Cruz, Amina (Amina)

 

Hey everyone. My name is Amina Cruz and my pronouns are she/her/hers/they. I was born in Los Angeles and spent my teen years in Tampa, FL. It was quite a cultural shock. Currently I'm a first-year graduate student in the MFA program. My main tool of investigation is photography. I use both analog and digital formats, though my preference is film. Spending time developing my negs and printing in the darkroom are an important part of my process. I also enjoy ceramics and performance. My current work centers QTBIPOC punk creative embodiment and identity. I see this investigation taking on a hemispheric approach, exploring chosen family, visual representation and building a transnational community of queer/trans punks, throughout the Américas and Caribbean. I'm interested in learning about the Chicana aesthetic in an academic setting and discussing Chicanx/Latinx artists creative processes. I'm confident this course will also assist me in my own exploration of identity and art practice.

Looking over this week's reading a few topics stood out to me. One of the opening quotes by Luis Valdez, "subject to no other critics except the pueblo itself," was engrossing. I love the thought of only my community, who has a deep understanding of queer brownness as the only ones who can truly critique the work. All other will fall short grasping subtle layers of the pieces. Also identifying as Chicano, "functions as both personal affirmation and a collective call to action," speaks to how powerful self-identifying is to build a movement. The various graphic works made during the late 60s and 70s assisted i connecting that energy to different communities, affirmed Chicano(a) identity and movement.