Torres, Sarahy (week 10)

    Taking this course made me realize the different Chicana artists forgotten in the Chicano/a art movement.

The only Chicana artists I knew were Frida Khalo and Judithe Hernandez. The dominant artist in the

movement is Los Four while Judithe was later integrated into the group. An artist I learned in this course is

Celina Hinojosa who was presented by Marziyah Qureshi. Seeing this artist was eye-opening since I have seen

the art but never the artist. Hinojosa was born in South Texas and currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. She has been

painting since 1974. She started as a pianist and transitioned into painting after gaining inspiration from daily life. 

She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1980 and MFA in 1995. It was not until 1996 that she decided to become a serious

artist. In addition to being a serious painter, she owns her own studio in San Antonio, Texas. Her different paintings

are influenced not only by ordinary life but community as well. 

    One of the paintings was of a woman cooking in the kitchen. Her facial expression was serious and emotionless.

Her nonemotions remind me of my mom cooking in the kitchen with a stoic expression. She was also fully clothed

with a “mantel” around her waist. The mantel signifies a cultural outfit for cooking in the kitchen. Another painting

was showing women in the cactuses. They reminded me of field workers working in harsh conditions such as the

heat. The women’s hairstyle is braided or otherwise known as “trinsas”. This shows a cultural reference to Latina

women often using this hairstyle. The final painting I would like to discuss shows a woman smoking. The setting is

laidback while she is taking her time to relax. Her body shows a lot of tattoos and makes a statement that smoking is

not only for men. Her appearance also goes against skinny girls being the only ones to relax when smoking. The

colors in the painting are seen in our culture through attire such as the color green. 

Torres, Sarahy (week 9)

 

Once more it was difficult to choose which artist I should choose to write a blog post on. I finally settled on my classmate, Andrew Avila’s artist, Vanessa Ayala. I am beyond shocked she did not already have a Wikipedia page since her art is amazing. Seeing her art is visually pleasing since there are a lot of colors happening. Ayala is a singer/writer, painter, and entrepreneur. To say the least, she is a boss woman. She is mostly based in New York which is a populated place where her art could be seen in murals much like certain places in LA. She received her bachelor’s at San Francisco with concentrations in fine arts and graphics. Her art is inspired by celebrities specifically women.

The three artworks introduced were Chola Lisa, Still Here, and Hindu Guadalupe. Chola Lisa was painted to reimage Eurocentric Mona Lisa. Now, you can see Chola Lisa with tattoos on her body, nails done, and hoops. This version of Chola Lisa is similar to how Chicanas used to dress and still continue to. Still here was created during Dia de los Muertos. This means the painting is centered around the date. It is dedicated to the indigenous children whose bodies are buried under Canadian schools. Hindu Guadalupe is a revisioned image of La Virgin de Guadalupe. Ayala believed in uniting all cultural groups through her pop art of Guadalupe. The background of Hindu Guadalupe is canvases. Ayala’s artistic goal is to unite non-indigenous and indigenous artists. She is pushing the boundaries of first-generation Americans by idealizing the idea of being Indigenous. She is owning it. 

When looking at Chola Lisa I see she is very vibrant. When Ayala painted this art she took away the Eurocentric image of the Mona Lisa and made her more art approachable to everyone. This means that her art can now be appreciated by everyone, not just those who like Eurocentric art.  Still here showcase Indigenous women in a different light such as having many colors in the painting. This painting takes attention away from men which are always shown first when it comes to Indigenous people. This time, Ayala highlights women at the forefront. Hindu Guadalupe is vibrant and does not have the usual colors it has such as green or yellow. This painting reminds me of Yolanda Lopez’s art of La Virgin. This painting is also reimaging the Guadalupe to be inclusive of all cultures.

Torres, Sarahy (week 8)

    Listening to my peers presenting made it difficult to choose which artist to write a blog post on. I was automatically captivated by my peers' artist, Graciela Carrillo. Carrillo was being presented by Jacqueline Torres who did an excellent job in showing the mujer muralista. Carillo is an artist and muralist who was born in 1950 and gained an education from San Francisco State in the 1960s. There were three pieces of art presented which were Cactus (1974), Latinoamerica, and Marzo (1975). Latinoamerica represented the Latino community, showed a man holding a calendar, and Cactus the Mexican American community. During the process of painting Latinoamerica, families would work from seven in the morning to three in the afternoon where they would learn about Indigenous culture. The corn in the mural (Latinoamerica) showed the significance of food to Indigenous people as well as educational knowledge being connected to cultural roots. Marzo showing a man holding a calendar referenced the Aztecs' creation of them. Marzo and Cactus were also showcased in the Galería de la Raza. 

