Carmen Lomas Garza

In the chapter, “Politics and Life in Tejas,” from the book Carmen Lomas Garza by Constance Cortez focuses on a series of political conflicts that Chicanos have dealt with historically. However, rather on focusing on the oppressions and struggles of the Chicano community, here we see how Garza’s work is primarily influenced by organizations and movements such as the Chicano movement which have created a positive impact among the Chicano community. My favorite piece from Lomas Garza is her 1969 artpiece, Los Mesquites, which demonstrates the complexity of human relationships. Through the concept of nature, Garza creates two intertwined mesquite trees with eleven different male and female figures that are embedded into the bark of the trees against an empty landscape. It is interesting to see how Garza positions the human bodies in different ways to express the range of emotions that exists within the dynamics of human relationships. Here, we can see how the human figures interact with one another by holding one another, escaping from one’s arms and into those of others, and also demonstrate their sadness by standing alone. The entanglement of the human figures and mesquite trees demonstrates the confusion and complexity that exists within romantic love. This image breaks away from the negative stereotypes of the Chicano community by revealing the emotions of love, happiness, and sadness they experience as human beings. It is interesting to see how all these emotions come together into one art piece.