CARA; Politics of Representation

Professor Gaspar de Alba breaks down the sexual politics of representation in the Chicano Art Movement by analyzing the CARA exhibition. The CARA exhibition was the first of its kind; it was the first exhibit to focus on Chicano/a artist through the comparison of the historical and present struggle of Chicanos living in the U.S. The purpose of the exhibition was to break through the oppression; ironically, there were extreme discrepancies between feminist and Chicano identity politics. This exhibit, like the Chicano Movement itself, shows that although the cause was to fight for equality and representation, women’s rights were ignored although multiple women have supported and stood in the front line of this struggle.
Throughout this course, we have continuously focused on how women’s artwork is devalued. I was particularly impacted when Professor Gaspar de Alba mentioned that Chicanas work was ignored because there was a preconceived notion that they would only make pieces central to pregnancies, homes, woman’s work or “pretty pictures.” This critique reminds me of the saying, “a picture means a thousand words,” because there are so many things that can be expressed through womanhood, there’s pain, worries or happiness that are apparently not applicable to men but can be a source of healing for other women. I find this incredibly ignorant, especially coming from a man’s perspective, yet I also understand that this doesn’t pertain to their identity, but that doesn’t mean that they should ignore the concerns raised by women. There’s a lot of machismo that goes into these actions, especially when thinking about an art exhibition that required strategic planning. Whether it was consciously or unconsciously done, it shows that men devalue women’s work not just in the workforce or at home, it also happens when we stand together to fight for our rights.