Week 10- Reflections

Yolanda Lopez, Margaret F. Stewart: Our Lady of Guadalupe,1978   

The last art course I took was in my senior year of high school. Now as a senior in college I am thankful that I decided to take an art course before I graduate. From the first day of the course I was exposed to issues surrounding art that I tended to not think about. I was surprised to learn that the art we often expose ourselves too often aligns with the characteristics of those in power. Art from a women of Mexican descent or origin is going to have a more difficult time getting her work recognized because her experiences and art challenges the patriarchal society around them. This is especially true for Yolanda Lopez's case whose central works, such as the 'Guadalupe series' focuses on redefining what it means to be a Chicana in contemporary times. 

This class also opened me up to further perspectives about religious figures in art. I always saw them, especially the Virgin Mary, as a sacred cultural symbol, so after reading about Yolanda's pieces it surprised me to learn that she has never viewed Mary as with religious understanding but rather as a symbol of what the perfect women should be. She saw the need to transform the image of the Virgin Mary to that of modern-day, living, breathing women. Guadalupe's symbol of power and virtue is transformed to the images of women we know. Yolanda brought on the issue of how we wrestle with the representation of us in the majority of culture. She questions who our role models are, the portrayals of ourselves within our own culture? Its our culture so we should make sure it represents us. Her artistic interpretation of the Virgin Mary made me rethink the symbolism of other figures beyond a religious standpoint. 

Zuly Garcia Diaz, Amor a la Oaxaquena 

Not only has this class taught me new perspectives to understanding the art we see but also made me learn about Chicana Artist who deserve more recognition. Female artist like Yolanda Lopez, Carlee Fernandez (the artist I chose for this class), and Zuly Garcia Diaz (an artist one of my classmates talked about in class whose work I really grew to like) are all women who use there media to go against the patriarchy and challenge the Eurocentric influence that is currently on art. So many female artist were discussed in this class and I am glad that I was able to learn about there existence and see the amazing work they do get spread to more people. These artist are so powerful and I am happy to see them get their own Wikipedia.