Argueza, Leigh Anne (Wk. 10- Artist Presentation)

 

    Out of all the presentations that were given last Tuesday during our lecture, I was incredibly impressed by the painter Emilia Cruz’s work. I was touched by Emilia Cruz’s support system and how her family had encouraged her to pursue a degree in art application. I believe that there is an overwhelming feeling of pressure attached to choosing a career that’s often seen as non-traditional or something that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a student’s success in the field. I think that Emilia Cruz’s support system heavily influenced her success in the art world and I'm excited to follow her future endeavors and pieces that she will produce. The portrait of her sister titled “Am I too dark?” depicts her sibling on a bedroom environment surrounded by Caucasian Barbie dolls as she starts down at her own hair, comparing it to the blond synthetic wigs of her playthings. I know from firsthand experience how disheartening it is to see these overproduced images of an idealized beauty standard is applied to the only accessible items that manufacturers sold. They were enablers at a young age to imprint Westernized beauty standards as the superior idealized image- the only image that warranted mass production. Thankfully, artists like Emilia Cruz are challenging these harmful images by bringing the concept into a medium and composition, e.g. portraiture, that was primarily for wealthier individuals in society. The accessibility to these images and the relatability reacts together to preform something genuine for their audience. By inserting her own sibling into this painting, I believe that Emilia Cruz is reminding her audience that it’s an ongoing racial image that we have to continue amending and it starts in our inner circles in environments we can control. Something as small as being mindful about finding playthings that support beauty images of Chicanx/BIPOC women is a beginning of a solution.