Identity, Art, tagging,

I learned a lot from taking Chicana Art and Artists. I think what most surprised me about this quarter was learning about the importance of art and representation of different artists. Growing up in a low-income household, I could definitely relate to bell hooks experience as my family saw art as a luxury. Because we deemed art as a luxury, artistic expression was never encouraged in my family and even less in school. LAUSD faces annual brutal budget cuts and the first programs to go are always art programs. Due to lack of art in school and in my life in general, I decided to tag. My whole family and community frowned upon taggers without knowing that the tagging community is very different that what it seems. Although it is an alternative artistic expression, it is a counter-space that helped me develop as a creative person. Taking this class really helped me acknowledge why art matters. Most importantly, why art matters in communities of color where our realities are much more surreal. Learning about different artists and their artistic expressions shaped by their own reality resonated with me. Learning about an artist such as Sandra de la Loza was empowering, She challenges the same systematic structures that I strive to challenge, yet she challenges them through art. It's been a powerful class with many setbacks as well. Our often limited definitions did not fit into another's reality, and I am perfectly fine not labeling or placing a forced identity onto another. Although our identities make us who we are, they also carry a lot of weight towards how hegemony views them.

Where are the Chicana Print Makers?

  I appreciated the articles discussion about the different subjectivities Chicana print makers brought into their art.  By discussing the vast topics that Chicana print makers include in their art works, they are not subjugated to created the "ideal" Chicano narrative. Chicana artists often times choose print making due to its accessibility to the communities they serve. Although there is a high presence in Chicana print-makers, there absence in museums and other galleries is noticed. The piece that most stood out to me was Diane Gamboa's Self Portrait.

This image presents the viewer with a shattered and fragmented image of Diane. There is a psychological factor to the piece as it clearly captures Gamboa in a shocked state. Her image portrays trauma as well as realization, in a style that shows her as fragmented.

Diane Gamboa's other pieces utilize different techniques of print-making yet portray similar raw and confronting messages. Her other prints such as Altered State, confront gender roles and display that masculinity is not synonymous with men and femininity is not synonymous with women. By portraying the male body as desirable and sexually objectifying the body, Gamboa is introducing a narrative that is utterly common for women but almost unseen of for men. 

Carmen Lomas Garza

Carmen Lomas Garza artwork on traditional and everyday life inspired me to view beauty in daily things. She produces beautiful masterpieces depicting uneventful circumstances but draws from her memory to recreate such events. I think what makes these uneventful landscapes important is the fact that she is remembering the experiences that shaped her.

The piece I admired the most was the Earache Treatment. This art piece reminded me of the remedies I did not have much faith in growing up. I remember my mother doing this treatment as well as another treatment with an egg. When my mother did not know a treatment for something in particular she would call my grandmother or tias. In this piece Carmen Lomas Garza is honoring her mother as a healer. These pieces, similar to her other work validate many traditions and everyday actions as important. I find Carmen Lomas Garza's work as subtly revolutionary due to validation and representation she is provided to younger age groups through her children books and accessibility of her art works. The installations in a housing project also struck me as revolutionary, similar to the murals in Estrada Courts, she is providing accessibility to art in poor areas such as housing projects.

Laura Aguilar

I have previously seen Laura Aguilar's work on the internet. However most of the commentary on her work only expressed sizeism and her incorporation of other body sizes as beautiful. However, when she was spoken about in class, that is what her art became so much more significant to me. The way she views herself through her is absolutely beautiful and powerful. By also keeping in mind that as an artist and a queer person of color her identity is constantly negated due to her size and abilities. When Professor Alma Lopez discussed why she allowed her the Chicano Studies Research Center to archive her work, was another raw image that Laura portrayed. She already had plans to commit suicide, and she was still making sure her work could be appreciated. I think as a person who has experienced similar negating of identities with both mental health, sexuality, my body image and how I am perceived, her suicidal thoughts deeply resonated and I suddenly felt very emotional. How she uses her art to feel better about who she is, inspires me like no other artist or person has. 

Border Patrol uniform repurposed

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Margarita Cabrera's incredible and witty use of material caught my eye. Her use of the re-purposed Border Control uniform was the piece that caught my attention. I appreciated her attention to detail and material use in all her artwork. The Nopal, however caught my attention because of the specific fabric she was using. The role that Border Patrol plays in our communities is one that brings great pain and sorrow. She dismantles the uniform and creates a nopal, something that  nourishes and heals our community. The symbolism behind her artwork is powerful. She leaves the excess thread to bring attention to the labor involved into the manufacturing of products. Margarita Cabrera's art stood out to me the most due to her intentional use of nontraditional material and the attention to brings to ordinary household objects.

La Virgen

 La virgen de Guadalupe is probably the most important icon in my household. Growing up I saw her everywhere, every room, every tia’s house, at church, and on my necklace. La virgin was important to me because it was one of the few religious and non-religious icons that was meant to be dark skinned.  In my family, I have always been the darkest. Often times I’d feel uncomfortable and question my skin color. The consolation my mom had was that “La Virgencita” was also a morena like me, and she was beautiful and so was I. With this in mind, I was always upset when images of her were portrayed any lighter. La virgin was also crucial as a mother figure. My mom always took us on December 12 to sing las mananitas.

Once I began reading about colonization and religion as a tool for genocide and rape, la virgen was an icon I had extreme difficulty with abandoning. I have known Catholicism and her all my life and I could not come to terms with abandoning her. I was very confused and conflicted until I read Sandra Cisneros’ Tepeyac. Her interpretation of La Virgen as being resilient and strong helped me come to terms with my politics and spirituality. Seeing her Chicana feminist interpretations help me confront my in-betweeness of political believes and spirituality. 

Soriano, KimberlyF

Hello Everyone,
My name is Kimberly Soriano and I am a third year Chicana/o Studies Major at UCLA. I was born to parents from Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mex. I was raised in Historic Philipinotown/ Echo Park. Many of my politics come from lived experiences and not so much college courses. I am a strong believer in experiential knowledge as well as community capital. I have two older sisters and one younger sister, aside from my dad my household was mujer dominated. Most of my knowledge comes from advice, wisdom, recetas, chisme, and experiences the womxn from my family have gone through and passed down to me. I strive to create knowledge and theories outside of the Ivory Tower and in the community.
Question:
The main question that I would like to ask Professor Gaspar de Alba is about the correlation between Chicana representation in art and the Virgen/Puta/Madre iconography and ideology towards womxn. Understanding that this binary exists within households and negate womxn on how to properly behave etc., I would like to ask if you think the Virgen/Puta/Madre mentality feeds into rape culture and how? Not only does it feed into rape culture, but it also creates a dialogue that the only reason why womxn should not be raped is because of their relationship towards men such as : sister, mother, daughter etc.

Artist for Presentation: Sandra de la Loza

...la mas chingona