word Undocumented. The painting entitled Immigrant Dream: The Americans Response by Malaquias Montoya brings into perspective the issue of immigration. The painting allows its spectator to come to a realization that immigration continues to be a major issue and how it’s had a devastating effect on both sides of the fence. The artist encompasses this realization that immigrants come to America to try to fulfill a dream of acquiring some form of substances in order to provide for their family. All an undocumented individual wants to do is try to have a second opportunity in life by improving his well being as well as for his family. The struggle of trying to get across the American Border has led individuals to come in contact with hazardous obstacles sometimes these hazards have cost immigrants their lives. The painting gives this perspective that America doesn’t care of the undocumented individual. In America’s eyes the undocumented are nameless; they are tagged cargo that must be return to its place of origin. They really don’t care of the reasons or of the stories that these undocumented individuals have to share or of the reasons for them trying to sacrifice their lives in order to cross. In the end the undocumented individual is nameless and under represented. America continues to push for immigration reform but through Montoya’s perspective all its doing is preventing individuals who are willing to thrive and make this economy prosper by taking jobs that Americans aren’t willing to take and crushing the dream that many undocumented individuals have and that is to improve their chances of survival and to improve their families economical standing.
Immigrant Dream The Americans Response
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[citem title=”Iris Garcia: An immigrants dream, The American response” id=”citem_61″ parent=”collapse_58″]An immigrants dream, The American response*
Iris Garcia
CS175
Response

I chose a painting by Malaquias Montoya, acrylic on canvas 2003.

The picture is of a human being sitting on a wood chair,with body enveloped by an
American flag. His face is also enveloped by the flag with the addition of barb wire that
holds the flag from falling from his face. I feel the painting is very much a representation
of what American society does or wishes to do to the immigrant. He is faceless, and if
possible invisible but always carrying the burden of what being in America s. There is
blood in the picture, and one can see this being is suffering silently. He/she has no face
and there is no effort to see him/her. The picture is very intense and disturbing.
Immigrant Dream The Americans Response
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[citem title=”Kamran Payman: An Immigrants Dream, the American Response” id=”citem_62″ parent=”collapse_58″]”An Immigrants Dream, the American Response” by Malaquias Montoya.
Kamran Payman
Shocking and outrageous are two words that come to mind when viewing this piece of art and rightfully so as the artist uses these qualities to make the heft and meaning of their work painfully clear. The piece depicts a lifeless seated figure wrapped in a shroud using the American flag complemented with barbed wire tightly wound across the neck and head. If this work was displayed outside the exhibit after one look at the title there would still be no ambiguity of the message the artist is administering via their own form of visual shock treatment. In the background there are shipping crates and the words printed on each of them either “send” or “return” add elements to the commentary. The American response to immigration is hostility and contempt. Economic scapegoating has been fostered by scare tactic politics and has led to the dehumanization of those who venture across the border. The American flag as a shroud here encapsulates the figure and the idea of the politicized hatred of this “American Response”. This is apparent in many ways from the mundane conservative radio talkshows to the bizarre gun wielding Minutemen that take it upon themselves to patrol the border without any fear from government constraint. The shipping crates further this idea. The word “send” printed on them makes reference to the “American Response” saying “send them back” stripping away the humanity and soul of immigrants denigrating them to unwanted objects. Lastly, the symbolic use of barbed wire by Montoya should be noted for being used thematically across the artist’s work such as in “Undocumented” where again we see its use as a means of torture with bright blood splashing on the serigraph.

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[citem title=”Adobe Brown: One Woman Two Peoples” id=”citem_63″ parent=”collapse_58″]One Woman Two Peoples

There were two exhibitions that I was able to visit while at Fowler museum. In both those exhibitions, the Virgin Marry figured prominently. Can the same conclusions be drawn about each representation? Among the strongest similarities is that the Madonna and or the Virgin of Guadalupe represented to two peoples, one European the other later mestizo, at different points in their modern history have relied on her image, her escatological meaning to support dangerous trek- one across the Atlantic, the other across the desert. These meanings parted when the Europeans, after having established themselves as the new rulers of the new world, the Madonna was apart of the quest. When the Madonna, after having been adopted by the conquered, she would change and take on the characteristic of her new audience. More recently, as many Central Americans, especially Mexican, forge their way across the dangerous desert and waters- much like that of Cortes and the Spanish, the Virgin of Guadalupe is hope and redemption.

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[citem title=”Cindy: Juarez by the Assembly of Revolutionary Artist of Oaxaca” id=”citem_64″ parent=”collapse_58″]Juarez by the Assembly of Revolutionary Artist of Oaxaca

From the many wooden black prints that were completed by the Assembly of Revolutionary Artist of Oaxaca, the work “Juarez” depicts the statue of Benito Juarez

and beside the statue stand several government federals. When first looking at the layout of the subjects, one can easily identify the contrasting between the subject and its purpose of the placement. On the first half, the statue of Benito Juarez stands and on the second half of the painting stands several Mexican Federales. The placement of figures reflects the division between the government and its citizens. In the country of Mexico, the government and its people are two separate entities that have battled one another over the course of history. The events Oaxaca in 2006 demonstrate, the persisting problem with Mexico: The government’s abuse of power and the terror they inflict upon its citizens. Another important detail in the work to discuss presides in the eyes of government Federales. In the artwork, the Federales look upon the statue of Benito Juarez with eyes that appear to mock, not only Benito Juarez, but also the institution that he represents. The government intended by Benito Juarez does not exist today, on the contrary for a period of time a dictatorship, masked by a constitution, existed. Despite the change in political parties control of government, Juarez’s intended government is tarnished and the government uses its power as a weapon to against its own people.

