Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 9)

It is astonishing to learn about artists who are able to create art in large scales. Irene perez was raised and currently living in Oakland, California. She is the the co-founder of "Mujeres Muralists", a group of Chicana artists that create outdoor murals throughout the Bay Area. Their main focus was to emphasize the art and beauty of Chicana women and culture. One of their most famous pieces is known as Maestra Peace which covers two sides of a building. Although the overall image is large in scale they did not miss any detail. Each corner highlights hispanic women and goddesses who are well recognized such as Hana Ashrawi, Lolita Lebron, and Georgia O’Keefe and the Aztec moon goddess.  There were seven women who all contributed to make this mural come to life and over 100 volunteers. As Professor Alma Lopez, emphasized the importance of when the mural was created during the Mexican American movement. It is important to note although individuals were bringing awareness to hispanic culture but it was heavily influenced by a mans perspective.

 

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 8)

 This weeks presentation focused on public art and I was very impressed to see everyone's knowledge on their wikipedia artist. The artist that stood out to me the most was, Brenda Barrios presented by Armando Perez. Brenda Barrios is a UCLA Art Student, although she began her career as Fashion she still manages to incorporate it into her art. In 2018 she was hospitalized and came to the realization that she wanted to continue doing art in higher education. A lot of her following on social media came from doing a live mural on TV of a cartoon Frida Kahlo taking a selfie. Brenda uses her art to bring awareness to issues in the community such as immigration, disabilities and health. After learning about her I decided to do more research on her art. One of my favorites was the image below. During the pandemic, there was a lot going on throughout the world and I think this image captures the chaos but at the same time its normality. On the right side of the image you can see people dinning outside while others protest. She is also encouraging people to go vote all in the middle of a fire. Her art is creating awareness to many issues as she actively shows the reality of the scenes. Its also nice to see colors of the people that represent our community.

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Abstract: Marianela De La Hoz)

 1. Marianela de la Hoz. (1970, February 3). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from http://www.marianeladelahoz.com/.

On her website, Marianela de la Hoz describes her work as "White Noise" which she refers to it as deception of sarcasm and black humor. She discusses her work to be realistic by capturing "today's troubled times." She expresses her admiration comes from the bad and the good within. 

2. Pincus, R. L. (2021, July 9). Marianela de la Hoz: Disquieting scenes of haunting beauty. KCET. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/marianela-de-la-hoz-disquieting-scenes-of-haunting-beauty.

In this article written by Robert L. Pincus, he discusses her imagery to be dark yet in a way that she is comfortable with it. He also covers the exhibitions where she will be displaying certain pieces. When she began to minimize the size of her art work she began to create in a greater depth. The article also discusses her personal life with her husband and her achievements. In the interview it is expressed that she changes her style of painting when her nephew is born. Overall this article talks about her style and what influenced it, as well as her personal timeline. 

3. “Paintings from the Confinement.” San Diego Museum of Art, 8 June 2021, https://www.sdmart.org/exhibition/paintings-from-the-confinement/.

During COVID-19, the artist was able to create and exhibit art at the San Diego Museum of Art. She expresses how she felt during the pandemic and demonstrates 11 intimate egg tempera paintings. 

Dur

Meza-Rendon, Silvia

 My artist is Marianela De La Hoz. 

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 3: Virgin Mary)

 The Virgin Mary is someone whom my mom has always prayed to and believed in. When we migrated to the United States my mom came not knowing anyone but she always resorted to her. Growing up we had multiple images of the Virgin Mary around the house. Whenever we faced hardships my mother would encourage me to pray with her to the Virgin Mary. My mother felt closer to her roots by displaying her, considering her mom also grew up with the similar ideals. She would constantly remind me that "La Virgencita" was looking after me whenever I went out. When my grandparents passed away she made her own ofrenda where she covered it with multiple Virgin Mary's to look out after them as well. My mom would also make me watch "La Rosa De Guadalupe" with her which is a show that demonstrates life lessons being resolved through the faith of the Virgin Mary. The show brings awareness to issues that happen throughout the world.

