Week:10

Being enrolled in this Chicana/o artist class has helped me evolve as a student because it gave me a different perspective in academia. Meaning we are so used to being taught that the only history that matters is those in traditional academia careers such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, and many others but I was never taught or even encouraged to pursue art. I'm not an artist myself but I do find the beauty in learning about it and even practicing it. After this class I truly believe that you do not have to be an amazing artist to benefit from the beauty it is to draw. When I first saw that we were going to be drawing in the class I did get nervous because I am really bad at drawing. On the other hand just drawing my hands in ASL has brought me so much peace and pleasure in doing. It gives you a break from writing all those papers and reading all the books but just see the beauty in every day lives and able to portray that beauty with a pen and a paper. 

In addition, on the first day of class when the professor asked us to write on the board all the artist we knew on the board, I did not know any of them. At the end of these ten weeks I have learned multiple great artist by the help of my classmates and the professor. I have not only been able to learn from these great artist but also be able to see the activism they have done for the Chicanx community and it has inspired me. Whether it was street art, photography, or murals all of their work is very influential and inspiring for me to keep learning and support these great artist because they do not get the recognition that they deserve.

Week: #9

The artist I chose to speak about was Paz Errazuriz because I thought that the presentation did a beautiful job of introducing and providing a glimpse of the transgender community. I really like this image because it is representing the beauty in being transgender. The first thing I really like is how the model is ready with full on make up, hair is done, and is showing the beauty of the body. In this society we have seen so many derogatory words and actions taken against the transgender community and being able to capture how empowering this picture is because it also represents how the model is bold and not afraid of what others might think. I think it is very special when an image like this one can say so much without a caption. Errazuriz said,” They are topics that society doesn’t look at, and my intention is to encourage people to dare to look.” Errazuriz is very empowering as artist because like I stated before the transgender community has been silenced for a long period of time and even though we are in the twenty first century and laws and policies have changed to support this community, it does not change the cruelty many people have towards the transgender community. In addition, Errazuriz is able to shine the light in this issue and represent this community in a way that reflect the beauty in it. This is such an important subject and I was very pleased to see this presentation especially because I volunteered in the LGBTQ San Gabriel community center last quarter where I was exposed to many of the issues and barriers this community faces. While I was there I learned a lot and one of the most important lessons I got was how difficult it is for many of them to see how beautiful they truly are and be confident about it. Therefore, I was able to see how powerful this image is and how much it must of meant to the transgender community to be portrayed in a positive empowering way. 

Week 8: Artwork

Last weeks presentations were all very informative and unique to see. The one I found the most interesting was the Selena art work. There was a lot of different things going on in that painting. The first thing I saw was the Halo on top of her head which signifies the Virgen of Guadalupe and in a way referencing Selena as a symbolic figure. Selena was a very significant person in my generation which is why I was so intrigued by this art work. Selena also died at a very young age and in my family she was a women that we all appreciated and admired a lot. I think that is why I loved this image so much because it resonated with me and reminded me a lot of my family and her music when I was younger. In addition, at the bottom of the house there are footprints in the sand which signify religion and how God will always be there to follow and guide you. In front of the house there is a cactus and I believe that signifies her Mexican roots because it is known that a cactus is used to represent the Mexican culture. A lot of these artist paintings are really hard to interpret because you need to be able to understand what the artist is trying to say and sometimes you might be able to relate to the work. Selena is such an amazing art work because she is such an iconic person at least in my generation she is someone who many Hispanic families loved

