Print Makers

The Chicano civil rights, El Movimiento, was a civil rights movement in order to extend the Mexican-American civil rights movement of the 1960s in order to achieve Mexican American empowerment.Throughout the movement, printmakers were very essential. Print makers are a very unique and talented way to represent political social and economic issues. Print making was a way tospread their message and political, social and economic advancements. Therefore, print making in the Chicano community was prominent in the 1970s because Chicano representation were underrepresented, especially Chicana artist. Chicanx art was a way to figure out how to put their struggles on the forefront and represent all communities within theirs, especially involving art. I feel as though print making is a way for people to easily  see and envision their struggles. 

Gender, Indigenism and Chicana Muralists

Gender is usually a taboo topic to tackle in communities of color, just as its been hard to tackle throughout the years. We have to understand gender dynamics in order to understand how equal representation can be represented in art! As I am writing this blog post I see that every time I type "Chicana" a red line appears and tells me to say"Chicano". This is very random, but this just shows the gender dynamics in society as a whole.

Chicana Muralist are an important aspect in history! Murals are often underrated in society being that murals are supposed to be on the forefront in society. Murals are a way for everyone to see beautiful unique perspectives on life as a whole. However, there is a big gender dynamic on who's murals are recognized. We know that women are not appreciated for all of the hard work they put out in society. Therefore, a lot of Chicana women's murals are often overlooked. There has been a lot of fights for equal representation. For example, In the 70s there was a big fight for equal representation regarding art politics.This carried on throughout the years, and because people have been tremendously advocating for presentation, Chicana artist are being more recognized.

Laura Agular

Photography is very important in modern day society. It is a way to capture life experiences and give those experiences for the public to see. Laura Aguliar is an example of a notable artist because her work represents marginalized communities as a whole. Women should be on the forefront of all experiences, and Laura does use that. I am very appreciative of her hard work because not only does she utilize her experiences within her photography, but she highlights the importance of being a woman in society within her photography. She focuses on body empowerment, which is very essential. On social media, there is lack of representation of different bodies. There is only one representation and that is the normal "skinny girl'. However, women come in all shapes and sizes. Therefore, she challenges social normatives. Being a Chicana, she obviously puts her experiences of being a Chicana and a woman on the forefront. 

Course reflection

Overall, this course allowed me to get a different perspective in the Latina Art community. Many do not understand all of the hard work and dedication that women play in society. Therefore, this class allowed me to venture out of my comfort zone of just being 1 identity as being Black in society. The main thing I enjoyed in this course was the fact that we had freedom to do a sketchbook. In traditional classes, there aren't many opportunities like this. Therefore, I really appreciate the fact that we had an opportunity to venture out and explore new talents.
I personally enjoyed this class because I feel as though art is a gateway for me to reflect life and also help those in my community find their passions. Learning about art history is a way to get out of social normative society especially being a woman of color in patriarchal societies. I want to personal thank this class experience because it allowed me to develop my love for art even more. I also want to incorporate more Latina representations within my art because I feel as though all women of color should be supported! I learned that art isn't just a hobby, it is a lifestyle.Thank you!

Barbara Carrasco Presentation

Barbara Carrasco Presentation 

I really enjoyed this art piece because it represents something that is common within all communities of color. Barbara depicts being a lighter skinned Chicana in this picture. Often, communities of color look at dark skin as not good enough, or look at light skin as not cultured enough. However, we all derive from the same heritage. However, I do understand that people with a darker complexion suffer a lot more adversities because the darker you are, the more you are not accepted within mainstream society. It is very sad that we still face colorism in modern day times, because all it does is divide us. The problem with being lighter skinned is that you are not looked at as a person who face adversities because the lighter the skin, the closer to Whiteness. Whiteness is a social norm and takes up space in society allowing people to get more privileges if you resemble it. I love how this artist depicts that she is still Chicana and cultured, even though she is lighter.
There is a crucial part in awkowleding your privilege in society however, because one cannot say that they stand by a movement if they don't critically analyze everything within their community. There are a lot of adversities to tackle, especially starting with skin color. The first thing one sees is your skin.

Carmen Lopez

Carmen Lomas is a Chicana native artist and shows the importance of culture in her paintings. She makes sure to express the culture that was attempted to be taken away due to Spanish colonization. For example, White elites control the social and economic hierarchy as marginalized groups are often exploited and ignored regarding social and economic needs. In order to have control, there has to be those of whom are of a lower status. The success of the suppressors is based off of keeping the oppressed in their state. Whiteness has been compared to dominance within relationships, communities, business, etc. so success is automatically distinguished. Colonialism eventually went on a rise therefore, American society has been conditioned and accustomed to view the world in comparisons due to hierarchy therefore, Americans define success and superiority with economic and social status.

Carmen Lomas represents beauty and unity within the Mexican community although the Mexican community did experience hardships. For example, her painting are usually a family gathering consisted of them doing fun activities like: eating, dancing, or playing games as a unit. I feel as though her paintings represents a unity that is not threatened by Whiteness in society. Instead of Whiteness being a “norm”, or challenging the notion of what a hierarchy is.

