Extra Credit: Seen and Unseen Los Ojos de Barbara

Barbara Carrasco is an artist and muralist who received her MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a BFA from UCLA. She was appointed UC Regents Professor at UC Riverside in 2002 and is a board member of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. 

Pregnant Woman in a Ball of Yarn

She created a lithograph on a zinc print inspired by her brothers frustration and sexism to his wife wanting to go to work instead of taking care of the children; she had printed it on rice paper to represent the femininity. Carrasco's use of the ball of yarn also represents the homemaking abilities of sewing clothing or other items women have been forced to adhere to which further supports the sexism the artist wishes to expose. One unintentional symbolism women related to in Carrasco's piece was the forced sterilization of women at the USC medical center. Personally, I also saw this as women who are victims of intimate partner violence that unintentionally become pregnant by their abusive partner and become bound to them for the rest of their life if they choose to keep the child. 

UFW Matters

Carrasco had done much work aligned with the United Fam Workers Union, she created an 11x14 mural banner based on a young martyr named Rufino Contreras that had been killed by a farmers son but the killer never faced any imprisonment. This wasn't a one time incident either as her piece also honors other martyrs that were murdered such as Nan Freeeman, Nagi Daifallah, Juan de la Cruz, and Rene Lopez. Artists involved with the UFW didn't receive financial compensation and Carrasco was often questioned as to why she did this work for free, she saw this as a movement where the farm workers and picket liners weren't getting paid either so she didn't see her role as needing special treatment. This piece reminded me much of the Black Lives Matter Movement that displays the faces of the black community who have been unjustly murdered by law enforcement and failed by justice system. It comes to show the years of injustice that have plagued communities of color within the justice system and society itself. 

UFW Convention

She began painting on vinyl with these banners so they were more resistant to moisture unlike the previous canvas banners that had been used. The painting was formed as three piece global map to emphasize Chavez's desire to make the UFW worldwide. Her piece had Cesar Chavez's daughter model as a pregnant woman reading a letter from the UFW, she also had Dolores Huerta's son Ricky pose holding a book to demonstrate the UFW's educational plan. The size of the banner required help from many people to complete the piece in a matter of days. The lack of labor rights was not limited to just farmworkers in the United States, if the UFW had expanded like the painting demonstrates it could've aided third world countries that continue to remain in poverty with exploitation of labor not just for adults but children as well. Industries such as Starbucks, Nestle, and mica powder for makeup products use child labor with dangerous working conditions and low wages.