Chang, Nicholas (Week 10)

 

One concept that I was unaware of before taking this Chicana art course was the concept of rasquachismo. I never noticed this idea of perceiving the world from an underdog’s point of view when previously looking at Chicano art. Rasquachismo is the idea that art can be made from anything and Chicana artists will typically use any household items they can find to create an art piece that shows the resilience and beauty in ordinary living. I believe that the concept of rasquachismo coupled with the idea of political activism through art really adds to the messaging of Chicano art. 

The concept of rasquachismo also helped me further understand artists such as Yolanda Lopez, who used her art to highlight ordinary people within the community and their significance to the people around them. I have not previously seen Yolanda Lopez’s artwork before taking this class, but I found her art to be very interesting and inspiring. As I previously mentioned, Lopez’s subversion of the Lady of Guadalupe to include women partaking in their daily lives was an art piece that really resonated with me and helped me understand the concept of rasquachismo. I found it very interesting how Lopez used a very popular religious image and shifted the deification towards ordinary Chicana women that she knew. I really enjoyed Yolanda Lopez’s political activist art pieces such as “Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?” and “Your Vote Has Power”. In the first image, Yolanda spins the racist phrase “Go back to your country” and shows the original inhabitants of the continent. Learning about the context of this piece made it more powerful, as I learned that it was in response to a proposed fence along the Southern border. I also enjoyed “Your Vote Has Power” because it shows a population that was being threatened by the Californian governor that was trying to restrict healthcare access from illegal immigrants. To scare the governor, Lopez used an image of a Chicana woman voting with her child that showed they would not stand for this injustice. 

Overall, this course has taught me a lot of the history, techniques, and messages behind Chicana art. I have learned about concepts that helped further my understanding of Chicana art as well as discover new artists such as Yolanda Lopez.