Even though we are still learning about different Chicana artists through our activist research in this class, I wanted to talk about Carmen Lomas Garza again because she stood out to me a lot in this class. She caught my attention because of her distinct art style that I will never forget. She was able to make me feel and resonate with her art pieces about her own experiences that I have experienced as well, and so have others. Her artwork manifests a heavy amount of childhood memory that resonates with her community of Mexican Americans and family. As someone who is a Mexican American herself, her artwork never failed to make me relate to the art and feel what it was evoking. While reading Carmen Lomas Garza by Constance Cortez, these feelings started making more sense. Through her creation of these experiences in art, Carmen Lomas Garza emphasizes personal recognition between herself and the community. Oftentimes, there may be a disconnect between the artist and the audience, but with Carmen Lomas Garza, I was able to get the impression that it is not at all like that with her as an artist. Her gouache painting of la Curandera (1977) reveals a different message between the artist and reader or community that highlights a shared experience. I was really able to relate to this piece especially because my own mother has us going to Curanderas or has curanderas come into our home and practice these ceremonies or rituals. La ruda is something we all know of in my household. Passing el huevo was not shown in her artwork but is something that is also done.
In terms of one of the concepts we learned in class, the concept and aesthetic of rasquachismo made an everlasting impact for me. Even though my household has always subconsciously taken part in this aesthetic, I never knew it had a name. I think part of the reason why Carmen Lomas Garza resonated with me so much was because it had small aspects of rasquachismo as well.
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