Madrigal, Stephanie (Week 10)

 This course has been amazing in introducing me to many Chicana artists and it is a shame many of them are not widely recognized. One of the artists we learned about was Carmen Lomas Garza, I enjoyed her art because it reflects many Chicanx experiences such as family gatherings in Tamalada. Garza explores family dynamics and also shines a spotlight on the role of spirituality in many Chicanx lives. For instance, the practice of limpias, although religion and church are important they are separated from spirituality which sometimes is looked down upon. I liked seeing these practices being highlighted because there are times where our beliefs are not understood by others who do not have a similar upbringing, I never thought I would see a piece of art that included the depiction of Chicanx spiritual practices. Last week I enjoyed learning about artist Paloma Montoya, presented by Kim Lepe. Montoya grew up in the city of South Gate, I found this interesting because I am from a neighboring city and I love seeing individuals from my community succeeding and doing what they love. Her art is inspired by graffiti and street art which is why she works in predominantly working-class chicanx communities. Many of her art pieces show the importance of vulnerability and talk about prioritizing mental health to combat issues like depression. In her piece, seeing red, Montoya explains how it is a personal piece that she made to express what it was like growing up with her anger. She felt ashamed and acknowledged she would express herself through anger. It was difficult for her and her aggressive nature would also cause her to have depression. But now as an adult, she has been figuring out how to balance these emotions and uses her anger through her artwork to defend herself and others. Her art shows us that is completely normal to have these types of emotions and that there is not a singular way to get rid of these emotions, but rather learn to channel emotions like anger and use them to bring positive change. Another amazing piece by Montoya is, I've lost my head before, here she touches upon how she was dealing with depression and suicidally idealization. The piece shows a wolf that is tall and half human half demon, showing this small part of her that she will always have, this wolf part of her. Montoya finds it important to not keep this wolf bottled up and this is important for viewers who may relate to these experiences, they are able to see they are not alone and find healthy ways to keep these feelings and thoughts from being bottled up.