Week 2 - Pola Lopez

Hello again, the artist I will be choosing for my eventual in-class presentation will be Pola Lopez. Her art is not only captivating because of the vividity of the colors and shapes she uses, but also because of the deeply rooted symbolism you'll find in every single one of her pieces. 
As  Professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba reflects on the CARA exhibition in her brilliantly composed essay, she tackles many of the gender disparity issues that exist in the art realm, issues that should have been dealt with long ago. At the same time, she also discusses the dilemma of lack of representation of Chicana/o people in the art industry as well. This is why the specific reading "Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask" hits so close to home for many young and aspiring Chicana artists because Alicia Gaspar De Alba reminds them that they can achieve what any else can, but only by working harder than anyone else can, due to the unfair social and gender dynamics that have existed and, in many cases, continue to exist. A read like "Through Frida's Eyes", really helps put another obstacle Chicana artists faced, into perspective, getting mischaracterized and falsely represented, not getting their real, truthful messages out, because the media and news outlets were controlled majorly by white men. Historically, in any career subfield, people of color have had to make names for themselves, self-represent, in order not to be left out the picture entirely. As many people have said in the past, these big brand industries were not made for people like us, and yet we are still "invading" them and giving our parents something to be proud of. Although I love both of my parents, and understand that they went through many of the same struggles as Central-American immigrants, I also heavily respect my mom as a woman, and a strong one at that, one who has raised and maintained a family for many, many years. Overall this essay and reflection of the CARA exhibition by Alicia Gaspar de Alba is a real eye-opener and one that offers valuable insight in a variety of different ways.