Celia Álvarez Muñoz

Celia Álvarez Muñoz

Celia Alvarez Muñoz is a artist known for, writing, photography, painting, installation, and public art. Alvarez was born in El Paso in 1937. She grew up around a diverse crowd surrounded by different cultures along the United States - Mexico border. This experience created a multiple platform in her art. In her art, she uses her personal experiences to reflect such as: family dynamics memories, stereotypes, and more that consistently persists in communities of color. 

Alvarez Muñoz made a professional dedication to art starting in the 1970s. Alvarez got her masters in art at North Texas State University in Denton. Before, Alvarez Muñoz was a school teacher.  Education is reflected in her art, being that creativity is a form of knowledge. Therefore, using her knowledge she is able to find ways to connect history and art. She conducted art to put her experiences on the forefront. For example, her interest and investigations on  border control, and knowledge of the  Mexican Revolution and the Bracero Program informed her project El Límite, in 1991. Therefore, education and art tie in very well together because an artist is able to interpret history through knowledge and experience. Her way of teaching and empowering is through creativity. 

Alicia Gaspar : CARA

Gender politics have always and still is very tricky in society. Women are often undermined and not represented as they should in society, especially women of color. It is important to touch on topics like inclusion and gender equity in society, and especially in artistic spaces. To be specific, what is inclusion? Inclusion is an all-embracing societal ideology where individuals are treated and united regarding what race, gender, sexuality, etc. one is.

In specific, Alicia Gaspar de Alba's critique of the CARA exhibition she explains the  acts of exclusion and patriarchy within the Chicanx community. For example, El Movimiento, was a civil rights movement extending the Mexican-American civil rights movement of the 1960s. The overall goal of El Movimiento was to provide and establish Mexican American empowerment. Unfortunately, civil rights movements still focused predominantly on men and not women. However, Las Mujeres was an extremely important factor in Chicana liberation. They challenged sexist and stereotypical notions. Although there were activist fighting for Chicana’s there’s always negative connotations such as Adelitas and Malinches. Chicana’s who adopted activism, female liberation, gender oppression, etc were looked down upon during the Chicano movement due to notions of patriarchy. For example, women who fought for their rights were looked at as men haters and “whores” by the dominant society. To conclude, women who fought for their rights were looked down upon, however they never gave up because they knew their worth in society, and they knew how important their art was. Chicana’s made it a point to share their experiences with the world.

2018AlfordTylaina . Presentation: Harmonia Rosales

Harmonia Rosales

Harmonia Rosales is a Afro-Cuban artist whose work is focused around people of color. She tries to defy stereotypes in her art and focuses on women empowerment. Raised in a patriarchal society, Harmonia was taught that men were the leaders in society. For example, in the household, typical gender roles were reinforced while her abuela would cook and clean, her abuelo provided for her family. In patriarchal culture, men have full control and the women go through self-sacrifice. Women are represented in a way where they must disregard themselves and satisfy everyone else’s needs, which leads to lack of happiness. These dynamics affect individuals because it gives them preconceived customs to follow and teaches one to disregarding personal feelings. Given these social norms Rosales married but eventually got divorced and was left with nothing. She eventually created art as a form of mental liberation and female empowerment. Therefore, Rosales specifically focus on women and people of color in her work. In specific, she likes to focus on Black art in order to show the beauty and strength that lies within people of color and wanted her daughter to feel comfortable in her own skin and kinky hair. Overall, her inspiration is her daughter and she wants to implement self-love within her community as it is reflected in her art.

AlfordTylainaJui

 Hello, my name is Tylaina Alford and I am a first-year, first-generation, non-traditional, first-year transfer at UCLA. I am an African-American studies major and for my career goal, I want to challenge African-Americans' social inequalities. My aspiration is to research growth in prison systems and why African-Americans put in these barriers have miniature or no social mobility. Along with this passion, I am also a visual artist. Personally, I look at art through many lenses because it is my escape and helped me through social disadvantages with being Black, a woman, and of low-income. Specifically, I like to focus on female empowerment as it is my own unique way of shining light on myself and women in my community. For example, in my drawings, I emphasize different shapes, sizes, hair textures and colors of Black women. Personally, I want to implement art activism within these prison-systems also, in low-income schools. I believe that lack of social mobility causes lack of education that increases percentages in prison-systems. This is affected by low-income, underrepresented communities. I feel as though art is a form of mental liberation although marginalization causes physical bondage. Essentially, I want to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline using art, activism and agency.

In the article "Conditions of Improving Chicana Art" one can see the challenge of being an underrepresented artists in mainstream society. Art is seemed as form of expression of any creative regardless of race or social status. However in reality, credit and exposure is usually given mostly to White men. This is because of White Patriarchy and dominance they have over society. Creative freedom is challenged in the art culture because patriarchy shapes their social norms represented in a hierarchy. Female representations in art is a critical element to Mexican culture because it reflects ideas and experiences of the Chicanx community.