Week 10 - Reflection

 This course Chicano M175: Chicana Arts and Artists has been an amazing course because I learned about artists that I didn’t know existed before. It opened my eyes to new art such as graffiti. I didn;t think graffiti is art, but after reading articles on graffiti, I came to understand that graffiti is more than just letters and scribbles on a wall, it is art. It is art because those who do it, bring about their culture, their identity, and their beliefs. They do graffiti on walls, bus stops, etc. as a way to be heard in a way. They want to be recognized just like every other artist, so they do graffiti as a way to capture their identity and culture. I also learned that identity and culture are important to Chicanx artists because if we think of their pasts histories, they have been underrepresented in everything, therefore as a way to keep their culture and identity alive they use art as a form to revolutionize their past. 

Also, before this course I was confused with these terms “Chicanx” and “Latinx” because of the “x.” I would always ask myself, why the “x”? However, this course helped me understand the meaning behind these two terms. I came to understand that Chicanx and Latinx are inclusive of all gender sexualities. In other words, the “x” is used as a way to be inclusive of all genders and sexualities. These two terms have been a catch to me because I understand now the use of the “x” in these words. I understand why it is important to be incluisve of all sexualities. Therefore, I thank Professor Lopez and this course for helping me understand more than just the meaning of these terms and more than just simple art. Thank you once again Professor!