Don't Shoot

Natalia Anciso’s piece Don’t Shoot really stood out in my mind during presentations this week. Made a year ago, it shows the problems communities are still facing today. It shows the police power that is destroying the lives of many people around the United States. It immediately reminded my of the brutality that Americans are fighting against and how we have not seen a change in the actions of policing because the same issues are still occurring. This image shows police who are overly hostile toward a young, dark skinned boy who is standing with his arms in the air. They are aiming their guns and ready to shoot when there is no threat being made to them, other than the fact that the boy happens to be dark skinned. The flowers on the bottom with caution looking tape that says “police line do not cross” to me signifies that he is already dead. There is no winning in this situation and even though he has not yet been shot at, it is inevitable that he will be. The flowers remind me of those placed at the scene of shootings to honor the life of the person who just passed. This drawing is definitely extremely influential and sadly represents most of America today.

Judy Baca

Judy Baca's painting Tres Generaciones was done in 1973 and is oil on canvas. It was presented in class this week and our classmate who presented did a great job going into detail about it. This painting made a big impression on me because of the thought and careful detail that went into it. The characters, the placement of them, and colors that connected all three characters made a great mental and visual image. I also enjoyed it because I could see myself and my family in the image. I am very close with my mother and grandmother and many people say that my actions reflect their actions when they were my age. It is common to hear that people inherit their ancestor’s physical characteristics and personalities and we see this in Tres Generaciones.  In the painting we see Baca in her grandmother and mother both in physical stance and I also see a resemblance in how they look.

The painting itself uses colors beautifully while still having a sense of seriousness. As the presenter said in class we see a young Baca, her mother and grandmother in different colors and Baca in the present is a mix of all three colors. This shows that she is a combination of them all. Also on the bottom of each figure the colors fade into the other characters. Overall I love this painting, and think it was done beautifully.

La Feria en Reynosa

La Feria en Reynosa was painted in 1987 and is Gouache on cotton paper. Like almost all other paintings by Garza it has a positive message and shows the culture she grew up with. What we see is a fair in Reynosa and we see the merging of two cultures. The barbed wire is technically the only thing separating the United States and Mexico and it may be able to keep the people in their designated sides but it cannot keep the culture out. “A barbed wire fence and two mesquite trees, ubiquitous features of the borderlands, demarcate the fairgrounds edge.”(3) Our eyes meet Mexican food, pots, and dolls being sold. On the food stands we see decorations, which clearly originated from Mexico, but signs are written in Spanglish (English and Spanish mixed.) Some women in the photo look Mexican because of their hair or clothing, then there are women with clothing that could be attributed to the US. Also every one is placed in horizontal parallel lines, which is something that Garza liked to do. The placement of people and objects in her paintings were clearly thought out. 

Stencil

I chose to do my stencil on two parts of my life that represent me and are my biggest commitments outside of being a student at UCLA.  I have been a dancer for 14 years with an Armenian dance company called “Zvartnots Dance Ensemble”. Other than learning how to express myself through dance, I have learned discipline, which I believe helped me eventually transfer into UCLA and be successful in other aspects of my life. My stencil is the logo of my dance company combined with the logo of the real estate company I work for.  The outside figure is the letter “Z” for Zvartnots in the Armenian alphabet, while the little rays right inside are rays of sunshine which represents my ethnicity and outlook on life. I believe happiness is key to be successful and thousands of years ago Armenians used to be sun worshippers. So by including the rays of sunshine I am referencing my past and future. The square inside the circle is the logo of “Hall and Chambers” the company I work for. Real estate is a large aspect of my life so I felt it needed a space in my stencil. Obtaining and working in real estate was a childhood goal of mine so my stencil is referencing my past and future of my culture, life, and goals.  I have attached images of my stencil as well as the logos I combined to create it. 

Laura Alvarez

This week we were given the opportunity to listen to a multi talented artist; Laura Alvarez, lecture and speak about her life’s work. What made Alvarez such an interesting lecturer and speaker was watching her talk about all the restrictions she faced in her life and how she used them to positively influence her work. I loved that she has been developing her main character Double Agent Sirvienta for over 20 years and that she is not only using one type of art to portray her. Alvarez’s use of multiple mediums, role play, and music only further opens up the possibilities to make Double Agent Sirvienta more realistic. I also love that Alvarez does not set any boundaries for herself. She expresses herself in every form of expression possible. My favorite piece is “Transformation in the Garden” because of the suicide method printmaking she used. It also shows the double agent in action as the maid and agent in one. She has a headset on and is in a peculiarly nice outfit for a maid, which is what Alvarez would do when she would go to work with her mother. It also has a sense of mystery, which makes it even more interesting to look at because you begin to look for clues to her identity.

Shifra Goldman

In Shifra Goldman's article "The Iconography of Chicano Self Determination: Race, Ethnicity, and Class" we see and learn with example the oppression that Chicanos were faced with when the Americas were being conquered until now and see how they are fighting back by expressing themselves through art.  By expressing himself through public murals, Antonio Bernal was able to address sexism by including women and race by showing African Americans and Mexicans together.  Yolanda Lopez expressed and empowered herself with her Guadalupe series by using iconography from the original Guadalupe painting in different forms. My favorite one of her pieces is of her mother sewing the cloak that Guadalupe wears. To me it signifies her mother holding a very important role in her life. She is seen as hardworking and humble Chicana woman to have the job of sewing the cloak of such an important figure. The angel and rose are also present as other iconographic factors.