This past week the presentation that stood out to me most was from Hector Diaz on Martha Ramierez - Oropeza. Though all the other presentations were excellent, this one demonstrated a different type of art. First, Hector's comment about Oropeza's past was unfortunate but not shocking given the environment that many Chicanx people experienced. He stated how there was an incident where Oropeza had her mouth washed with soap for speaking Spanish. I heard of not being allowed to speak Spanish at schools but going to these extremes can be very traumatic.
Additionally, Oropeza is a public artist and muralist who studied in Mexico after high school and worked with other significant artists. She looked in Morelos, Mexico, for the vault culture, which was a type of art. She also worked as a teacher in an elementary school. Oropeza is also now a professor at UCLA and has a residence with sparks that displays her artwork. Given this background, she became more interesting to me since I could relate to her.
One image that Hector introduced during his presentation was Mother Earth 2004. This image depicted a woman blowing to plants like images. Oropeza a lot of women figures in her art. I also remember Hector telling us that one of Oropeza's purposes was to represent people who came before us, clearly depicted in this image. Though there was not a lot in this image, it let us know how powerful women are. Since here, women are represented as givers of life to not only people but also the earth. Oropeza shows how important women are. Another essential fact that Hector stated was how Oropeza's art was a form of escape for her from reality. However, this image does the opposite. It discusses the importance of women on this planet and everything they do. Lastly, I am delighted to learn about new artists through these presentations.
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