Berumen-Garcia, Armando

Hello classmates! My name is Armando Berumen-Garcia and I am from the San Fernando Valley just up north! I am a second year majoring in Chicana/o Studies and minoring in History. I have a lot of sketchbooks that I doodle in whenever I'm bored so because of that I consider myself an artist and also because I have a wildly creative mind. I am taking this course because I am in the expressive arts camino in Chicana/o studies. But besides it being a requisite I am interested in learning the barriers faced by Chicanas in the "art world".  I wish to learn how the struggles faced by Chicanas in the art world illuminate societal, structural, cultural, and economic inequalities.

This week I read Sybil Venegas's "Conditions for Producing Chicana Art". Venegas states that when Chicanas emerge in the field of art they do so after white male artists and Chicano male artists because of their historical marginalization. So they can technically be considered "late to the game", which although is often viewed as sign of incompetence, can also be viewed as a sign of a new, fresh, and unconventional perspective emerging in the art field. She also discusses the unique gendered experiences that Chicana artists face under traditional Catholic societal norms which regulate Chicanas to a private and docile existence. Chicanas are shedding these barriers and creating endless possibilities for the Chicana and Chicana artists. I understand the Chicana artists liberation as a blossoming of artistic creativity and potential.