This is the blog for the UCLA Chicanx Latinx Art and Artists course offered by the Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicanx Central American Studies (CCAS M175, also Art M184 and World Arts and Cultures M128). This course provides a historical and contemporary overview of Chicanx Latinx art production with an emphasis on painting, photography, prints, murals and activist art.
La Ofrenda II, Ester Hernandez, Screen print, 1990
I enjoyed Jennifer's presentation on Ester Hernandez. I have always known about her as a Xicana artist, but I haven't really studied her work thoroughly and it was refreshing to find out more about her personally and about her artwork. I admire that her direction towards her artwork is a reflection of political, social, ecological, and spiritual themes. Her art captures the time and makes sense of the complex world chicana/o's live in. Although this particular image to the left was not mentioned during the presentation, this has always been one of my favorite Ester Hernandez screen prints. Since the 1960s, Xicana womyn have been creating a new identity for themselves. They were committed to pursing full equality as both womyn and Latinas. This particular artwork "La Ofrenda" which means "the offering" represents Ester Hernandez reflection on the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Known as an iconic figure for both Mexicans and Xicana/o's, Hernandez rendered the image of the Virgin to reveal herself on the back of a modern Xicana womyn. It illustrates symbolically how Latinas bear their cultural identities with them as well as with the contemporary world.
No comments:
Post a Comment