An artist that captivated my attention during the in-class presentations is Ester Hernández. Hernández was born in California, specifically in the San Joaquin Valley. She is the product of a Mexican/Yaqui farm worker family―the latter playing a fundamental role in the work of the artist. Hernández attended and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1976. Berkeley played a significant role in the life of Hernández due to the fact that the political atmosphere gave momentum to her own agenda as a student, and also, as a creative. Furthermore, one of the most notable aspects of the artist’s life is her involvement with Las Mujeres Muralistas. Las Mujeres Muralistas was a woman artist collaborative based out in San Francisco during the 1970s. The collaborative served as a catalyst for the beginning of the female muralist movement in the United States and Mexico.
To continue on, I shifted my focus to Hernández because I was completely intrigued by her most-recognized piece titled Sun Mad (1982). This particular screenprint reimagines the iconic red Sun Maid raisin box by replacing the smiling woman on the box with a skeleton. The text under the logo reads, “Unnaturally grown with insecticides, miticides, herbicides, fungicides.” One of the things that I found the most significant about this piece was the meshing of art and memory. This particular work addresses the damage of pesticides to not only the environment, but also, the farm workers of the San Joaquin Valley. Sun Mad is a vehicle through which issues of unjust working conditions and exploitation of farm workers is brought to the audience’s attention. Ester Hernández’s artwork is a gateway to understanding the struggle of farm workers and the importance of serving as an ally to Latina/o and Chicana/o framework and propositions.
The presentation on Ester Hernandez's also captivated me because of her amazing skills. I agree with you that her Sun Maid raisin box piece is such a significant piece because of her method of innovation. She was able to convey and exploit worker's conditions through her artwork and I agree that its an important topic that people should know about
ReplyDeleteI too was captivated by Hernandez's complex pieces. She not only addresses issues that are affecting her community personally, but also creates awareness to the bigger issues. The Sun Mad painting was also one that I was attracted to the most, because of how she pointed out the exploitation of labor from the farm workers as well as the toxic working conditions they faced. It is amazing that Hernandez is able to vocalize these issues through her work, and viewers are given insight to the continuing issues in Chicanx communities.
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