WEEK 9 - CHICANX FUTURISM

 In the ChicanoFuturism reading we were assigned, I was introduced to the concept of how futurism collides with ethnic identities. This is because after I read about Marion Martinez, Chicano Futurism, and took a look at the art, I looked at other works in this particular futuristic art style. It is a cultural and artistic syncretism that allows for the Chicanx artist to express themselves through not only this particular art form, but with these unusual technological materials which demonstrate the permanence/relevance of the Chicanx identity. The way I thought of it was how when we look back at art history we are able to put art movements into boxes and styles, whereas in the contemporary we are able to blend/fuse the past to create art forms that better express what we’re trying to prove.

Art is very subjective, and as it has been previously covered in our class reading, the evolutions of art mediums further enhance how an idea can be shared. For example, while every artist from the CyberArte exhibit created art through digital means, Marion Martinez made art use using computer hardware as opposed to software. One might ask themselves what the difference might be, and the difference is that by using materials of our technologically advanced present to portray images from the past, we are in essence allowing for a particular image to evolve into and stay in our contemporary. The image of the Virgen is a timeless image of Mexican and Chicanx pride, and as we learn more about her permanence, we are able to note how her image transcends boundaries and borders across the Americas. Martinez further proves her permanence by portraying her with computer hardware. This is important considering that when she was alive and even in her apparition, this technology did not yet exist, but Martinez was able to revive her in our current era. This is what I understood from the reading, that Chicanx Futurism is about bring the past into the contemporary in a futuristic sense.