Week 10: Reflection

When I first decided to take this class I thought it would be a great way to learn more about Chicana artists. The class has really taught me about numerous Chicana/ Latina artists over the quarter. I really loved being able to learn about all the different techniques, symbolism, and art types, especially being able to practice them in our sketchbook. Although some of the sketchbook assignments have been a challenge, they have been really fun to do because it is a way for me to take a break from my other homework and relax a little. Hopefully my basic art skills will be enough and I look forward to sharing it with everyone this week. I hope to continue practicing more during any free time that I find so that I can improve my skills. I am very happy that I ended up deciding to take this class because I was able to learn so much and it was a refreshing change from the other classes I am taking. This class has also taught me that there are still so many Chicana artists that I have yet to learn about so I am determined to start looking for more and continue to learn. Chicana artists are not appreciated or given enough recognition so I hope to share the ones I have learned about with my friends and family. Overall I really enjoyed taking this class and everything we have learned, especially because I was able to take this class with some of my friends. 

Week 9

Out of all the artists from last week, Judy Baca really stood out to me because her murals were so intricate and beautiful. After seeing her work in class I really wanted to know more about the murals she has created so I looked at the website to get a better understanding of who she is. This made me appreciate her work even more because with each mural/ art piece, she is making a political statement about issues the LA community faces, especially community members that have been historically disenfranchised. 

My favorite mural is The Great Wall of Los Angeles because it tells the history and contributions that people from numerous ethnicities and backgrounds had throughout history. Each image pays tribute to all the history that may have been erased or forgotten. This project was also an amazing way to have the community be involved and come together. There were over 400 people who were employed to help create the mural to do history research and the painting. I think this would have been a great way to learn more about your own history while contributing to an incredible artwork. I would love to see the mural in person because I feel like the pictures online may not fully capture the impact it has. I also want to research more of the murals Judy Baca has created over the years and possibly be able to see more than just one in person. Her murals are bringing communities together and showcasing an appreciation for all their contributions. 

Week 8

It was very interesting to learn about all the different painters and public artists last week, especially because a lot of the artists were new to me which allowed me to enjoy all the different styles of art there was. The artist that really captured my attention was Liliana Navarro, her work was so eye catching and really beautiful. Each art piece we looked at in class was really bright and really brought to life the subjects. My favorite piece was the one of Juan Gabriel because the design was simple yet very detailed. The pink and the roses that surrounded Juan Gabriel were different from other art pieces I have seen of him. I would definitely buy a version of this piece because of its simplicity to really represent Juan Gabriel as we all remember him. After seeing her art in class I wanted to see more of Liliana's work so I looked her up on Instagram to learn more about her. I really enjoyed seeing all the work she has created and seeing the creative process she goes through when creating them. It has really allowed me to see every step she takes to create the final art piece which lets me appreciate her work even more. I would recommend looking at the other art she has created because it is just as beautiful as the ones we saw in class. This is definitely an artist that I would share with my friends, I know they would also love it. I hope to learn of even more artists in the next few lectures to really get to appreciate more Chicana artists. 

Week 7: Cristina Cardenas

The artist I chose to present on is, Cristina Cardenas. She is a Mexican painter and muralist that is now based in Tucson, Arizona for many years now. Her art has been displayed in numerous museums including the SMoCA and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary art. One of the reasons why I chose to write about her is because she incorporates a lot of women empowerment within her art as well as makes direct connections to her Mexican roots. This can be clearly shown in her mural displayed in Tucson, Arizona. This mural really shows Cristina's strong ties to Mexico by incorporating folklorico dancers, traditional pinatas, pre-columbian symbols, and even pays tribute to field workers. I was immediately drawn in by the numerous bright colors used throughout the mural and the stain glass like design. It really reminded me of church windows because of the style Cristina used to create it. It is beautiful and has so many details that can be interpreted differently by the viewers. One thing I did notice while looking through a lot of Cristina's artwork is that she uses a lot of pre-columbian symbols that are not always noticeable when quickly glancing at her art. I was really fascinated by all of her art I was able to find however it has been difficult to find information on the names and dates of her artwork. Hopefully I am able to find more information on them because they are absolutely beautiful and I would love to see more of Cristina's work. 

Stencil

For my stencil I decided to go with a sea turtle with some seagrass next to it. I really wanted an image that would represent the variety of areas I am interested in. So with this stencil I wanted the sea turtle to represent the love I have for the ocean and the seagrass is to represent my interests in plant ecology. As a Biology major I have had the opportunity to take several classes that range in a variety of topics, all of which I have loved. Which makes it really hard to decide on the area I want to pursue a master's degree in, so that is why I wanted to showcase my love for both the ocean and plants. I know that I definitely want to focus on one of these two areas after graduation but I still continue to struggle with what to decide on. Another reason why I decided on these two is because I strongly believe we need to be doing more to help conserve our oceans and plants. There are not enough policies/ regulations being implemented by the government that will successfully protect our environment so it is extremely important to demand for better conservation policies. So I hope that by choosing this stencil I am able to keep reminding myself to be informed and make more sustainable choices, even if it is small ones. I also wish to think more deeply about what area of study I really want to focus on after graduation. It'll be a little bit of motivation to keep thinking about grad school.

