Robles, Gissel (Blog Post 4: Exhibition Preview)

¡Printing the Revolution! Exhibition Preview:

The Smithsonian exhibition on ¡Printing the Revolution! led by Claudia Zapata and E. Carmen Ramos, both of which we have had readings for during the course, previewed artists, historians, and even collectors. Although, I would love to talk about all artists in depth, my focus here will be on Ester Hernandez. Hernandez is a Chicana artist from San Fransisco who was essentially “born into the revolution” as she recalls. I find the phrase to still be very prevalent for many activists who have family members in farm work or what not because it automatically creates a deeper understanding of the ongoing injustices they try to fight against. Moreover, she was born and raised into a predominately women farmworker family that had a great impact on her upbringing. I loved hearing her give recognition to the “mujeres” that filled her with drive and motivation for the art she made then and even now. Furthermore, growing up, she saw women she knew and their families go to labor strikes, as well as seen her own father join the United Farm Workers Union in the 1960s. Regardless of the hardships her parent’s faced, they still loved to dabble in the arts, and always made sure there was time made for it because self-expression was very important. A life changing moment in where Hernandez changed her perspective was when she seen the arts being displayed at the United Farmworkers march. Ultimately, this all helped create an outlet to express her voice to be heard, after all, her parents always reminded her to always be proud of their culture and to always stand up for their rights, as well as the rights of their family and community. I also enjoyed to hear her talk so highly of Chicanas and reject the notion that we’re to be feared or have pity for, and unfortunately, we still continue to be portrayed in that manner. Overall, I loved hearing all the amazing people talk during the panels and felt that it was so wonderful that despite the pandemic, I was still able to experience this and see the art installation virtually.