Presentations from last week

Last week all the presentations were exciting and thought provoking, but the two that stuck with me centered on Laura Aguilar and Carlee Fernandez. I was struck by the beauty of Aguilar's photographs, and by the poetry she spoke about them. Her discussion of the happiness she experiences from the images was transcendent; it was a gift to hear her speak so candidly about her own images and body. Some of my questions about her visual metaphors were later addressed, and I was excited to see some of her methods and techniques that are (in some ways) based in ancient traditions around land, mythology and the female earth: mother earth.

             As for Fernandez, I was stirred by her ideas around Chicanidad and self-hood. I speculate that her own biography has informed her artistic practice (as is the case with all artists), and wonder who introduced this idea of post-Chicana/o to her. I think there are lots of factors that we must consider with this concept and term. First, I aim to question the linguistic application of the prefix “post”. The application of such prefixes is not new or rare in (Western, Anglophone) art history, and so I submit that this term must be analyzed from a more heterogeneous lens. Secondly, I wonder about the conceptualization of such a term and its goal. What or who does this term serve? What is at stake when we conceptualize Chicana/o art as a movement that is now over? And if it is, in fact, over and Fernandez wants to create space between herself and said movement, then why would she use such a reflexive index? The very inclusion of the word “Chicana/o” situates her within a Chicana/o trajectory. While I understand and appreciate the position she may hold about not being tokenized or taken for granted. Nevertheless, I think that she needs to consider her positionality and politics as an artist and public figure.