When seeing the murals and paintings, I was astonished by the colors and use of objects in them. For example, Latinoamerica appeared huge in the presentation and held a lot of Indigenous knowledge/references. The colors are warm tones but strong simultaneously. The use of fields, corn, and symbols holds important value to the overall mural. Marzo appeared to me as a man holding a calendar with wings and a cape. The wings seem angelic and the cape adds on this superhero persona to his character. Cactus I believe references the undocumented population in the Latino community. It signifies the dedication of crossing the border to live the “American Dream”. It reminds me of the saying “border crossed us”. Our undocumented people cross the border that was not suppose to exist since it is stolen land from the Anglos. Marzo touches beyond the immigration issue but the origin of it. From the Native Americans and Mexicans being driven away from the land (Manifest Destiny) to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

Torres, Sarahy (Manifesto Armado (Armed Manifesto))

 

Joining this webinar was different from the other I joined since it involved the conversation around a whole exposition. When I logged in, I was automatically shown a performance which I later found out was Mujeres Armadas. It was unique watching the project unfold itself and the people behind organizing the event speaking upon the purpose of it.

Mujeres Armadas was one of many performances/art in La Revuelta exposition. The performance shows four women wielding a knife and speaking in Spanish. The purpose behind the women holding a knife is to demonstrate what happens when women wield it instead of men. It means women refuse to stay quiet and yield something that is predominantly masculine. Weapons are automatically associated with men since they could “handle it”. The imagery of women using the knife is powerful since the image is powerful as mentioned by one of the women. The women explain the knife as being able to cut through their insecurities. They do so while cutting bananas with notes written on it. Some of these notes include “miedo” (fear) or “dolor” (hurt). The women resist and show resilience yielding the knife that is not meant for them based on societal expectations.

La Revuelta was created as a space for women to be themselves in art spaces. It is made up of five women who created it mid pandemic in the year 2020. These women found out about each other virtually. From these virtual interactions, their first exposition, Recontarnos, was born. Recontarnos showcased thirteen works from twenty five Central American women. These twenty five women resisted traditional art and put in their interpretations of resistance. Some of these involve performances such as Mujeres Armadas. The creators behind the exposition chose the name because it was a way for Latina artists to refind themselves as artists. 

Torres, Sarahy (week 7)

 

Reading Claudia Zapatas essay was insightful to the evolution of art techniques since the 1980s. Oliver Grau mentioned digital arts involves a “dialogue between artist and their chosen media”. It showcases the closeness of relationship between artists and art pieces. The author also describes the “cultural layer” as a prioritization of visual messages in a form of political resistance. When speaking of the new art techniques, the digital forms allow past and new artists the opportunity to showcase their political resistance. Digital forms make art pieces accessible to everyone with internet access. 

Technological Exchange Centers

Something I found interesting was the Self Graphic Art in Los Angeles, Arte es Vida, which celebrates Dia de los Muertos. Arte es Vida reminds the community that Dia de los Muertos is here to stay in the neighborhood. It also perseveres and redefines the Day of the Dead artistic objective. 

Web 2.0

This movement bloomed a new era of art techniques from social networks like Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Tumblr. The most recent social networks have been Instagram and Tik Tok. New generations of artists have been using social networks to showcase their art to be noticed since publishers are more difficult to obtain. Since social networks became popular, artists have been able to publicize their art to attract everyone who is interested in it. It is a way for movements to also occur for certain issues such as police brutality. Justice for Vanessa Guillén became wildly spread throughout Instagram with different graphics showcasing her as colorful. These graphics allowed those who weren’t aware of who she was to understand the issue of Latinas being in the military with the lack of protection toward them. The military did nothing to save Vanessa Guillén and the graphic showcased this by the Instagram caption having a short description of the meaning behind the art. 

Torres, Sarahy (week 6)

    Seeing Xandra Ibarra’s artwork makes it difficult to concentrate on just one of them. I was automatically drawn to the sculptures and photography she has since it is something I am accustomed to. I looked through her sculptures and decided on analyzing “Side by Side (couple)”. Ibarra’s meaning behind this is the ability to be seen as a “collaborative social unit”. She collected these dead cockroaches at her mother’s house. She placed these cockroaches on top of rhinestones to show their last moments together. 

    Seeing this sculpture at first was shocking because it's just insects. I never considered insects to be considered art. I also have never seen two insects dead together unless they were squashed. It’s interesting to see someone interpret these two cockroaches as a couple dying together. It reminded me of Romeo and Juliet where they die after one another. It touches on the romatizing of relationships and dying together. 

