Untitled (Guadalupe as Leonardo's Madonna Litta)

The piece by Yolanda Lopez that I found to be the most intriguing was the collage, Untitled (Guadalupe as Leonardo's Madonna Litta) created in 1978.. Especially since there has been a huge call for reclaiming the female body for normalizing breast feeding in today's society. Even today, there is still a fight for women to take back their bodies that have been sexualized for so long. I also found it interesting because the virgin of guadalupe is portrayed a modest motherly figure that only shows her hands and face. Lopez plays on the motherly aspect of the virgin of guadalupe by adding a child and challenges the modest portrayal by exposing her breast in order to give the baby nourishment. Lopez is not sexualizing the virgin of guadalupe but rather bringing to the attention another aspect of motherhood. She is holding the baby and showing extreme adoration for the child, which one can assume is her own. Lopez is challenging the already dominate characteristics that the virgin of guadalupe represents as well as women as a whole.
On another note, I like how a lot of Lopez's art that is shown in the book by Karen Mary Davalos is centered around the virgin of guadalupe, if not directly then indirectly. I did not grow up seeing the image of the virgin a lot and it was not something that was really held in high regards to my family. However, I understand the importance of the virgin to many others and I appreciate Lopez's take on a cultural icon that is near and dear to her.