Week 10 - Last Post

I have nothing but good things to say about this class. This class became my creative outlet this quarter, since I took mostly STEM classes. Although, I must admit I was nervous at first about drawing. When I first did the hand drawings, it was so terrible that I considered not taking the course, but Professor Lopez was good about not judging and helping us along the way. My favorite part of the class was the introduction to so many Chicana artists. I was amazed at how Chicanx art mostly revolves around activism and feminism, which I love. I have always had a hard time relating to or understanding art. I have never liked museums because I never understood any pieces, their importance, or their meanings, until I was introduced to Carmen Lomas Garza. Her work really resonates with me and my culture, and my family. Seeing her artwork took me back to when I was younger and would spend Christmas and birthdays at my grandma’s house. She made me embrace my culture more. Through this class I also researched my own artist, and even got to speak to her. Now I am a full fan of her work, and will follower her career for years to come. I also loved how this class opened a new avenue of art for me. I started using watercolor pencils at home, and then decided to buy regular watercolors to use and paint on my own time. I also realized that drawing with pencil is probably not best for me, but this class made me want to be more creative in other ways.

Xandra Ibarra

For the second set of presentations, the artist that stood out the most to me was Xandra Ibarra. Prior to my introduction to her this week in class, I had never heard of her, or seen performance art like hers. Upon doing more research, I discovered that Ibarra is a feminist and an activist from my home town, near the US/Mexico border. Her performance art is risqué and provocative, and pushes boundaries surrounding her body and culture. 

In her work, she calls attention to issues involving race, gender, and LGBT issues. I don’t know if I understand her work. However, I can appreciate her individuality and originality, and the fact that she is not scared to speak her mind. I tried looking up her art, but the ones that we saw in class did not come up. I did, however, find a piece called El Processo (2016), and again, I don’t know if I understand her message. I know what she is trying to say, that in a way, she is being judged by what she looks like on the outside, but I don’t think that message was evoked for me. What I think she is doing, however, is being extreme for the sake of her message, which I can appreciate. If it wasn’t for her strong approach, she would get zero attention. In a way, her extreme art surrounding what she does with her body, brings attention to her cause. This way, both her and the message get attention.

Camille Rose Garcia

I will be discussing today is Camille Rose Garcia, a successful artist and author. Her mother was a muralist, and Camille helped her when she was younger. She grew up going to Disneyland and attending punk shows, which can be seen in her artwork. The type of art she does is a very distorted and twisted recreation of fairytales, and is also influenced by the bad experiences she had at the dentist. When I first saw her artwork, it stood out because it is not something you usually see in the Chicano community, since most Chicano art is about activism and the brown experience. Camille doesn’t really do that, but she uses her own experiences in her artwork. At first glance it can seem a bit scary without any context. In my opinion, she brings out the dark side of every fairytale. I don’t think she is distorting a story and completely remaking it, instead, I think it’s more of a looking glass. 

Upon researching her, her artwork involves very dark colors, usually paired with a glow in the dark effect. Her book of Alice in the Wonderland caught my attention. It was her same style of art, the warped and twisted recreation, but it caught my attention because the colors are very light and pastel, which are not usually used in this type of art. Even though this is not the type of art I look at or prefer, I have to give Camille credit for being different and standing out.

Judith F. Baca is another one of the few artists we have seen throughout this class who focuses most of her artwork around activism. Her most famous known work was her mural here, in L.A, and focuses on communities that are underrepresented and marginalized.

The piece I want to discuss now is Killed by a Placa (1974), originally 31x42in., and made with wood stain on paper. This piece came about after one of Baca’s mural crew members was killed by gang violence. Baca decided to use her voice, her art, and her heartache over his loss to bring attention to the issues that caused this poor young man’s death. The work of art consists of a man lying on the sidewalk, dead, holding his wounded chest while blood drips onto the floor, and a street sign with his age, 17, spray painted, as well as his face. The boy is wearing light colored clothing, so the wound and the blood are very visible. This was, and is, a shocking yet needed piece to emphasize what marginalized youth of color go through in their own neighborhood. In my opinion, she titled this piece Killed by a Placa because it demonstrates the polices’ abuse of authority when it comes to minorities, and how that ensues more violence.  Unfortunately, this piece is as much relevant today as it was then. The system is catered against people of color.

Carmen Lomas Garza

Carmen Lomas Garza is a Chicana artist who, through her art, illustrates her culture and heritage. She grew up in South Texas, and her art work often reflects her childhood experiences. The piece I will be writing about today is Barbacoa para Cumpleaños (1993). This painting is alkyd on canvas, and originally 36x48 inches. It depicts a Mexican birthday party. In the painting, there are over 30 people, hanging out in a backyard. Some people are grilling, some are sitting and talking or grilling, and most of them are looking at a little girl hit the piñata. There are Mexican decorations hanging from the house and tree, as well as a birthday cake on the table.

This painting is one of the most relatable and literal paintings I have seen so far in this class. It brings back so many memories of my childhood. One of the reasons I think Carmen Lomas Garza was able to acquire so much success, is because her art actually reflects the daily lives of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. Even with this painting alone, I am able to know exactly what is going on. I can tell women on the bottom left side of the paining is the grandma, and she is holding one of her grandchildren. I can tell that the clay pots on the table are holding the hot barbacoa and the tortillas. I can tell that the lady in the lavender dress is taking raw carne to the man on the grill to cook it, and the reason it’s in that bowl is because she just finished seasoning it. This is such a relatable painting that captures our culture perfectly. I think it is my favorite.