    The concept of relationship is mentioned in this sculpture by the couple dying together. It speaks on the dream of being able to spend a lifetime with someone. It alludes to the Disney movies that have a happily ever after. The display given to the cockroaches shows their importance to their death. 

    Ibarra’s artwork is interesting to see since each art piece demonstrates a different part of her thinking process. For example, the photograph “Sad Fuks” shows different bed mattresses in the street with the different Spanish words. Ibarra explains how these bed mattresses represent a plea for help in the Latino/Chicano community. She mentions how it is not a “call to do something” but “to feel the present crisis of uncertainty”. The encoded words in the mattresses show the community how important it is to help one another during these uncertain times especially during the pandemic.

Torres, Sarahy (Wiki Draft: Ilien Guadalupe Tolteca)

Ilien Guadalupe Tolteca (2001) is a mixed media artist known for her commission “Desde Casita” where she promoted vaccination through coloring books. 

Biography

Early Life

Ilien Guadalupe Tolteca was born in Ventura, CA and raised in Oxnard, CA. She is the daughter of a field worker and line cook. Her work is inspired by her identity of being Mexican American and lacking space for representation. She shows in her art “Ni de Aqui, Ni de Alla” to represent her belonging of two identities.

Education

Tolteca is an undergraduate student double majoring in visual arts and Chicanx Studies at the California State University of Channel Islands (CSUCI).

School Involvement

She is heavily involved in student government as the Senator of Commuters and Transportation. She advocates for more alternative ways of transportation for the local students which are primarily Latino students and easier accessibility to the Multicultural Dream Center for underrepresented students.

 

In high school, she was honored by the Teaching and Educational Careers Academy at Pacifica High School as an outstanding leader in the year 2016-2017.

Community Involvement

She is involved in her community through the Oxnard Performing Arts Center where she donated coloring books to promote vaccination rates in Oxnard, CA. In addition, she donates stickers to local organizations such as Oxnard Student Success for their 2019-2020 school supply distribution.

Art

• Keep your community safe, vaccinate! is a coloring book that promotes vaccination in the community. This project began in 2021.

• No Rompas Mas is a sticker showcasing Mexican candy. The sticker was created in 2020.

• Desde Casita is a project created in 2021 to recognize essential workers specifically field workers.

References

1. Patel, Shivani. “Hundreds of Oxnard Area Students Get Donated School Supplies.” Ventura County Star, Ventura County Star, 15 Sept. 2020, https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2020/09/14/oxnard-area-kindergarten-12-students-get-donated-school-supplies/5790015002/.  

2. Stories, Local. “Meet Ilien Guadalupe Tolteca of La Tiendita De Buffy in Oxnard - Voyage La Magazine: La City Guide.” Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide, 23 Sept. 2020, http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-ilien-guadalupe-tolteca-la-tiendita-de-buffy-oxnard/. 

3. “Kid's Coloring Book.” OPAC, https://www.oxnardperformingarts.com/kidrsquos-coloring-book.html. 

4. The CI View. “Ilien Tolteca: Student Government Senator Candidate.” The CI View, 10 Apr. 2021, https://civiewnews.com/news/ilien-tolteca-asi-elections-student-government-senator-candidate/. 

5. “Student of the Month.” Welcome to TECA!!!  Building Leaders and Changing Lives since 2007, http://www.tecaphs.com/student-of-the-month.html. 

6. “2021-2022 ASI Election Candidates.” 2021-2022 ASI Election Candidates - Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) - CSU Channel Islands, https://asi.csuci.edu/asi-elections/asielectioncandidates.htm. 

Further reading

• “Meeting Agendas and Minutes Archive.” Meeting Agendas and Minutes Archive - Student Government - CSU Channel Islands, https://studentgov.csuci.edu/agendas-minutes-16-17/agenda-archive.htm. 

• Santos, Senerey de los. “Vaccine Outreach Campaign Begins in Ventura County.” NewsChannel 3-12, 18 June 2021, https://keyt.com/news/2021/06/17/vaccine-outreach-campaign-begins-in-ventura-county/

External links

• https://ne-np.facebook.com/OxnardPerformingArts/videos/personal-invitation-by-local-artist-ilien-tolteca-aka-buffythis-sunday-dont-miss/365688215074512/?extid=SEO---- 
• https://www.instagram.com/_labuffy_/
• https://latienditadebuffy.bigcartel.com/
• https://www.depop.com/products/buffs_-desde-casita-is-a-commission-68f1/

Torres, Sarahy (Art in Uncertain Times - X as Intersection: Latinx Artists in Conversation Series)

     The art panel for the series of the webinar was awe inspiring. I had never been to a webinar where artists get to showcase their work and the meaning behind it so this was eye opening. The two artists who caught my attention were Elia Alba and Christina Fernandez. I liked how they had their own art style but it both resembled the general aspect of oppression. Although their oppression were in a way similar, it differed in the movements both artists were passionate about. For example, Alba focused more on women of color while Fernandez focused more on labor in the workplace. 

