Torres, Sarahy (week 9)

 

Once more it was difficult to choose which artist I should choose to write a blog post on. I finally settled on my classmate, Andrew Avila’s artist, Vanessa Ayala. I am beyond shocked she did not already have a Wikipedia page since her art is amazing. Seeing her art is visually pleasing since there are a lot of colors happening. Ayala is a singer/writer, painter, and entrepreneur. To say the least, she is a boss woman. She is mostly based in New York which is a populated place where her art could be seen in murals much like certain places in LA. She received her bachelor’s at San Francisco with concentrations in fine arts and graphics. Her art is inspired by celebrities specifically women.

The three artworks introduced were Chola Lisa, Still Here, and Hindu Guadalupe. Chola Lisa was painted to reimage Eurocentric Mona Lisa. Now, you can see Chola Lisa with tattoos on her body, nails done, and hoops. This version of Chola Lisa is similar to how Chicanas used to dress and still continue to. Still here was created during Dia de los Muertos. This means the painting is centered around the date. It is dedicated to the indigenous children whose bodies are buried under Canadian schools. Hindu Guadalupe is a revisioned image of La Virgin de Guadalupe. Ayala believed in uniting all cultural groups through her pop art of Guadalupe. The background of Hindu Guadalupe is canvases. Ayala’s artistic goal is to unite non-indigenous and indigenous artists. She is pushing the boundaries of first-generation Americans by idealizing the idea of being Indigenous. She is owning it. 

When looking at Chola Lisa I see she is very vibrant. When Ayala painted this art she took away the Eurocentric image of the Mona Lisa and made her more art approachable to everyone. This means that her art can now be appreciated by everyone, not just those who like Eurocentric art.  Still here showcase Indigenous women in a different light such as having many colors in the painting. This painting takes attention away from men which are always shown first when it comes to Indigenous people. This time, Ayala highlights women at the forefront. Hindu Guadalupe is vibrant and does not have the usual colors it has such as green or yellow. This painting reminds me of Yolanda Lopez’s art of La Virgin. This painting is also reimaging the Guadalupe to be inclusive of all cultures.