Carmen Lomas Garza "Earache Treatment Close-Up"

Carmen Lomas Garza's painting, Earache Treatment Close-up [(2001) Oil and alkyd on canvas] is one of my favorite works from the Chicana artist. I like her technique on re-visiting her former works and concentrating on details that define the piece. Her action may suggest that an individual's past may be worthwhile to remember in order for them to reflect where and who they are currently. The fact that this painting includes her mother and father demonstrates her familial influence that her artwork encompass.

In this particular case, Lomas Garza demonstrates a home remedy that was based on one of her childhood memories. The subject of focus is her father, whom is receiving the earache treatment from her mother. The treatment was carried out in the following manner according to the artist, "My mother took a sheet of newspaper, rolled it up into a cone shape, and placed in on my father's ear...She very briefly ignited the paper, then threw it into the water to extinguish it." (Cortez 53, 54)

There is a small difference in this close-up recreation. The newspaper text seems to have shifted in the direction it was printed. However I believe that this subtle change does not take away from the possible meaning of this scene. The newspaper is a form of communication that informs people, and the "cone shape" it is rolled into mimics a pathway, one in which the information may travel. Considering the nature of the surroundings that Lomas Garza lived in, the newspaper probably contains issues that concerned Chican@s in the mid-twentieth century. In my opinion, her father represents the Chican@ community and his ear situation portrays the community's discriminatory status.

When the newspaper burns above Lomas Garza father's ear, it is like the information the newspaper contains replaces the ignorance and fear of the community. The flames and smoke act like a purifying source, fighting to notify people of what is going on in the world with hopes that people will take action with their newfound knowledge. Moreover, the change in the direction of the text may signal the change of the community with the passage of time and the introduction of new generations. The newspaper's Spanish text and the home remedy process itself further acknowledge the Chican@ culture, communicating to embrace one's heritage instead of being ashamed of it and trying to assimilate. Because if a person rejects their culture, and in extension their family, they lose their identity and simply camouflage within the masses.

Note: *The image in this blog is copyrighted by Carmen Lomas Garza; I do not intend to claim it. However I used it for purposes of this blog and because I could not find another image of acceptable quality.