Week 4: rasquachism

Despite not being hispanic, my family has been practicing similar way of life as rasquachism. My great grandparent s came from Oklahoma in the 1940s during the dust bowl.  Desperately poor and in search of a better life they migrated to California.  Their frugal ways continued and were passed down through the generations. Simple things like using the absolute last drop of everything, reusing  containers, bags, tins etc, repurposing objects instead of buying new items. My great grandmother would make my mother dresses out of flower sacks because they couldn’t afford fabric.  Nothing went to waste, not by choice but out of necessity and with that came the stigma of poverty.  As a poor single mother, this was also my way of life.  But juxtapose to my grandparents, I began to enjoy the repurposing and reuse of the items and in addition to the practical use, I often found myself using these reclaimed items in artistic ways that still served a function.

On the artistic level, the use of discarded objects, finding a way to elevate these items is a way of revaluing them and reclaiming what many consider to be low class..  As explained in the readings, this resourceful method provides resources and medium for underdogs to create art out of nothing.  It is symbolic of a people that have worked and strived despite their economic condition and making the best out of what they have and reclaiming being thrifty and resourceful as a positive cultural way of life.