Katherine Ponce

Hello everyone! 

My name is Katherine Ponce, but most call me Kat (feel free to do so!) and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I am a second year Psychology and Chicana/o and Central American Studies double major. Coming into UCLA as just a Psychology major, I struggled in my courses and felt isolated, I did not feel a sense of community within my large department but after taking my first Chicano course, I knew it was something I definitely wanted to learn more about. That first course opened the door for me to meet other Latina/o Bruins and allowed me to find a safe space within such a huge campus. 

A few other things about me: I like to paint, crotchet/knit, read and rollerskate! I like all kinds of music, to please feel free to reccomend any and all artists/songs. 

Here is me :)

 I’m taking this course because I want to learn more about chicana/o artists and discover new artists. I am excited to see all the different and new artists that my classmates will discover. Since going into quarantine, I have picked up painting and arts and crafts to pass time, so I’m hopeful that I will find an artist(s) I can relate to and whose work I can admire!

I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s reading by Carmen Ramos, I resonate strongly with one of her key points : Art can be a tool for a revolution. Art is versatile in that it has many purposes, uses and methods of expression. I want to point out that one of the best qualities found in Art is that it is accessible to all, despite their level of education. By that I mean that not all Art uses words or requires it’s audience to read, visual depictions are much easier/accessible to understand and hence can have a more powerful impact than an essay or speech. There are two artists that I found most interesting, Montoya’s prints and Sandra Fernandez’s work on her experience as an Immigrant and Daca recipient. I like how Ramos uses Montoya’s prints to foster pride in the Chicano/a ethnicity while Fernandez’s work on immigration provides a message of compassion and attempts to foster empathy towards migrants and their harsh journey.