Judith F. Baca is another one of the few artists we have seen throughout this class who focuses most of her artwork around activism. Her most famous known work was her mural here, in L.A, and focuses on communities that are underrepresented and marginalized.

The piece I want to discuss now is Killed by a Placa (1974), originally 31x42in., and made with wood stain on paper. This piece came about after one of Baca’s mural crew members was killed by gang violence. Baca decided to use her voice, her art, and her heartache over his loss to bring attention to the issues that caused this poor young man’s death. The work of art consists of a man lying on the sidewalk, dead, holding his wounded chest while blood drips onto the floor, and a street sign with his age, 17, spray painted, as well as his face. The boy is wearing light colored clothing, so the wound and the blood are very visible. This was, and is, a shocking yet needed piece to emphasize what marginalized youth of color go through in their own neighborhood. In my opinion, she titled this piece Killed by a Placa because it demonstrates the polices’ abuse of authority when it comes to minorities, and how that ensues more violence.  Unfortunately, this piece is as much relevant today as it was then. The system is catered against people of color.