Week 7: Nuestra Señora de Las Iguanas

The image I chose for my artist is Nuestra Señora de Las Iguanas by Graciela Iturbide. The reason I chose this image is because it is one of her most known and best work. I was really confused about this image when I first saw it because she is wearing an iguana crown and I was confused why. This women was shot in Juchitan de Zaragoza. Our Lady of the Iguanas shows the power and dignity of a Zapotec woman, who carried on her head live iguanas that form a bizarre crown. The way the image is taken it is focused on the women and the background is a little blurred out so you won’t lose the concentration from the women in the center of the image. The women is looking at the camera in a way defiant to demonstrate her power as a Zapotec women who is not afraid to wear an iguana crown. In addition, Iturbide focused this image on the Indigenous Zapotec people in the town of Juchitan, in southern Mexico, where women dominate all aspects of social life, from the economy to religious rituals. This is what makes this image so powerful because in plain eye sight it is only an image of a lady wearing an unusual iguana crown but once you actually focus on everything Itubide was trying to demonstrate with this image you realize how powerful it is. It is signifying not only the roots of Juchitan but the strength of women in Zapotec and their influence. 

Week 6: Stencil

I chose to use a butterfly as my cover. The reason I chose a butterfly is for two reasons one is that I believe a butterfly does a beautiful job of representing myself because you start as a caterpillar not developed yet not knowing what the world has to offer. In addition, just like a caterpillar I was scared to spread my wings because I wasn’t sure I was prepared to handle it in such a hostile society for undocumented students like myself. This brings me to my second reason for choosing a caterpillar and that is because it’s the symbol for DACA. Being a DACA student myself I always knew that a butterfly was the symbol for it but I never actually understood why until now. At least I understand how the butterfly image connects with myself. It is hard to be a DACA student and especially with the president we have today but I realize how far I have came from not being able to tell anyone about being a DACA student to now writing about it. A butterfly represents me so perfectly because I am not ashamed of what I am and I have came a long way to be able to say it  just how a caterpillar came a long way to be the beautiful colorful butterfly it is. All butterfly’s have different patterns in their wings and that is also true for DACA students we are all so different and come from different places but we are all united through DACA. 

Week #5

Carman Lomas Garza is a very inspirational artist because a lot of her work was made to reflect her childhood and families culture. I believed she does a great job of demonstrating the different traditions her family had when she was a kid from doing tamales, to birthday parties, and many other. In addition, she is not only giving us a glimpse of her childhood but of my own childhood experience. I was able to relate to many of her work because I also grew up in a hispanic household and we had many similar traditions. It was nice to see someone who is as well known as Garza do work that relates to someone like myself. The artwork that I related to the most was the Sandia because Garza talks about her connection with her family through the piece of watermelon. Garza describes how the core of the watermelon is the sweetest part and her family would tell her that she was taking a piece of their heart with them. I related to this picture because when I left to college, leaving my parents was something very challenging for me but I knew that I would have my parents support and love wherever I would go. Watermelon being something that my mom would cut on the weekends and we would all sit down by the pool and have some during summer, it made me feel like I was back home with them. Garza made her artwork family oriented and easy to understand and relate to. This is the first time I see my families traditions and childhood so well represented in someone art and that was amazing to see.

Week:2

CARA was an exhibition where there was true Chicano Art. Where Chicana/o would go and display their art work and others can see how truly talented and well respected artwork they had, it was a way of expressing themselves and finally having their work recognized. Although CARA did represent Chicano art it did not represent Chicana's fairly. The inequality of male art that was displayed compared to female art was ridiculous in a 14-1 or 10-1 ratio. Chicana Art is just as popular and important as Chicano art but there is still the idea that men are superior and women are the subordinate. When the Chicana women did the murals many of them said how they weren't capable to do them because it would take labor like going up a latter or having to work for a long time. They continued to view women as if they are less capable than men. When the mural was finished it got attention but not like the CARA exhibition. As a female I am very aware with this type of machismo. Just in a household you are the subordinate you have to have dinner ready for your husband and take care of the kids because you are not allowed to work, your only responsibility is to be a wife. Although we have improved a lot in trying to break down those barriers for women, we still have a long way to go. CARA had the right idea by displaying both women and men art in their gallery but there will always be a sense of inequality when you pay attention and see these stereotypes.

