One thing I would like to reflect on is my lack of knowledge of Chicanx art before taking this course. I'm not so angry with myself for not knowing about terms and theories like rasquachismo, self-portraiture, retablos, reimagining la Virgen Guadalupe, printmaking, and Chicanafurtism. However, I realize my lack of knowledge of these concepts is an institutional problem because access to knowledge about Chicana/x artists is limited to our very own communities. I feel like a more well-rounded consumer of the art world because I know a little more about art that does not center on white art. I appreciate that we learned about these barriers early on in the course because it guided how I read the book on Yolanda Lopez and Carmen Lomas Garza, as well as other readings in this course. I also liked interacting with the exhibition and our guest speaker Claudia Zapata because I was introduced to how Chicanx artists have to interact with still very white institutions like the Smithsonian museum. I also feel more of an appreciation for how art interacts with my family. In past blog posts, I shared about how my house is shaped by rasquachismo because of my parents, and how my brother shaped how I see graffiti art. I also mentioned in the lecture, how I had the most amazing conversation with my dad about Guadalupe and the history behind her iconography. I never really stopped to consider how these different art forms have played a role in my life. Especially having the space to share about my love of anime growing up and then presenting on a Chicana animator for this class was healing for my inner child. I want to thank you Profe Alma Lopez for creating a space we can explore the art of our communities and within our different experiences.
I also entered this class with no prior knowledge of what exactly Chicanx art was. I mainly joined this class for the work of the professor I had read up on before the beginning of this class. Like you, I have also enjoyed reimagining the image of the Virgin Mary as a revolutionary one, considering that a theory floats around that the indigenous people created the image to feign submission and continue worshipping their goddess tonantzin.
ReplyDelete