Week 2

CARA: 

As I have been learning in my Art classes much art within the Chicanx/ Lartinx community has not been considered to be contemporary art and has not been given much attention this speaks to what the dominant gaze has to say to about indigenous/latinx/chicanx Art. The dominant gaze of Art says that our Art is primitive or folkloric which serves to inspire other artists which is a past time story telling type of art. So CARA was one of the first organizations that brought attention to Chicanx art and served to exhibit and highlight this art but the question that comes up is if CARA served the Chicanas ? According to the chapter “Mirror of Machismo '' there was a lot of gender politics because CARA did not exhibit much chicana art or had more focus on the Latinx/Chicanx art which in a sense is producing the same hegemonic patriarchal ideologies by not allowing woman to fully participate. This reproduces similar forms of oppression that also negatively affects the males in Latinx/Chicano community. Overall again reproducing the dominant narrative that oppresses Chicanx/Latinx art and calls it primitive. For example on in the text on chapter three : “Although Chicana artist collectives like “Las Mujeres Muralistas'' from San Francisco exists in the history of the Chicanx art movement , the Cara organizers chose to highlight only, Asco, the royal chicano air force and los four. ( pg.120)  This is a prime example of excluding the Latinx Chicanx woman during this time. With that said we as a Latinx/ Chicanx people need more representation within the context of art not only for men but also for women. The Art Latinx woman have created in the past have combated social issues and continue to combat societal norms as well as the norms within the Chicanx/Latinx Culture.


The artist I choose to do my project on is a Delilah Montoya a chicanx Photographer native to Texas who is now a professor and lecturer. She and many other artists have inspired me but I chose to do my project on her because she was revolutionary for his time and she challenged the dominant gaze within art. Below I have attached a photo she took and one that resonated with me. She also takes many pictures of Boxing which is big in Los Angeles and Texas. I myself am a retired professional Boxer. So this is something that I grew up around but I want to understand her life a little more and get to know her work more personally.