Week:4 Rasquachismo y Domesticana

Rasquachismo and Domesticana are similar terms as they both represent Chicana/o people, the difference is gender. As I began to understand Rasquachismo I began to relate to it completely. This term is an "underdog perspective- a view from los de abajo"(85), I grew up as an underdog. I grew up humbly poor and you begin to get this sense of toughness of making the best of the little resources you have. This quality is something that a lot of people need to adapt to in order to be treated equally. We need to have a strong and careless attitude in order to not let other step over us because since we are Latino and lower class than we are automatically seen less than, Rasquachismo is our protection from that. Being Rasquache was meant as an insult because it meant you are vulgar, but that is not the case because Rasquachismo is the idea of usefulness, resourceful, and survival. Rasquachismo is a quality that Chicana/os have out of necessity you are not born with it you adapt to it and you let no one else make you feel less then because of it.

Domesticana is very similar it has all the qualities but its focus is on gender. It reflects on Chicana Art and feminism. Chicana were not being represented through Rasquachismo because it was also male dominated so they embraced Domesticana. In addition, it is not just about being a women but about giving back and embracing it with the community, church and their families. It is a sense of liberty as a Chicana women and the continuation of activism.

Week #3

The image I chose from Yolanda Lopez book was the “Virgin at the Crossroads”. I chose this image because it is representing varies things, for one the Virgin’s face is replaced by an adolescent to signify innocence. Not that it’s a young beautiful women but just innocence of a young child. In addition,  below they have Alma Lopez that represents our lady. She represents the Chicana who is not scared to take charge. She is dressed sharply and others would refer to her as a Mexican prostitute because she isn’t acting like the Virgin. Therefore, this image is proving that just because she is dressed differently does not mean she is not a good women. Lopez represents feminism and in the image she is standing on the snake signifying that she is taking charge of her sexual being and womanhood. 

Lopez does a beautiful job at showing that yes the Virgin is such a significant role model for a lot of Chicanos and Mexican like myself, but it takes a different perspective to understand the images. We are used to seeing the Virgin in one specific image that seeing Lopez work it made me feel even a little offended because of the way I was raised in a Catholic traditional household. Therefore, reading the Yolanda Lopez book little by little I started to get the humor and the context behind each image it wasn’t just for laughter there was actual strategy and context behind everything she did. Most of the images that she changed using the Virgin de Guadalupe all were supported by feminism, being able to take charge of your body and sexuality and not be ashamed by what society expects women to be.

Graciela Iturbide

Chavez-Valdivia, Michell (Chell)

My name is Michell Chavez-Valdivia. My preferred pronoun is she/her. I am a fourth year Chicana/o Studies major. I am pursuing this career because I want to be an immigration lawyer so that I can help students who were brought to the U.S at a very young age and are now being punished for it. These students have a lot of potential and not enough resources to give them the tools to be successful, I want to be able to give them that opportunity where they legal status will not intervene in their success. Being a first generation college student I had a lot of barriers put in my way due to low income, legal status, and language barriers that if I didn’t have a mentor who guided me I know I would not be graduating from UCLA this year. Therefore, I want to be a mentor for those students that have been neglected the resources due to their citizenship status.

I am very interested in this class because I believe art is a way of expression, in addition Chicana Art like stated in the articles are so under appreciated. One of my favorite articles is, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”, by Linda Nochlin because it emphasizes the idea that yes women are great artist but it is simply because they are women that they can never be great. How is it possible to be in the 21st century and still not be equal as women? These women produce amazing great but they will never be remembered in history or be recognized as amazing artist because the only way to make that happen is if you are a male.

In addition, it’s not only if you are a women where you are seen as less, but if you are a Chicana artist then you have two negatives. Venegas shows this concept in her article by demonstrating that you are now a minority by being a Chicana and also a minority by being a women. In addition, she explained how being a Chicana meant leaving some Mexican values and American values behind so that they can build their own values in order to be successful in this country. I found this interesting because it just comes to show how all the barriers that Chicana women have and what we need to do in order to change these social structures stored upon us as minorities.