Reflection

I think the most valuable thing I learned in this class was the extensiveness and complexity of Chicana art. On the first day when we were asked to identify artists we knew the biggest latina artist I could come up with was Frida Kahlo. I imagined all latino/a artists followed her example to some extent but I quickly learned Chicana art was far developed from Kahlo. I'm impressed with the deep knowledge within Chicana art and all of it's different interconnected highways. However, it was sad to learn some of their stories and even more sad to learn that there isn't much discourse on these artists who are so important and have such a strong voice that isn't being heard. But when there was discourse, I thoroughly enjoyed the vast knowledge we learned about the silenced artists. I also enjoyed the drawing part of the class. It was a great, different approach to art; rather than simply taking exams. I enjoyed actually participating in art, even though I'm not very good at drawing. I did see an improvement in my drawing, though.

Carmen Lomas Garza

The moon is a critical figure for American innovation, freedom, and conquest. When man landed on the moon it was noted as a giant leap for mankind. Space holds a glimmer of hope for many, encompassing the future, new frontiers, and a reminder technological advances. But the fiction of white superiority would have you believe that only Anglo originating humans can formulate the means to conquer space. Garza challenges that idea with a tender tribute to a man who pushed boundaries for Latino performers. The homage titled, Tito’s Gig on the Moon, presents Tito Puente relocated to the moon with his band and a popular jazz club, Birdland. People are dancing, there is joy everywhere and an essence of Latino culture is captivated. This work is a little different from the other works Garza has done; however, it isn’t just an ending to her series, it’s a launch into the future. This work is the ultimate proclamation that Latinos are here, and they’ll continue to evolve. Being on the moon is a signifier that Latinos cannot be suppressed into one place, but rather they will grow and expand into new frontiers. Like all of her work, there isn’t one answer in this dialogue. The work is meant to produce several ideas that the viewer has to answer in their own way. The piece was meant to “remind viewers of the joy that Puente’s music brought to many lives” but it also symbolizes Latino accomplishments and longevity. 

Stencil

For my stencil I chose to make a stencil out of a camera. I've loved photography for a long time. I love being able to capture things or moments and trying to recreate a feeling you get when you're looking at something. The camera I chose to make a stencil out of is one I use. It's a medium format camera which allows you to capture larger negatives. This is a film camera. I love working with film because I feel much more in control of the image and much more comfortable. I've also learned darkroom techniques which make the quality of my images better than digital images. The most important part of working with film and the darkroom for me is the ability to use my hands. I don't enjoy sitting at a screen clicking away, I prefer to agitate, dodge and burn and feel the paper. The process of creating a stencil reminded me of the analog ways of film. It was time consuming and frustrating even, but it worked out better than I thought it would. I was impressed with the first stencil I decided to duplicate it in the opposite direction. I picked blue just because I liked it and it turned out to be similar to Bruin colors which I was quite happy with.

Laura Alvarez

Laura Alvarez's work was really cool to see. I was able to relate to her childhood memories of cleaning houses with her mom and invading the privacy of the owners. As a child I would do the same but I really appreciated the spin she put on her story when she created her mother as a secret agent. I felt that was really empowering for her as a child. I remember feeling embarrassed as a child because my mom wasn't like the other parents in my school. What is most impressive is that her work is so extensive, I can't imagine working on the same project for 20 years. But it's so cool that she's made this documentary of her life and her family for 20 years through art. I'm so impressed by her commitment to the project and by her artistic ability. Not only does she make paintings but she writes songs, screenplays, makes clothes, and movies all surrounding her series. She's really made a brand out of her life and her art.

Graciela Iturbide

I chose to do Graciela Iturbide because I love photography and her black and white photography has an incredible perspective and I after speaking with Professor Lopez, Iturbide has more of a connection to the chicana movement.

