Ojeda, Alejandro: Week 8

For our first week of presentations, I decided to discuss the work of Brenda Barrios. First of all, Armando did such a wonderful job giving us some background on Barrios and introducing us to some of her artwork. I greatly appreciated his presentation and wish he could have shared more of his thoughts regarding Barrios and the themes she chooses to depict in her images.

Being that this class project is something I had never done before, it was interesting to hear from a classmate about the work they have been doing to help get this artist on the map. Though some may see it as just a simple Wikipedia article, we are doing a lot of work by shedding light on such talented Latinx/Chicanx female artists. As exemplified by Armando, it is important to share these stories and get others familiarized with people who have been impacting our own communities in such beautiful ways. In every presentation, I was taken aback by the contributions these artists have made, especially since many of them never get the attention they truly deserve. Barrios, for example, does such important work in terms of raising awareness of some of the many trials and tribulations of her community. If it had not been for Armando’s presentation and preparation to draft a Wikipedia entry, however, I would have not known about Barrios and her work.

In terms of her work, I truly appreciated how loud her art was in terms of grabbing the viewer’s attention and centering it on some of the most important issues currently being faced by marginalized communities in our current society. I am thankful for the work that she does, and hope that she is able to inspire many others to continue what she has helped start in our community.