Last week, I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation on the Chicana artist Margarita Cabrera. What originally interested me about her artwork was how she sculpted common household things in a very uncommon way. My favorite piece that I saw in class was one from her Soft Sculpture collection. While the sculptures look like home appliances, they are actually created to suggest deeper political and social issues. For example, the somewhat saggy pink cloth blender is crafted with tons of loose threads. The threads that are left uncut and exposed remind viewers of all the hardships that the factory worker had to undertake to create the appliance. While consumers only see the clean, complete, and end of the production process, the Mexican factory workers are the ones who are put in a dangerous, sometimes dirty, and low paying working conditions. Also, I learned after researching the blender piece that she was inspired by the Juarez femicides that were occurring in 2002.
After I got home from class that day, I also took the time to research Cabrera to see some more of her works. When I came across her fabric Soft Sculpture VW bug, I was astonished. I could not help but to think about how many hours went in to creating such a life-like representation. Then, I finally saw the replication of a Hummer that Professor Lopez had discussed during class. What shocks me about this piece is the very ironic message it seems to reveal. I read online that while the parts of the Hummer are created in factories by Mexicans, it is also often cars like these that are used to chase down the Mexican workers that are trying to escape their home countries and bad working situations. It is horrible how these worker women are basically working minimum wage to create the vehicle that will eventually and physically stop them from trying to escape to a better life. I also see a similarity between Cabrera and the artists Kenia Gutierrez and Bell Diaz. While their artistic styles are very different, I see connections in the types of messages they send through their art. Most specifically, the artists all work to shine a light on political issues like the mistreatment of certain individuals. They all want viewers to be able to see the hidden and sometimes sad and scary issues that exist in society. I remember Kenia and Bell had a photo of the mutilated victim of the femicide. While these two artists create graphic images about the terrors of society, Cabrera takes a amore subtle approach at hinting at global problems.
Hey Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing the background story about the Hummer on your blog post. I did not know that such simple, everyday items can have a massive meaning to them. Often times, artist portray their art message every obviously, but Margarita Cabrera makes the viewer critically think about the art. Creating awareness through art might not have a massive impact, but it will create a ripple effect of people knowing and potentially helping in some way. I feel that Margarita Cabrera understands the power of art and fully uses its influence by having hidden messages in her art.