Buenrostro, Eliana

My name is Eliana Buenrostro. I am a third year transfer student and I am double majoring in Gender Studies and Chicana/o Studies.

After reading Professor Gaspar de Alba's article entitled, "Out of the House, the Halo and the Whore's Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo," I am interested to know what profe would say about the relationship between ability and the creation of visual art. There is a specific relationship of subordination between women and men in the art world, which she states in her article. I am curious to know how ability and disability play into the sexual politics and declaration of existence that Chicanas make with their art pieces. Since women are sexualized as artists, it affects their relationship to their body which they use to create art. It is an important topic to discuss, given the way Marcos Raya appropriates Frida's artistic vision and in some ways her mobility and autonomy for his machista agenda.

After reading, "There's No Place Like Aztlán: Embodied Aesthetics in Chicana Art," especially after reading the section about Patssi Valdez, I am wondering also about the relationship between geography and art creation for Chicanas. Patssi's childhood neighborhood was riddled with poverty and violence and as such influenced her art tremendously. Not only are women influenced by the space they aren't allowed in the mainstream art world, but they are also limited from the racist places in which they hail from.