Week 10: Reflection

I have had a great time taking this class. I came into the class because I wanted to learn more about Chicana/o artist in the movement. I thought a lot of the artist and the topics that we discussed were very interesting and new to what I knew about the movement. I really enjoyed the speakers we were able to have in the classroom. I think having the speakers in the classroom really gave us the opportunity to engage with people who had a significant role in the Chicana/o artist movement. I also like the different techniques and forms we were able to work on our art. I noticed my art changing a lot as we progressed in the class. One of the memorable moments in the class for me was when Ofelia Esparza had came into class. Her work and her history in the movement was admiring to hear about in first hand. The great thing about the class is the opportunity there is to learn more about the influence that Chicana/o had in the movement. When we got to our class presentations I really enjoyed learning about the artist that my classmates presented on because it allowed me to not only learn of new artist but how others creativity works. It was a really amazing opportunity because a lot of the artist that they mentioned I ended looking up after. I think the class was a great opportunity to grow in our art and also become more aware of the history and legacy that people left for us in the past and how it can influence us now a days.

Week 9: Favianna Rodriguez

I was really touched by this artist because I have seen her work before. Being Undocumented I have grown aware of what the butterfly symbol means in my community and the strength and community it provides for a lot of families. The butterfly has grown to be a symbol that many undocumented individuals are able to recognize as a safe space or an ally. Social activism and the butterfly now have a synonymous connection that only a few people know about. The butterfly that is often seen around is the same one that I instantly recognized. It's the one that says "migration is beautiful". This butterfly is really important because of the text that is included but it also has a more cultural and significant design to it rather than leaving it simple. The rest of her work has similar features to it. From using similar characters that are seen in the inside of the butterfly and has really bright colors as those seen in the butterfly piece. The symbol of the butterfly is something that is recognized amongst the undocu-community but know I feel like her piece is also a staple of the history of the movement. She was strategic in her creation and wanted it to speak highly of what the current times were looking like but also using the chosen text to empower the community and bring to the light the way we think about borders and immigrants.

Week 8: Cassandra Giraldo

The artist that caught my attention was the  Photojournalist Casandra Giraldo presented by Bobby. I really enjoyed the natural lighting she was able to capture in her images which made her images look very unique and complex in her lighting choices. I went to her online page and I really liked a series she did on students afterschool in Brooklyn. The series really resonated with me because it highlighted a lot of students in different areas after they were done with school. It showed couples, students in sports, doing work, and other areas the students would be at. The way that photos looked raw and didn't need to be set up really stood out to me. I like it when some photos are candid and aren't set up to look a certain way. I also really like the series she did called crazy "fur" Obama on a particular style and look that some individuals had in the cold supporting Obama"s presidency. It does a great job capturing the people in their natural states  of the individuals without any gimmicks to distract from the essence of the picture which were unique outfits on people, but also including the political presence of the presidency of Obama. She is documenting events in history that can easily fo overlooked but she also manages to incorporate her unique style in her photos by using lighting techniques that use a lot of shadows to create different shapes and designs.  I like her usage of what is in front of what and how she works with it.

Week 7: Melissa Depaz

The artist that I chose to do my presentation on is Melissa Depaz. I chose this artist because she is an artist from my city (Compton). I heard about the artist through a friend and she told me the relationship she had built with our favorite coffee shop (Patria). I then noticed some of her work displayed in the coffee shop and I was instantly in love with it. Seeing her growth through her involvement with the community has been inspiring. She has been an inspiring individual on the approach that I want to have in my community. The three pictures that I chose were unique in their connections to the community. The sweatshirt is a collaboration between Compton college, the painting is the painting on display at Patria coffee, and lastly the mural is in Gonzales park in Compton. I have noticed two unique techniques that she uses in her work. She does layers of paint and she does sketch drawings. The part that stands out to me from the techniques she uses is it is like black and white film. I think her involvement with the community is really special because I see her doing work for the city of Compton and and as a result the community embraces her work and has allowed her to do a mural and work with the city to create the art in the Compton loteria. I cant wait to see how she continues to grow as time passes and the different opportunities that will come out as she continues to put on for the city.

Week 6: Stencil

I am choosing to do my stencil project on a coffee cup. Lately I have been hitting up a lot of coffee shops. I think the coffee culture specifically in the hood is very unique because a lot of the coffee shops unlike others are community driven and bring a space to chill and have community. Two of the coffee shops that have stood out to me are Patria & Sip&Sonder. Patria is a coffee shop in Compton that has great coffee but a place I admire because of its involvement with the events that it has with different community organizations. Being able to see the impact it has had on my community is beautiful to me. The other coffee shop that I really enjoy and I admire is Sip&Sonder. I found out about this coffee shop through a friend. I also see how this coffee shop also does a lot of community work and how the community embraces and respects the coffee shop for its efforts to promote black owned businesses. The coffee culture in my neighborhood and in other hoods is something that is not common so I understand why the pick up of business for the coffee shop is slow but I think that community organizing is crucial for these coffee shops and it also helps them stand out and stay true to the community rather than try to be a hipster coffee shop. The impact these two and other coffee shops or cafe's have had on our communities is very admirable and I am excited to see what other they host.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Week 5

