Calderon, Juliana: Extra Credit (MCASD)

     The extra credit assignment provided me the opportunity to view artwork up close at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. I was able to see the extent of Yolanda Lopez's work and how it seems to translate to modernity. During the lecture, we engaged in dialect concerning her notorious painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe running while holding the piece of dress that she is typically clothed with, while holding the snake in her hand. To me this has always stood out because it demonstrated the concept of mobility and freedom. Not only does she have the power to take hold of the snake, which is representative of all the evil and toxicity of the world, but she also appears to run over the baby or male figure. This was something that I had not really paid attention to before because I had always focused on the hand lifted up with the snake and the act of her running. But focusing on the child, it implied to me a sense of dependency. The child is not seen uplifting her or guarding her as typically seen in most images of the Virgen. Instead, she almost tramples over him because she is quite capable on her own. She no longer needs him to hold the train of her dress because she is not conforming or aligning with the standards. 

A second image that stood out to me because of its modern take was titled, Runner: On My Own. This image was of a Chicana running almost off the page as well. To me it was also indicative of the Virgen or a form of her. Here in the image she was dressed in the same colors of pink and green. In the typical image, Virgen has a green tunic and pink dress. While here, the woman is in a pink top and green shorts. It shows a different era where women are more free and aren’t confined to a set expectation. Additionally, because I thought of her as a representative of a more modern Virgen, it also stood out to me that here she is not accompanied by an angel or any other symbol. The focus is set to be on her. I also thought it represented the Virgen in a way because all the colors were still incorporated. For example, the green and yellowish color usually exuding from the background of the Virgen, is now seen as the backdrop of the runner image. But here she is running from that backdrop, almost as though she is leaving that conformity behind.

Overall, the exhibition helped me to learn more about Yolanda Lopez’s ideas and I was able to take notice of more that I had previously glossed over.