Tamalada (1988) Carmen Lomas Garza

I was really intrigued by all the artwork produced by Carmen Lomas Garza because she uses such a diverse range of art mediums to produce her work. There were a few of her art pieces that I really liked but I wanted to write about her oil painting, Tamalada (1988) because I felt like it was a great representation of what family events looked like in my own home. There is so much in this painting that I can relate to and it makes me feel nostalgic for the childhoods I spent celebrating Christmas in Mexico. The bright blue and pink walls of the house's interior immediately took me back to being in the middle of my grandparents home during the holidays. Especially with the entire family gathered around the kitchen, helping in every step of the tamale making process because this is what our kitchens look like as well. Every year my family celebrates Christmas together and we always make tamales which has allowed all of us to build closer bonds with each other. I feel that by looking at this painting I am able to hear the chaos that is occurring as everyone tries to share the limited amount of space and I want to believe there is some music playing somewhere in the background to keep everyone laughing and singing along. There are so many small details included in the painting yet they somehow all seem to be a part of the memories I have. Carmen was able to perfectly bring to life one of her childhood memories that a numerous amount of Chicanos would be able to relate to, just like many of her other paintings as well. 

Rasquachismo

Rasquachismo is something that has always been present in my family but we do not necessarily refer to it as rasquachismo. Instead my family knows it as doing something a la Mexicana, it's fixing or finding a solution to the problem at hand with what you have available. It may have a different name in our household but the attitude behind both is the same. It's the attitude of not believing we are in need because we have what we need, we just have to find it. It's looking at things not for what they are but for what they could be. So I grew up seeing my parents finding the oddest solutions to the problems we encountered because there was no way they would give up until it was solved. Experiencing that attitude really stuck with me, so now I have that same attitude towards the problems I face. Especially since my parents also taught us that it wasn't something to be embarrassed over because they believe it doesn't matter how we got to the solution, what matters is that we solved the problem. Our solution could seem absolutely ridiculous to someone else but as long as it works, then no one else's opinion matters. Having this type of attitude has really helped me learn to be happy with what I have and utilizing everything to its fullest potential. I have learned to not give up even in situations that seem impossible because we're doing it a la Mexicana and getting there no matter what we have to do. 

Self-Portrait from Tres Mujeres/Three Generation series by Yolanda M. Lopez

In this art piece Yolanda creates a self-portrait of herself standing in a comfortable pose with one had at her side, the other at her waist, wearing long baggy clothes, hair down, and expressionless face. Through this piece Yolanda depicted herself in an unconventional way that redefines the image of a woman. It was discussed in the book how women had always been sexualized by the media and artists, so by her choice of clothes and being in a pose she was comfortable in Yolanda was able to portray herself in a way that did not create any sexualization of her body. She is demonstrating that her value as a woman is not dependent on her body. Which I think is pretty powerful since she went against the normalized view that had been created of women in order to make a new image of them. She drew herself exactly how she was without caring that it was not what had been previously done. Even to this day women are constantly being sexualized by the media but the difference is that more women have gone against it by reclaiming their bodies. It is powerful to reclaim a part of you that has been essentially taken from you because you don't let someone control who you are or the worth you have. However, there is still obviously controversy around it but there is also more support. People are more supportive of the way others want to express themselves because they don't agree with putting limits on someone's identity. 

Cristina Cardenas

For my presentation I have chosen to write about the Mexican artist Cristina Cardenas. Her art works include large scale paintings and murals that have been showcased in numerous museum collections throughout the years. The main reason why I decided to choose her was because I was drawn to the unique way of painting she has. I thought her paintings and murals were beautiful and had a compelling way of drawing in the viewer. I found it even more interesting that she used Amate paper, which dates back to the Aztecs, as a way to connect her art to her ancestors. I hope to learn more about the political aspects of her work as I continue to learn about her for my presentation. There is so much to uncover from her work that will be interesting to connect to issues during the Chicano movement and even today. 

Reading Alicica Gaspar de Alba's article is very critical to understanding how Chicana artists are left out of art and the Chicano movement. Gaspar de Alba made a lot of strong points on the reasons why men during the Chicano movement did not want to give up their power. I also thought it was very informative on the perspective that men had of women during this time, especially because some of those views can still be seen today. The explanation of the symbolism behind the rebozo was very interesting to me since it was the first time I heard of this. Something as simple as a rebozo can create so much meaning behind how it is used. A simple piece of clothing can reinforce these categories into which women are forced into and really shows how Chicanas are constantly being limited to certain roles. 

Cardenas-Barajas, Jennifer

Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer Cardenas-Barajas. My preferred pronouns are she/her/hers.
I am a fourth year Biology major with a Chicano/a/x Studies minor. I am from the Central Valley
and absolutely enjoy going home any chance I get. I am also a first generation college student.
Currently I am working as a lab assistant in a genetic research lab that focuses on cardiovascular
disorders as well as being a full time student. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to do my own
research but I have been a part of multiple research projects and have learned a lot about genotyping
along the way. However, if I have the opportunity to do my own research I would prefer to focus on
ecology, marine conservation, or on native plant conservation since these are the areas I am looking
into pursuing a masters degree in the future. I still don't have concrete plans of what I will continue
studying but I do know I want to continue my education beyond UCLA. Although I am primarily
interested in studying Biology, there are plenty of other areas I am interested in learning about and
gaining more experience in, including art. I have always wanted to learn more about art within the
Chicano community because it is typically never included in the classes I have taken, so this class
will definitely help me learn more. I really look forward to the rest of the quarter and everything we
will be learning. It was nice meeting you all in class.