Week 9: Artist Reflection

Before Friday, I knew about Judy Baca her work in the Chicano community. I've learned extensively about her most well-known work, The Great Wall of Los Angeles. It is an amazing mural that is exemplarily not only because of its size but Baca made sure that it captured the essence of Los Angeles. The emphasis on the culture of diversity in the area which makes LA home to people of all ethnic backgrounds. Every part of the mural connects to someone's history and to each other through the illustrations of shared experiences that only an Angeleno can understand. In many of my Chicano classes this piece the one that gets more recognition and is studied more than her other works. Before Friday I had not seen any of her other pieces, so it was wonderful to see her other work. I personally loved Absolutely Chicana which looks like a badass that doesn't care about others' opinions. She is a rebel that does what makes her content, in this case, it's smoking a cigarette. It seems like she had been craving it after a long hard day of being a Chicana and is enjoying every moment of it.  I love the pop art style with the bold and vibrant colors that make her stand out even more. The fact this a copy of a picture of her makes it all the better. Baca shows her rebellious youth and shows that Chicanas are stronger than they are perceived in the community.

Week 8: Presentation Reflection

There was a lot of really amazing artist presented last Friday, but a couple resonated the most with me.  Monica Kim Garza and Pola Lopez's pieces were beautiful for many similar and different reasons. Garza questions the traditional beauty standards of the world and depicts women that don't follow that thin white model that walks down the runway. The mown in her pieces are of all body sizes and skin tones. They are not covering their bodies and don't seem to be ashamed of it either. They are literally having fun in their own skin without showcasing what makes them feel and look beautiful. It is that carefree vibe that I absolutely love. The other artist I loved was Pola Lopez because of her use of color. She definitely is trying to emit emotion through her paintings. In particular, The Chamaleon was beautiful because of the different textures she used to depict the chameleon. The women's lips are so vibrant it captures your attention because it seems like she's puckering her lips to kiss the chameleon. Both of these artists are truly amazing and their work speaks to a lot of Chicanas out there trying to connect to the world. 

Week 7: Santa Baraza

I decided to do my presentation on Santa Baraza because I have learned about her in a previous class and really liked her art piece La Malinche. I really enjoy her style because apart from being beautiful work, it carries a lot of meaning and speaks to several issues and common experiences in the Chicano community.  She was born on April 7, 1951, a native to Kingsville, Texas making her Artist of the Borderland. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1975 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1982 at the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Penn State and the University of Austria. Her art focuses on identity and her experiences with understanding her cultural history. A reoccurring theme in her work is that of Nepantla, a Nahuatl word meaning in the middle, which represents in-betweenness. Those whole live near the Mexican-American border and often battle with their identity might feel like they are in between two worlds, without feeling like they belong an either. 

Week 5: Ofelia Esparza

I truly enjoyed Ofelia's presentation because it was extremely inspiring and she was an amazing presenter. She had a really calming presence and extraordinary storytelling skills. She really captured my attention and was holding onto her every word. She talked about her childhood, her family, her experiences within the Chicano movement. She showed us so many pictures of all the altars and art pieces she's done. She had an intriguing story for each picture and could have talked about them for hours. She explained the importance of family in our community. She honors her ancestors in her alters and brings so much love into them by having her relatives help her. Everyone in the family has to particpate, she even has her great-grandchildren make flowers for the alters. Even though she is in her 80s, she is full of life, and still extremely active artistically and very adventuress. Ofelia finished off with a wonderful message/ advice. She said that everyone experienced three deaths in their lifetime. The first when we stop breathing, the second is when we get buried and our body is last seen on earth. The last death is when our relatives forget about us and so she asked that we never forget our loved ones and to help their memory continue from generation to generation.

