Week 4

     As I read the chapters on Rasquachismo and Domesticana in the book, Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology, I was reminded of the ways that my mother and step father have participated in these kinds of art forms in efforts of practicality. I understand Rasquachismo as a term that describes the expression that an object or set of objects possess. The term refers to making the most out of the least. I understand it as being resourceful and ingenious in a pinch. One example is when I got into a car accident and the hood of my car didn’t close so my dad used string and wire to keep the hood on. Because the hood wasn’t latched in my car kept beeping to show that the hood was open. So, my brother used a pen and wire to keep the button at the bottom of my car hood in place and essentially pretend that the hood was closed. I have a picture attached to show how it was working. Additionally, I have come across instances where I have recognized how my family has also participated in Domesticana. At my grandmas home she reuses a lot of recycled items in efforts to make her altar. For example painted cans of food are used as vases for her flowers. Also her altar itself rests upon a plastic box that she recycled from some kind of cleaning product years ago. Although these aren’t things that one would normally think of as art, it’s the significance that they have on use as a cultural that is truly artistic.