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[citem title=”Eugenia Barbuc: Discussion Topic” id=”citem_65″ parent=”collapse_58″]discussion topic
eugenia barbuc

I’m interested in the ideology of Chicana/o art in terms of multiculturalism (the belief in cultural diversity rather than assimilation). It seems to me that much of the chicana art is categorized due to Chicana culture, however culture is an ever changing and impure thing. In other words a culture picks up elements from surrounding cultures and is constantly evolving.Chicana culture 20 years ago is not the same as Chicana culture experienced today. How does this affect the categorization of Chicana art? Moreover does the multi-culturalist view further exacerbate the issue of division and intrinsic racism rather than human unity? Or does the group in power, which is blatantly the white majority, make it necessary for minorities to defend their culture and art?

User Comments
Comment by irisemilianojl on 2008-10-23 18:18:44
The art has to be defended, because it is not mainstream art, and I feel Chicana artist are still trying to find a “space” for it. Because the art is not welcomed or embraced yet, the Chicana artist fights for the survival of it.Chicana culture has changed but a lot of our struggles are the same for example, social justice, environmental justice and equality.

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[citem title=”Taylor Lockett: Velas Devocionales” id=”citem_66″ parent=”collapse_58″]Velas Devocionales
Taylor Lockett
Chicana Art and Artists
Prof. Baca

I was particularly struck by Christina Shallcross’ votive installation entitled “Velas Devocionales.” The unlit votive candles are covered in ink-jet images of immigrants attempting to cross the border. The piece provokes reflections on the migrant’s votive petitions for safe crossing. The serenity of the candles contrasts with the struggles that meet those trying to pass from one space to another. While most votive candles are decorated with a depiction of the Virgin Mary and lack any evidence or clues as to who lit the candles and the reason for their prayers, these candles demand that the viewer think carefully about the petitions for which the candles are lit. The pictures on the candles instantly evoked the images of the Stations of the Cross adorned in all Catholic churches that seem so harrowing and captivating. The Stations recall an impassioned Jesus– suffering abandonment, resistance, hunger and thirst, physical pain, and discomfort. The intentionally deeply rooted spiritual connection between the Church and the immigrants asks the viewer to consider the struggle to cross a border on a universally human level, not just nationally or culturally. The piece, in its simplicity, contrasts to some of the more aggressive and potentially offensive art works that appear else where in the museum. It is a gentle reminder of the hope those crossing the border possess, the pain that they endure to build a new life, and the devout faith of the family and friends who petition for their safe crossing.

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[citem title=”Erin Desmond: Velas Devocionales” id=”citem_67″ parent=”collapse_58″]Velas Devotionales

The candles of “Velas Devotionales” are so very simplistic, yet at the same time, quite striking, perhaps because of their simplicity. Ten candles stand all in a row, as if forming their own mini-alter. (I thought them quite reminiscent of the work of Amalia Mesa-Baines.) Some of the wicks have been burnt, showing that the candles are functional, that this is indeed a real alter. On the outsides of the candles are moving images of immigrants and their hardships. The pictures are very humanistic and pull at your emotions, drawing you in.

I find that the religiosity behind the art gives it a certain authority. Regardless of whether or not you believe in the validity of Catholicism, the piece creates a visual, concrete link between a higher power and the immigrant’s cause. It’s almost as if it says, “God is on our side,” and that’s difficult to rebuttal when it is shown instead of said.

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[citem title=”Mahsa Madani: Velas Devocionales” id=”citem_68″ parent=”collapse_58″]Velas Devocionales

The display of candles created by Cristina Shallcross was one of the pieces that stood out the most to me. Traditionally, the candles that she chose for her piece can usually be found with religious images, such as Virgin Mary; I found it symbolic that she used actual images of what appeared to be Mexican immigrants at the border. Her piece allowed her to document the struggles of immigrants trying to make their way to the Free World, yet are stopped from their pursuit by the relentless border patrols. The candles that she displayed are normally used for prayer and mourning; by placing these candid images of the struggling immigrants, she is essentially sending a prayer for them, and quite possibly, mourning the loss of freedom. [/citem]
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Category : Past Projects

Protected: Beyond the Mexican Mural Class Winter 2012

Protected: Timeline for 1960's Section of the GW

Student Research Papers

Student Research 2008 Final Papers

Protected: STUDENT EXERCISE: OVERLAPPING OF PERSONAL HISTORY GROUP EXERCISE