Artist Yolanda M. Lopez was one of the most influential in the Chicana/o movement, and with good reason: she reimagined powerful cultural symbols and politicized them, shaping them to serve the movement's needs. As one of her most iconic artworks, Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? (1978) epitomizes Lopez’s politically charged style. As discussed in class, this work invokes Uncle Sam, a prevalent historical symbol alluding to feelings of patriotism, but reshapes him as an indigenous American, so as to question U.S. hypocrisies. Davalos writes, “As a political artist, Lopez was part of a larger artistic movement among Chicanos, Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans in which art functioned to to ‘nurture and sustain an insurgent consciousness.’” In other words, Davalos argues that with its political nature, Lopez, and artists like her served to nourish the politics of the Chicana/o movement of the 1970s, and suggests that the movement would be weaker without such art. Indeed, the ubiquity of this image in the movement speaks to this.
How do you think the lack of credit to Yolanda for this image has changed its meaning? Since the image has been printed time and time again, mostly without recognition given, does it now represent the taking advantage of an artists work? Or does Yolanda see her image being reproduced and is proud of her donation to her community and goals?
ReplyDelete