The presentation given by Ofelia Esparza was interesting because it shed light to the creativity that goes into making the details that are in an altar. One of the biggest things think that stood out to me from the presentation was how the speaker was not a highly trained artist when she started doing art. The craft had come from her grandmother and great grandmother. I thought this was really special because many times people get caught up with not having proper instruction on art, but the beauty of art is it is free of any boundaries. I think art is an expression of someone onto many different mediums. There have been many artist to come out without having a lot of formal experience in art that have created their own interpretations and expressed what they have on their mind. It is interesting to see the process the artist took in creating her big pieces. It wasn't right away that she started creating her art pieces but it was through the process of growth and practice. I think the themes of family in her work were very beautiful because it shows the significance and influence that her family had through her art installations of altares. I was also amazed by the recognition she has had throughout her years and how now she is an expert at what she does and is able to influence and inspire others who do similar work. When she spoke on her influence in the film Coco I was glad to see that our culture was able to be seen in the big screen and inspire others through the work of Ofelia Esparza. I think it is very important to speak to those who are knowledgeable in the culture and craft to stay true and be respectful of ones culture when looking into making a film, because it influences many and it would be wrong to misinterpret someone else's culture. 

Week 4

For this weeks reading the two terms that are centered throughout the text are Rasquachismo and Domesticacana. These two terms serve as a form of encouraging identity and pridefulness of the person that one is. And they are also used to bring people down at the same time. Similar to that of the word Chicano and how some saw it a an insult but its true meaning was that of expressing how proud someone was of their identity. Language in itself is unique because it's an integral part of our identities and plays a big role in the Chicano movement through the use if calo. Looking at Rasquachismo it was used to bring down people because people used it to describe those who were seen as "as less than". But instead the meaning meant more of a simplistic and resourcefulness from chicanos rather than conforming to the demeaning meaning of what it was like to be rasquache. I think this is a great way to be rooted in what our families through and acknowledging our struggle but how beautiful it can be. But, there also needs to be more inclusion in many of the aspects of our identity's through our chicanismo.

On the other hand Domesticna took on a more gendered approach. It was a way to keep the identity through rasquachismo that was overly dominated by men similar to the Chicano movement. This form identity was used to bring pride in women through its own lane paved by Chicana women. It is similar to rasquachimso but was centered around women and their embrace of activism. The Domesticana brought about principles of humility that were shared with what rasquache was all about.

Week 3

The image that stood out to me for the week 3 was the triptych of the Virgen de Guadalupe with the Daughter, Mother, Grandmother. The piece that stood out to me the most was the one of the mother sowing the robe that is usually seen on the Virgen de Guadalupe. I also thought it was very creative on how the artist chose to pin the snake to the sowing machine. This piece was creative also in the way that the artist chose to highlight her mothers natural beauty by having the  piece have the brightest mandorla of all the three pieces of the triptych. I really liked how it focused on the natural beauty the artist saw in her mother and didn't bother taking an approach to make the Virgen de Guadalupe more centered around the strength there is amongst women. The symbolism on the mother piece really stood out to me because it reminds me of how hard my mother works and how her beauty does not need glamour. The artist does a great job in putting at the forefront the hard work in her mother, which is something I feel a lot of Chicana/o families can relate to. It is a non-traditional outlook on the Virgen de Guadalupe can also be an expression of how women are hard working and often work laborious jobs. This would counter the gender notions that women stay at home and are caregivers rather than hard working women.

Week 2

For this week's reading we looked at " Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo" which was written by Alicia Alba de Gaspar. This weeks reading highlighted a lot of the inequalities women face. In particular it showed us the thing that often gets forgotten on top of what women face being gender. This weeks reading highlighted the problem of machismo and the role that gender plays as another form of oppression towards women. Looking at art by Chicanas you could often times see the presence of resistance against the societal gender roles and the overwhelming presence and dominance men had in art. The art of women was used to combat the same societal gender roles seen in the Chicano Movement.  Some of these roles that were seen placed on women by men through the Chicano movement of the women as caregivers, virgins, and were not highlighted as prominent pieces in the Chicano movement. Inclusiveness was a major problem that Chicana artist wanted to highlight. 

Demeaning women through a movement that was fighting for equality causes problems from the inside that are often disregarded because machismo can oftentimes be deeply rooted into our culture that it continues to affect our own communities. The question that I came up with has to be about the progress that is lost if we continue to put women down or forget to highlight the important impact that they have on progress in our communities as well as in various other movements.

Melissa Depaz

I am choosing to do my project on Melissa Depaz. She is a Chicana artist from Compton, CA. She has worked a lot with the community by creating pieces of art by collaborating with different business and different events.

2020SanvicenteJair

Hello, my name is Jair Sanvicente. I am a recent transfer student from El Camino College
going into my third year. I was born in Mexico City, but I was raised in Compton and South Central.
I am a Chican@ studies major looking to minor in Film. I have a passion for Film and would like to
help grow the representation of Latinos in Cinema through documentary filmmaking.
Often times the stories of our communities are told from people who do not know our experience.  

I have not done research myself but I am interested in researching the impact that the new wave
of Black cinema can have on the Latino community. I think cinema and the arts in general is a field
that is looked down upon because of the amount of competition and the time in which it can take to
start getting paid well. But I feel it is important to be more supportive and resourceful to those in the
arts who don't want to compromise over their passion. Artist like Ryan Coogler, Barry Jenkins,
Jordan Peele, Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis, and Taraji P. Henson. Have been influential in bringing in
better representation for people of color in cinema and have played big parts in making cinema a better
representation of our communities. I think the Latino/a community still has not gotten the chance to
break out, but we have the opportunity to learn and work together with other communities of color so
that cinema shows a better representation of what our experiences and communities truly are like.