My name is Philomena Lopez and I am an Art History major with a specialization in Latin America and Chicana art. I am in the Ronald E. McNair Scholars program and I am currently working on a project that explores the reclamation of gender roles in the murals of Chicana artists from Los Angeles and San Francisco. I plan to get a Ph.D in Art History and eventually become a curator and professor.
In the chapter "Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo", Gaspar de Alba discusses the decolonization and transformation of the female body into an "active speaking subject rather than a passive object of display and male gratification" (pg.132). Furthermore, how have Chicana artists depicted the male body in their works of art? Is there a common theme of depicting the male body as passive, or is the male body generally excluded within the works of Chicana artists?
In the article "There's No Place Like Aztlan:Embodied Aesthetics in Chicana Art", Gaspar de Alba discusses the representation of a Chicana/o and Latina/o identity as well as the dynamics of place and space that exist within museum exhibitions. Gaspar de Alba questions the efforts made by The Smithsonian in creating a Latino Virtual Gallery asking:
"If we stop existing as bodies in a place and rely on the representation of our bodies in virtual reality, then what institutional transformation have we really achieved? Through a virtual gallery, will Latinas and Latinos be fully embodied, or merely imagined at the Smithsonian?"
Furthermore, I question: What measures must be taken within art institutions in order to fully represent Latina/os and create a new space for the discussion of Latina/o and Chicana/o art?
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