In Culiacan, Sinaloa there is a church I would go to and they had a Virgin Mary at the top of some stairs. People would kneel their way up the stairs and ask her for something they desired. I remember going on my knees and slowly going up a set of stairs aside my mom when I was younger. The experience was very memorable and it felt heart-warming to do it with my family. I remember feeling so empowered and confident that what I asked for would come true for me. Naturally, as I grew older the picture of the Virgin Mary brings comfort into my life. Although I am personally am not religious, it is heart warming to see her image because it brings back memories for me. By speaking to the Virgin Mary, it helped me practice manifestation and comfort growing up.  Even though I did not realize when I was younger, once I got older I understood it was a great foundation to develop a relationship with myself. 

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 5: Lomas Garza)

 Carmen Lomas Garza by Constance Cortez allows us to dive into the Chicano/a culture through her lense. Although she grew up in Texas it is clear to see that she did not leave her customs behind as a Mexican-American. Although customs vary with culture, I believe any individual who looks at her paintings can sense the emotion being evoked by memories. Her images capture very particular moments in life which I can relate to.

"Tamalada" (1998) stood out to me because I grew up with my parents making tamales at a young age. This picture is an oil painting that demonstrates the efforts that go into making tamales. The picture depicts generations of family coming together to make tamales, each one of them pertaining to their own special task. We can also see that each of them demonstrate their own sense of style that goes with the individual. Although I never grew up with family, it was nice to see this picture and imagine myself portraying one of the characters. I can only imagine the bond families create during the holidays especially being able to grow up with these accustoms. The image demonstrates how beautiful bonding and working together harmonious can be so intimate. It's interesting to see how there are different generations of family being shown in the image. Lomas Garza does a great job at showing the sentimental value of family through her imagery.

It is important to note how she also used very bright colors in her image. Everyone seems to be wearing something colorful and the walls are painted. It is light-hearted in comparison to other chicana/o artists, she tends to focus on culture and family. Instead of being thought provoking, there is a sense of nostalgic emotions that come from the intimate scenarios that she paints. 

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 4: Rasquchismo)

Rasquachismo is being innovative and resourceful with what we are already given in our lifes which tends to be prominent in the Chicano/a culture. I grew up visting my grandparents in a small ranch where I practiced rasquachismo on a daily basis and this became a part of my life. At first it began with small gestures such as using soda bottles to replant flowers that I liked or reusing plastic containers to store food. Once I grew older, I still began to see these ideas being recreated in other spaces. One of my favorite forms of rasquachismo is this place called "East Jesus" it is located in Niland, California. People here live off the grid and are forced to be resourceful because of the lack of resources. One of the quotes I like states,  "Rasquachismo is neither an idea nor a style but more of an attitude or taste." They certainly have a taste for art! They have created an entire community and art exhibition on items that may have not been of us to others. One of my favorites is the exhibition of stacked TV's painted with different quotes that are thought evoking. Whenever I visit these places it allows me to be appreciative of the things I have and reminds me that I am not limited. I apply this to my own life as well as a low-income designer, I always had to find ways to innovate to execute my ideas. I found myself going to thrift stores and using random items to recreate new ones because fabric is expensive at craft stores. The idea of rasquachismo created my own taste and perspectives in life, I believe it is essential to be innovative and create without limitations. I do not believe that it should be looked down upon or considered negatively because it is essential to many peoples life. It can be as simple as reusing small items to designing a brand new commodity through used items. 

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 6: Xandra Ibarra)

 Xandra Ibarra also known La Chica Boom creates an aesthetic movement in the Chicano/a community, at first her images and visuals were intriguing but yet I struggled to understand the concepts behind them. One of the images that stood out to me the most is titled "She's On Her Rag." When I saw the name of the title I immediately associated it with someone being on their period which threw me off guard because I've never seen art that expresses someone's period visually. The title itself stood out to me to begin with but when I saw the series of images it reminded me of a heart. After reading, Ibarra's response to her image it was interesting to note that she brought up the idea of rorschach inkblot. This is a psychological test where images are up to interpretation and we can see patterns of personalities depending on what people see. This allows her images to be whatever the observer might see. 

