Week 3: Yolanda López

Yolanda López used her art to represent the struggle for equity among women, people of color, the poor, and workers. One of López’s artworks that stood out to me was The Nanny (1994), created as a part of her Women’s Work is Never Done Series (See image 2). The installation is composed of three main images. On the left is an advertisement for the wool industry, which depicts a light-skinned woman standing tall in the forefront of the image and a dark-skinned woman in the shadows holding a basket filled with watermelon on top of her head. On the right is an advertisement for Eastern Airlines travel to Mexico. The travel ad shows a dark-skinned woman bowing at a light-skinned brunette, who appears to be wearing a traditional Mexican embroidered skirt. In the center of the installation, there is a white folding screen, a nanny’s uniform, and laundry basket filled with clothes. 

Yolanda López’s work encompasses different issues such as domestic labor, gender, cultural difference, and ethnicity, which all intersect to create uneven power relations. It is interesting to see how the artist uses visual representations to critique certain aspects of society which have  become normalized. The Nanny installation, is meant to show how Mexican women are an integral part of society but are often overlooked as silent workers. I appreciated learning more about her art from and the meaning behind her different pieces.