Week 6: Stencil

For my stencil, I was thinking of incorporating Calaveras and some type of flowers because I really like the aesthetic of skulls that are lively. My house had always embraced Calaveras, as my mother loved to decorate our home with elegant catrinas that are wearing sleek and flamboyant colors that has butterflies and flowers. They brought life to the home as the message was to not fear death, that life must be appreciated. That afterlife is a celebration of the colorful life that our ancestors once lived and that we must follow in their footsteps. Because I was exposed to this way of thinking and artesanias, I really love Calaveras and the beauty of life that they bring to our communities.

Week 4: Rasquachismo and Domesticana

Rasquachismo comes from the Aztec word, rasquache, meaning lower class, poor, and in bad taste with originally negative connotations. At home, my mother used the word to describe something that looked tacky like the bright colorful house that was in my neighborhood. In Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology, the authors delve into a more contemporary view of rasquichismo in the Chicano art community. Tomas Ybarra Frausto is one of the first individuals to redefine Chicano rasquachismo to be "the artistic process of selection and combination of materials—many of them found in the home and community—to create objects imbued with new meaning." (76). In this chapter, he depicts rasquachismo as an attitude, that has shaped the community to become more resourceful and appreciative of what they own. One does not necessarily need new and fancy things, but create original beautiful items by simply reusing and recycling within their community. Rasquichismo is meant to be witty and ironic in a playful demeanor that empowers Chicanos. It allows us as a community to reevaluate our cultural footprint and ensure that we are letting future generations to have a better understanding of their culture and identity. Mesa Bains goes further into this discussion by looking at the portrayal of Chicanas within the community by looking closer at the feminist aspects within rasquachismo. She calls this perspective domesticana, as a way to question the representation of women in Chicano art and in her the Chicano community. 

Week 3: Yolanda Lopez

I talked about this piece in my paper, but because of the page limit, I was not able to talk about it more depth. In May of 1969, seven Central American adolescents were accused of killing a white police officer, Joseph Brodnick in San Francisco. In response, Los Siete de la Raza had come together to speak up against the injustice happening within their community. A founder of this group, Yolanda Lopez created Free Los Siete (1969), a visual representation of the police brutality, racial profiling, and the criminalization of Latino youths in their community during this period. This piece is one of her first pieces were she sets a clear political stance and the beginning of her artistic style which will follow her throughout her pieces. The faces of the young men emit so much emotion; anger, fear, concern, disappointment, as well as frustration. They are not only representing the feelings of their own faith but they demonstrate the feeling of several Chican@s within the community. Her use of bold letters, as well as her careful selection of wording, as she used the first and last line of the pledge allegiance, but then changes the last line to "God with free". For one she is questioning American nationalism. What is the American dream? It seems to read Freedom is cut off. This image reminds me of thTigres de Norte song, La Jaula de Oro where they sing of the American dream being a beautiful place where their dreams can be fostered but it is a cage that limits there freedom to travel and restricts them from being with their families.

Barraza, Santa

For my project, I am looking forward to focusing on Santa Barraza who is a Chicana/ Tejana artist. I really enjoy her incorporation/ interpretation of the Virgen de Guadalupe in her art.

Resendiz, Jasmine

Hi everyone! My name is Jasmine and my preferred pronouns are she/her/hers. I am a fourth-year Chican@ Studies and Sociology major and am originally from the San Fernando Valley. I am the child of two Mexican immigrant parents and was born and raised in Los Angeles County for the majority of my life. When I was younger I remember my father always telling me, Si te preguntan que eres, diles que eres Mexican-American. So from a very young age, I have questioned self-identification among my own experiences and of those around me. For instance, a lot of the kids in my elementary school spoke Spanish, yet they were not all Mexican. My best friend in high school was half Salvadorian and half Guatemalan, yet her customs and religion were just like mine. Being brought up in such a diverse city, I have learned that self-identity is extremely complicated yet it is what makes an individual whole. UCLA has exposed even more to the diversity within my classroom and on campus. Thus, I am excited to learn more about Chicana artists that have experimented with the importance of identity and who most closely illustrate my experiences.