Identity, Art, tagging,

I learned a lot from taking Chicana Art and Artists. I think what most surprised me about this quarter was learning about the importance of art and representation of different artists. Growing up in a low-income household, I could definitely relate to bell hooks experience as my family saw art as a luxury. Because we deemed art as a luxury, artistic expression was never encouraged in my family and even less in school. LAUSD faces annual brutal budget cuts and the first programs to go are always art programs. Due to lack of art in school and in my life in general, I decided to tag. My whole family and community frowned upon taggers without knowing that the tagging community is very different that what it seems. Although it is an alternative artistic expression, it is a counter-space that helped me develop as a creative person. Taking this class really helped me acknowledge why art matters. Most importantly, why art matters in communities of color where our realities are much more surreal. Learning about different artists and their artistic expressions shaped by their own reality resonated with me. Learning about an artist such as Sandra de la Loza was empowering, She challenges the same systematic structures that I strive to challenge, yet she challenges them through art. It's been a powerful class with many setbacks as well. Our often limited definitions did not fit into another's reality, and I am perfectly fine not labeling or placing a forced identity onto another. Although our identities make us who we are, they also carry a lot of weight towards how hegemony views them.