Yolanda M. Lopez

Yolanda Lopez’s artwork titled Free Los Siete, created in 1969 shows support for seven Latino youths who were wrongly accused of killing an officer. This artwork “illustrates the formation of her artistic voice” and it helped her understand what she was about because she could combine her “interests in politics and art” (28). This artwork was made at a time when social justice was no guarantee and in this image, she captures that issue with the symbolism present throughout the image. For example, she positions a padlock that locks them away behind prison bars, without a key insight and this is meant to symbolize their lack of liberty “within the U.S justice system”(28). Another example is the prison bars that are meant to represent the stripes of the American flag. It exemplifies the lack of justice present for these men here in the United States because of their skin color. When it was exhibited at a Galleria, people were surprised to learn that it was created by a female artist, since people tended to associate political art to men. Even though this was a rare occurrence, her artwork was made into posters and it was widely circulated. This demonstrates the extent to which Chicana feminist were coming out of the shadows and making their political art an important aspect of social change. Lopez created meaningful art that many were able to relate to in a time of injustice for people of color.