  Alba's artwork, trailblazer, caught my attention when she was showing it to us because it was a photograph of people of color, specifically women of color. It focused on a population that is not usually exposed in art. Her other art project, Supper club, was different from the projects I have seen since it “documented African, Latinx, Asian cultures as a collective group”. All these individuals were captured getting dinners as a collective where they had relaxed postures and were conversing like they would in their everyday lives. This project started in 2012 and had 10 dinners where Alba was able to capture the normalcy of people.

  Fernandez’s work focuses on the labor movement where she takes photos of garment buildings with graffiti written on them sometimes. Her famous photos of the hands holding cars showcase different ideas. For example, one of them expresses the deaths of farmworkers in Saint Paul with working conditions of over 104 degrees. Another one shows Dolores Huerta and her ruptured spleen after taking a brutal beating from a police officer. Lastly, her photograph of the trailer where it was a vintage, adorable place until the 3rd time she saw it, it was burnt down. It showcased the high rates of living conditions in California especially during the pandemic. 

Torres, Sarahy (week 5)

 One piece of art that stood out to me from the Cortez book is Loteria—Primera Tabla by Carmen Lomas Garza in 1972. The painting reminds me of my childhood playing loteria in family parties especially with my grandmas. The loteria represents a part of the Latin@ culture by showcasing a bingo in our language with an incentive at the end. We use beans to cover our tabla if we do not have spare change such as pennies. Beans make the game more interesting and fun since they could easily slip out of the tabla and make a player lose their chances of winning. It also demonstrates the competitiveness of our culture with winning at something such as the loteria. It shows we are in control of our own games and could benefit from entertainment without needing a lot of money for it. 

When I think of loteria I automatically think of spending the afternoon at my grandma's house and playing for hours. I would automatically choose my tabla which is lucky number 12 and win mostly all rounds. By the end of the night my sandwich bag would be full of spare change I had won with my family. My family likes getting the loteria that is big so it is easier to see the cards since the average size gets confusing when putting beans/pennies. Everyone cheats at one point in the game since they do not want to lose the spare change they had put in the game to play. It is interesting to see how everyone plays since some are slower than others in putting the beans/pennies down on the cards. Nevertheless, loteria is something familiar and comfortable to me since it represents the bonding I share with my family by playing it for hours.

Torres, Sarahy (Week 4)

 

        Domesticana is resisting the subjugation of women in the domestic sphere. For example, women being told to stay in the kitchen, have children and stay at home. For my personal image, I decided to post a picture of a sticker I have on my laptop. I bought this ticket from a small business owner in Ventura, CA. The small business owner is a Chicana who I first met as a boys and girls club advisor in middle school. Soon, she was having her own business in downtown Ventura. She sells Mexican items so the people from the city can buy them. I feel a sense of belonging in the store because it is filled with cultural items in my household. The business owner's transition is inspiring because she went from working for someone to being her own boss. 

        The sticker shown below represents women's empowerment and cultural relevance to being a Chicana. The "we can do it" symbol is mostly used by white women empowerment but the skull makes it different. The skull reminds me of Dia de Los Muertos which feels like home to me. I feel like I relate to the sticker because it resembles my culture. Whenever I see the sticker I feel motivated to continue my education and career path. To achieve my dreams of becoming an educator in my community. 

                    My mother is someone who I see that rejected the domesticana culture. It is frowned upon to be a single mother especially after divorcing and getting another partner. She stayed a single mother and worked to provide for my siblings and me. She went against the stereotypes of being a stay-at-home mom and being obedient to her partner. She is a strong, independent woman who I admire. She taught me to always stand up for myself and be independent.

Torres, Sarahy (abstract for Illien Guadalupe Tolteca )

 Source 1:

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2020/09/14/oxnard-area-kindergarten-12-students-get-donated-school-supplies/5790015002/

      Ventura County Star is a local newspaper covering the news for the county of Ventura. Shivani Patel is the education reporter covering the educational events/issues in the county. In 2020, the organization, Oxnard Student Success, gave over 260 school supplies which consisted of Tolteca’s stickers. Tolteca donated her hand-drawn stickers to the students at the school supply distribution. Patel covers this story by saying community members donated supplies to help the students from unincorporated areas.

