Week 10 - Reflection

In the beginning of this class I was not aware of what to expect from this class since I do not have a strong background in art. I thought it might be a little challenging for me to complete assignments in this class since I am not good at art, but to my surprise these assignments cam easy to me and were pretty fun to complete. I would go as far to say that is was the most enjoyable class of the quarter for me because the assignments in the sketchbook allowed me to let out my own creativity in many ways. It was very interesting to learn about the several Chicana artists in this class because I felt like I could connect with them since I am also a Chicana woman. Also a lot of the artists that we discussed were powerful women who were not afraid to speak up for themselves and not afraid to spread the message they wanted to which I liked a lot. Not only were we able to learn about Chicana artists through reading and lectures, but we were also given the opportunity to learn from the artists themselves when we had guest speakers in the class. So far one of my favorite assignments from this class was the stencil we did for the front cover and a page inside of the book. I had a lot of fun picking, drawing, and cutting out the design that I ultimately put on my front cover. The other assignment that I thought was cool was the portrait that we are currently working on. For me my favorite type pf assignments were the ones in the sketchbook that allow me to be creative, it was very de-stressing for me.

Week 9 - Judy Baca

Judy Baca is a Chicana artist who was born in Huntington Park, California on September 20, 1946. She studied at California State University, Northridge and is now currently a professor at UCLA. The reason I decided to write about her is because I thought it was interesting that she is a professor at this very school that we are attending. Judy Baca was presented in our class as a public artist. She has been an art professor in the UC system since 1984 and was the founder of the City of Los Angeles Mural Program in 1974. In Judy Baca's work she portrays the struggles of people like women, the working poor, LGBT, and immigrants. The artwork I picked was one with two people dancing in what seems to be a desert and a city in the background. The colors in this piece really stood out to me especially since there is a sort of rainbow circle going on behind the two dancers.

Week 8: Monica Kim Garza

The artist that stood out to me during the presentations last week was Monica Kim Garza. The reason Kim Garza stood out to me was because she seemed like such a free spirit and you could tell from her art that she lives her life to please herself and only herself. In her art the figures she paints are a portrayal of herself, this proves how comfortable she is with her own image. Through her art Kim Garza is able to reclaim the freedom of women and their bodies. Further beyond her art I learned that Kim Garza is of Korean and Mexican Descent, and also she is a child of immigrant parents. One of her pieces that I really liked after looking into her more is a piece she calls Sex With Me So Amazing (2017). The reason this stood out to me was because this proves she is very unapologetically herself in very artwork she can. There is a sort of empowerment that Kim Garza shows within her artwork that attracts me and makes me feel empowered.

Week 7 - Irene Perez

This artwork is part of a mural that is based in San Fransisco that is all about women. This mural stood out to me because of all the different colors, elements, and different types of art styles that are incorporated into it. The woman at the top is holding out two hands that is holding an indigenous type of art on one side and a woman in water in the other hand. The whole feel of this mural brings empowerment to women and to the Chicana culture. In my opinion this mural is very effective of representing the Chicana culture s it shows many different perspectives and isn't restricted to just one.

Week 6 - Stencil

The stencil I have decided to do for the cover of my sketch book is of a snake. The reason that I picked this design is because I was born in the year of the snake and frankly it just really appealed to me. A lot of people are scared of snakes but I think they are really cool animals, I have a sort of fascination for them and the way they are since there are many different types of snakes. Originally I wanted to do a dragon or a fish for my stencil, but something about the snake really stood out to me. Towards the end of deciding what I should do I asked my roommates for advice for picking between a fish and a snake since these are two animals that I can use to represent myself because I am a Pisces and I was also born in the year of the snake. I am hoping I am able to create my stencil exactly the way I want it.

Carmen Garza "Earache Treatment" (1989)

The piece I would like to address in this blog post is one titled “Earache Treatment” (1989) which pictures a man sitting on a porch with a woman holding a newspaper that is one fire to his ear. This is a traditional home remedy, not only that but it is actually based off of Garzas real life. The setting is Garza’s childhood home and the woman and man are her parents. This earache treatment is known as ventosa and was used to create a vacuum to evaporate the water that Garza’s dad had in his ear. Garza’s identity is shown in this piece of art because this is not something that just any family would do, this is a cultural practice that stems from a Mexican origin. This whole painting resonates with Garza in them ya that is is based off of her culture and it is an actual memory from her family that she can recall. 

Homenaje a Dolores Huerta - Yolanda M. Lopez

This piece of art was made in 1995 and it shows 4 women who look like they are working, they all have something covering their faces except one. Then there is an image of Dolores Huerta holding up a Huelga sign in the background, it has an effect that makes it seems that it is trying to blend it in to the sky. On the bottom of the art there is the phrase "woman's work is never done" this homage to Dolores Huerta not only brings attention to the part Huerta played, but most importantly the role of women as a whole.

I think it is a great way for Lopez to portray the role of woman through artwork. This piece has two meanings because of the part that Dolores Huerta plays in this and also the four other woman who are unknown which can be used to represent the rest of the Chicana population working for their own sake.

Irene Perez

In this weeks reading which is titled “Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore’s Mask: The Mirror of Malinchismo” written by Alicia Gaspar de Alba speaks on the hardships that Chicana artists have been through. While reading this I was able to finally realize the oppression that these female artists are being put through, on top of already being minorities because of the color of their skin they are also being put down because of their gender by their own people.

Early onto the reading the Gaspar introduces the idea that there is a certain mannerism that is expected from Chicana women and if they do not follow this mannerism then they are labeled as “malinches” meaning traitors. Chicana women were expected to blindly follow and support their men, any sign of them standing up for themselves or having their own opinion lead to the idea that these women were men-haters. 

Although there is progress for female Chicana artists they are still under represented within the art community. For example in the CARA exhibition Chicana women were greatly under represented in a lot of sections there was only one female compared to the greater number of males. In conclusion this reading really sheds light onto the ongoing problem within the art community that needs to be resolved and the only way it can be resolved is to give Chicana artists more recognition. 

Question: Why is it so difficult for people to acknowledge Chicana artists as much as Chicano artists? 

Tavera, Hillary (Hillary)

Hello, my name is Hillary Tavera and my preferred pronouns are she, her, hers. I am currently a psychobiology major and I am in my first year here at UCLA. I am not yet involved in any research programs offered by UCLA, but I would like to later join in on any research that involves psychology as I am very interested in that topic. I do not have a lot of knowledge on art in general, but I have always been slightly interested in art. I am looking forward to learning a lot from this class, Especially since it is focused on Chicana artists. The focus on Chicana artists leads me to believe that it will help me become more in tune with my culture as music does for me already. 

The reading from this week that I would like to address is “Conditions For Producing Chicana Art” by Sybil Venegas. I was fascinated by the way this reading was structured, it first stated the traditional expectations of the Mexican woman, then it proceed to express the changing circumstances for Chicanas. Since Chicanas are experiencing a clash of two cultures they are adjusting to more modern lifestyles. My question is since these Chicana artists are changing the way that Mexican woman are expected to act are they erasing part of their culture or is this harmless way for the Chicana artists to receive more recognition? Overall I am interested in learning and discussing a lot in this class, I look forward to meeting everyone in class!