Gaspar De Alba Readings

"Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask"

Professor Gaspar De Alba introduces the widely anticipated and recognized movement of the CARA exhibition which was meant to represent the underrepresented community of the Chicano peoples. This being a community which was deemed less valuable than traditional, praised anglo-saxon works. But Gaspar De Alba notices that within a community of people that are underrepresented, unvalued, and pushed to the side, there are those within that community that are victims of the same oppressions by the same oppressed group. I began to ponder why a group who has suffered discrimination and oppression would do the same to members of their own group; more specifically, why did the men in the chicano movement dominate over women? 

Gaspar De Alba notes that men outnumbered women in almost every genre except one, feminist visions. It seems that somewhere along the lines it was decided that yes women will be a part of the movement, but in their own separate category which wasn't nearly as large as the mural genre. Why was it an insisting idea that women could not contribute, could not produce, and could not have a voice? I wonder if in a group of enlightened chicanos were these men still victims of primitive ideals handed down generation from generation that machismo culture is cardinal law. Could it be that even the most revolutionary members of the chicano movement could fall victim to the idea that machismo was the way of life. I believe the answer would require a further population study; however, a hypothesis could state that yes, these men of the chicano movement, although revolutionary in their ideals for civil rights, still did not dust off all of their inherited prejudices. After all, even Cesar Chavez has been recorded using derogatory terms such as "wetbacks". 

But is there truth behind the sexism of chicanos in the CARA exhibit? Perhaps men and women are just good at different things which may be true but in this particular case you have a group of men telling women they can't do things such as paint murals because it's too labor intensive. Something which women stood up and discredited all together as seen by the mujeres muralistas. The CARA exhibit was extremely important in mainstreaming chicano art and culture and all chicanos should be extremely proud of the exhibit, but, it is important to note, that not all parties of the chicano movement were equally exhibited and this is something chicanos everywhere should take into consideration and take action on. 

"There's No Place Like Aztlan"

If Azlan is lost to the chicano, then where is home? Many people in my community pride themselves when they speak of their home, whether it be Mexico, Cuba, Peru, people always fondly remember their mother land and hold it dearly to their heart, many haven't returned in years due to their immigration status and many will never return. But to those of us who's only connection to the motherland is through our parents, and the land where we were born and raised forces us into generalized categories claiming we don't truly belong, where is our home? 

I believe Gaspar De Alba is suggesting that home really has to do with ourselves and what we create through our experiences. She gave Dorothy for example, who could return home at anytime because she held the key, in this instance her shoes. But also, I think generally people romanticize home as a utopia but fail to address the failures within that society. Perhaps we need to do as Dorothy, perhaps we need to dig deep into ourselves and discover who we truly are and then we can make home right where we are as the leaders of the harlem renaissance did. The idea of home being somewhere else rather than we are is problematic, as stated by Gaspar De Alba, when Mexican americans go "home" to Mexico they are depicted as "gringo wannabes" no longer patriates of their country. The idea of home could simply be a utopian dream meant to keep a person in search of their place of belonging, a sort of existential contrast to, where did we come from? 

Marco Padilla

Hi all, my name is Marco Padilla, I am a transfer student from Santa Monica College. This is my first quarter at UCLA and I am majoring in English. I chose English because I enjoy literature and want to go onto law school. I've worked in a law firm for the last four years primarily working with personal injury related cases as well as aviation and business cases. I am a Los Angeles native, my mother came here from Guanajuato, Mexico and growing up there were a lot of religious traditions we followed and we often went to Mexico during religious holidays. My mother is catholic so naturally the Virgin Mary was a prominent figure growing up, to this day we still have religious figures on our living room walls and during christmas my mom sets up her nativity scene.
When I was a kid we visited my aunt in Mexico and went to the D.F. where we went to the Basillica, I've never been a devout catholic but I was impressed, and respected the vast amounts of people who went from all over to visit their mother. The basillica itself is so rich in culture and imagining that Juan Diego and the Virgin Mary met there was fun. I've enjoyed so far what we have learned in class and have loved seeing chicana art, the main reason why I am taking this class is because I recently became more interested in my culture which started by reading books by Junot Diaz, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and others. I hope to learn more about art and culture through this class.