Source 2:

http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-ilien-guadalupe-tolteca-la-tiendita-de-buffy-oxnard/

           Voyage LA is an online platform that supports local artists, businesses, and more in the Los Angeles area. They interviewed Toletca by asking personal questions such as inspirations, background, and struggles. Tolteca was inspired by her identity of being a Chicana to style her paintings. Her struggles of being a Chicana artist were difficult to overcome due to the lack of Latinx artists to follow. According to Voyage LA, Toletca became heavily involved in her art when Viva Oxnard, a local Oxnard community organization, asked for a commission piece that would later be transformed into 500 coloring books given to the students of Oxnard.

Source 3:

https://ne-np.facebook.com/OxnardPerformingArts/videos/personal-invitation-by-local-artist-ilien-tolteca-aka-buffythis-sunday-dont-miss/365688215074512/?extid=SEO---- 

https://www.oxnardperformingarts.com/mission-vision-values.html

       The Oxnard Performing Arts Center (OPAC) is a Ventura County center that celebrates the arts and promotes cultural development in the community. Tolteca donated coloring books encouraging vaccination in the community at one of OPAC’s events. One of the events was a family night that occurred in July. Tolteca was invited to promote family night at OPAC to the public on their Facebook page. The flyer could be found on their page where the event is promoted to the community.

Torres, Sarahy (Week 3)

     Growing up, I was used to seeing and hearing about La Virgen. We idolize her in our culture and have statues of her, especially in Mexico. When I went to Mexico in sixth grade, I went to Zacapo and got La Virgin statue in the form of a little girl that lit up. She had a light bulb inside of her and would turn on when I would connect it to the USB port. Up to this day, I still have her. Other items I have of her are a necklace and print pictures. The necklace was given to me by one of our neighbors from Mexico and the print pictures were given to me by my mom. 

    La Virgen de Guadalupe is also seen in television series such as “La Rosa De Guadalupe” where they speak upon ‘true’ events. My mom, tias, and grandma love watching this series because they think its very nonfictional, and because it happens on tv it will happen in real life. I dread watching some of these shows though with my mom because its sometimes about teenagers and she turns to me when they are doing something bad on tv and says “ya vas” as if I were to do that too. I do like watching it and continue to. My favorite part of the series is the iconic moment of the person learning a lesson having a wind moment and the white rose disappearing with the Virgen Maria appearing. Also, I cannot forget to mention the music they play afterward with the lesson being explained. 

    La Virgen is always mentioned in our family especially during Christmas where my tia “acuesta el niño” (sleeps Jesus). She tells us about Jesus and La Virgen being his mother. All of my family is catholic except for one of my aunts which everyone criticizes. Catholicism is something that we learned and grew into such as getting baptized when we are young and doing our first communion/confirmation. I love the Virgin Maria and pray to her regarding my loved ones' health and other things. She is someone I think highly of and respect because of her role in our lives. 

    

Cruz, Emilia

 2. Cristal Guitierrez

3. Jeaneen Carlino

Torres, Sarahy

 Hi everyone!

My name is Sarahy Torres and I am a second-year majoring in Chicanx Studies (soon to be a double major in Education). I was born and raised in Oxnard, CA which is an hour away from UCLA depending on traffic. My pronouns are she/her/ella. Growing up in a city populated with Latino/as I have never heard of our history during school. It was not until junior year when I went to go see Valley of the Heart by Luis Valdez that I became interested in Chicanx Studies. Soon, I was researching topics from the Zoot Suit Riots to the East LA Riots. I became so passionate, I dedicated my projects around it. When I was taking an art class, I researched Chicanx artists and came across 'los four' and 'los tres grandes'. Ever since then, I realized I wanted to major in Chicanx Studies in college to learn from professors who surround their lives work on learning about our gentes history. 

I identity as a Chicana, first-generation, low-income student. Through my identities, I am able to relate to the students with who I work. Furthermore, I aspire to become a teacher in Oxnard, CA. As of now, I am working in one of the local high schools to network with the teachers and administrators. So far, I have built great connections with the teacher I am currently working with.

 

I have not been involved in research yet but I would be interested in learning more about ESL students specifically students from Latin America. I am taking this course to learn more about Chicana artists since I am not familiar with many. I mostly know Chicano artists as seen from my exploration from los four and los tres grandes. I am excited to explore my community through the art movement and know more about Chicana artists who are often left out of movements.