I enjoyed reading the interview of her expressing the way she begun this project, usually people discuss periods in a negative connotation. Yet, she is bringing awareness to something all women go through and is making memorable art though it. It stood out to me when she expresses her art work with selling herself without "being seen." In a sense I understood what she meant but it left me wondering, how does this demonstrate the manipulation of politcal economy of sexuality? In the interview she states that at first she was just collecting the images she created,  I am wondering at what point does she start to see a deeper meaning to her images? How did she manage to make a connection with the rorschach inkblot? One of the things that she did not go into detail about was the images itself being in an envelope. I believe this comes back to the idea of selling herself but I am curious to know her own interpretation.

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Week 7: Claudia Zapata)

 In Claudia Zapata's essay we explore the idea of digital art although many might consider this as a replacement to art as we know it; I believe we are expanding our capabilities. We are extending the resources we have and are allowing people to experience the Chicano/a world in a new light. As stated in the essay, we can take into consideration the digital revolution that begun in the 1980s which allowed technical advancements. This allowed artists to express themselves through different platforms, creating a greater sense of activism amongst the Chicano/a community. It was interesting to find out that Chicano/a art is being presented in different ways. It caught my attention to know that they have gone as far as made virtual realities. At first, I believed it was only a way for individuals to play games but after reading Zapata's essay it is enlightening to see how situations can be played out for other's to experience Chicano/a art. One of the examples demonstrates the multi-sensory experience including video and audio to create the scenario Daniel went through. He experienced being kicked out of his home due to his sexuality. He was able to get recordings from the actual incident itself. Although we can only ever imagine what this may look like, Daniel was able to create his own virtual reality to share with others. I find it important for people to put themselves in these spaces to allow them to empathize with other individuals.

Meza-Rendon, Silvia (Wikipedia Draft: Week 5)

 Wikipedia Page: Marianela De La Hoz

Marianela (born 1964)  is an artist whose technique is informed by Surrealism and focuses on representational art. She uses an ancient technique known as Egg Tempera, this allows it to create a contemporary look considering her work tends to be detailed and precise. Her idea of magic realism is labeled "white violence" due to her capability to use black humor and fantasy to 

demonstrate the darker side of humanity.  Marianela De la Hoz was born in Mexico City but moved to San Diego, CA when she was 15. Her passion for art began at an early age but it was not until she turned 25 that she decided to focus on creating. She earned a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design at Mexico City's Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and was able to work within her career for over a decade.

Art  (or Notable Works or Selected Works. Also Exhibitions, Projects, Collections)

•  “Heaven and Earth, the Determined Freedom of an Undetermined Life”- San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park

• Mundos Pequeños/Small Worlds, Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

• Adiós a la Calle, Torre ejecutiva de PEMEX, México City. México

References

1. Chute, James. “Marianela De La Hoz Explores Duality in 'Heaven and Earth'.” Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sept. 2016, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/visual-arts/sdut-sdma-marianela-de-la-hoz-2012oct20-htmlstory.html. 

2. Pincus, Robert L. “Marianela De La Hoz: Disquieting Scenes of Haunting Beauty.” KCET, 9 July 2021, https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/marianela-de-la-hoz-disquieting-scenes-of-haunting-beauty. 

3. “Marianela De La Hoz.” San Diego Museum of Art, 1 June 2017, https://www.sdmart.org/exhibition/marianela-de-la-hoz/. 

Further reading

• Crowbonehuyana, et al. “Studio Visit Interview with Artist Spotlight: Marianela De La Hoz.” Artlarking.wordpress.com, 4 Dec. 2012, https://artlarking.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/studio-visit-interview-with-artist-spotlight-marianela-de-la-hoz/. 

External links

• Artist website: www.marianeladelahoz.com