week 5 Carmen Lopez Garza

Carmen Lopez Garza 

Carmen lopez Garza was inspired by her youth and her upbringing and her anxiety of growing up. Her parents also had a big influence in her life and the era she was in, which during her time was the 60’s. Her father, a former veteran was supportive of the GI forum  which according to text helped fund many Latinos during their education and also advanced in society when it came to education and land ownership. Her parents were very politically involved and lectured adults and children about the importance of voting. Despite the work her parents and community did it took many years for latinx people to be visible. With this said I conclude that her time growing up was what shaped her artistic fluidity. She lived through times of segregation where she did not attend an all integrated junior High School. One thing I found disheartening was that she was told to remove herself from white girls presence during her time to shower along with the Black girls who attended her school.  The text reads as follows: “ In gym class, all the Mexican American girls and African American girls sit on the other side of the dressing room and all the white girls sit on the other side”( pg.9 Garza) I can only imagine what else she endured during these turbulent times in U.S. history. The Chicano movement and historical events inspired her work. This is why I see that Garza was compelled to combine nature and people side by side because she was very proud of her culture and history.Carmen Lopez Garza encoded her family history and life through paintings.

There's an image that comes to mind that involves both the image of celebration and nature where her and her immediate and intermediate family are making tamales. Even though she paints the image inside of the house she takes vivid detail to the tree out of the window which communicates her closeness to nature and family. The event of making tamales combines natural corn husk and ingredients to celebrate life and socialize together as a family unit but also to remind us of our ancestors who started this practice many hundreds of years ago. These ingredients used tell oral histories of our ancestors and how they believed in the maize god who gave life to all. These packaged meals were encoded with history that could not be burned in the conquest. The painting of the “Tamalada” shows us her journey and growth as an artist. 

The second image I enjoyed viewing is the one called “earache treatment” . I can also relate to this image because my grandmother did this treatment with me when I had pressure in my head or ear infections. A newspaper is lit and placed in a funnel shape near the canal of ear drum. This then oxygenates and releases the trapped air or water and even wax from peoples ears. Like Garza’s family my grandma used to say that this treatment was passed down from our ancestors and that they did the same with her when she was a child.The treatment as Garza describes it is called ventosa and surprisingly it would not hurt much at all. This is ancestral knowledge and these treatments create a bond with human and nature. We understand how integral nature is to human kind and how we need to nurture it. These values were also instilled in Garza and this bond is seen in many of her paintings.