Ojeda, Alejandro (Week 10)

Throughout this quarter, there have been many artists I have been introduced to whose work has been a joy to admire. However, there has been one artist who I feel has changed my perception of art and the entire genre of Chicanx art as a whole.

Yolanda Lopez, with her depictions of La Virgen, really opened my eyes to a whole new world of art and meaning. Many of the pieces of art that Lopez has put together have recontextualized the religious icon, making her a symbol of love and respect for all women. In some of them, she would include women close to her, many of whom were performing their daily routine, as a way to highlight the beauty of women and womanhood. Although we have made progress in our society, we still have a long way to go before women receive the amount of respect they deserve. Not only this, but there are many differences between the way women and men are treated systematically. So, seeing these images of women who look like our mothers and grandmothers in Chicanx and Latinx communities should help bring these discussions to light. 

For me, reading about Lopez and her art made me even more excited to continue with the Wikipedia project. I think the work we’re doing is important, especially since Wikipedia, such a simple tool to navigate, is used to learn more about so many people around the world. If we are able to collectively shed light on the lives and works of more Chicanx and Latinx women, we may be able to see a shift in the attitudes and behaviors put forth against women. Like we learned at the beginning of the quarter: it’s not that these artists do not exist, it’s that men take up all the space.