Chicana Printmakers

Throughout the quarter we have learned about different types of artworks and the accessibility that people have to certain art pieces.  A technique we learn about is screen printmaking and how Chicana artist use this technique to make it more accessible.  Sanchez discusses an array of artists in her article and provides analysis of different artworks.  Every artist depicts different imagery but most engage in political activism through their artwork.  These pieces of art can more easily be circulated amongst the Chicano community which is crucial when trying to empower a big group of people.  Sanchez talks about Yolanda Lopez and her image of the man questioning, who is the illegal alien?  She portrays an apparently indigenous man who is questioning the original migration that occurred early on in colonial America.  It was interesting to learn how screen printmaking created a space for Chicana artists to express themselves during the Chicano Movement.  In her article, Sanchez talks about the politics within the Movement and the oppression that women still faced.  Many were fighting for Chicano right alongside rights for women.  Many artists created these prints in order to empower women as well and trying to break socially constructed gender norms.  Ester Hernandez creates an etch of the Virgin Mary as breaking away from her usual altar and instead as a warrior.  The image of the Virgin Mary has help reinforce the oppression of woman and therefore image was seen as radical at the time it was published.