Week 9 - Star Montana

One of the artists that stood out to me during our class presentations was Star Montana. Montana is a photographer based in Los Angeles. She was born in 1987 in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, which informs much of her work. Her imagery deals with class, social environment, and identity, especially within the context of her own lived experiences and the experiences of her family and friends. Through her photography, she tried to give visibility to those who are not often represented in art and are much less given access to art institutions. She chooses to capture images of her hometown in order to have people "understand the narrative of Boyle Heights." Not only does she photograph the people from these communities, but she makes sure to engage them in conversation and try to understand them in order to truly give these images, these people, these communities, the honor and dedication that they deserve. She makes sure to include le
ngthy descriptions with all of her work. After hearing about her in class, I looked up more of her work and completely fell in love with her work. Montana's use of film photography works to capture these images of Los Angeles with an air of nostalgia. I love the aesthetic choices she makes and I appreciate the effort that she puts into her photographs. I included some of my favorite pieces but I love everything she has on her website, she does an amazing job at honoring her community and the experiences of Chicanos in Boyle Heights.