This is the blog for the UCLA Chicanx Latinx Art and Artists course offered by the Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicanx Central American Studies (CCAS M175, also Art M184 and World Arts and Cultures M128). This course provides a historical and contemporary overview of Chicanx Latinx art production with an emphasis on painting, photography, prints, murals and activist art.
Photo print, pencil drawing (grid erased), and line drawing for watercolor pencil
On Friday, we used grids on our photo prints and our sketchbooks to make a pencil drawing and a line drawing to color with watercolor pencils next Week 8. Grids are a technique often used by muralists to enlarge small drawings onto large walls.
Muralists use grids for several reasons: to involve community members with little or no drawing experience and to make efficient scaled drawings avoiding waste of time and materials.
This week, we began artist presentations on painters and public artists. The blog post for this week is to write about one artist presented by your classmates which you found interesting or somehow attracted your attention. You can find the list of artists presented on Friday at https://chicanaart.blogspot.com/p/presentations-2020.html
Sketchbook Cover and Page with spray painted stencil.
On Friday, we discussed the Artist Presentation and Paper requirements which start next week. See the "Presentations 2020" page on this blog for a list of artists, medium, and the student who will be presenting. If you don't see your name on the list, then contact me immediately.
Presentations on Painters and Public Artists begin next week alphabetically by artist's last name. Three jpeg images need to be sent to alma@ucla.edu before noon on Thursday, February 20.
Presentations should be less than 5 minutes and include an introduction to the artist (tell us as much as possible about them, their education, their experiences as artists, the themes and iconography in their work, etc...), discussion of three of their works, and a concluding statement (for instance why did you select to present on them?). The 5-page Artist Paper is due on/before midnight on Wednesday, March 4. You are encouraged to write and submit anytime before the 3/4 deadline.
Some of you already blogged about your artist when you first selected them. For this week's blog, focus on one of the images you will be presenting on. Blogs are due as usual before noon on Thursdays.
I've included the cover and a page from my sketchbook. My stencil is of a Mexican female masked wrestler by the name of Dama X. I grew up watching Lucha Libre, and am interested in researching Luchadoras.
Next week, remember to bring a print out of a photograph of yourself and a ruler.
Grid of watercolor pencils. Top is dark, center is wet.
In our sketchbooks, we made a grid of the watercolor pencils. We will select 3 or 4 colors to draw the next 3 or 4 ASL hands.
We looked at Carmen Lomas Garza images and discussed the guest artist presentation by Ofelia Esparza. After looking at the public art project by Lomas Garza, we had a discussion of paper picado and stencil art.
This week, we are making stencils for the sketchbook cover and blogging about our stencils. We are describing our stencils (and hopefully including a photo) and discussing why we are selecting this image for the cover of our sketchbooks.
We ended class with a presentation of possible visual iconography sometimes found in the visual work of Chicana/Latina artists.
This week we started off class with a free draw/write. Then we watched a video of a speech Carmen Lomas Garza gave in D.C. Here are a few questions to think about when reading and writing.
How does Garza include past legacies while present awareness of the present and the future in her paintings? Provide an example.
What is Garza’s “zoom in” method?
Why was the Quincentenary more controversial in the Americas compared to Europe? How did Garza contribute to the Chicana Reconquista of the event?
In the 1990’s Garza created children's books, why are these publications important to the Chicanx community? What does she include in them and why?
We also were fortunate enough to have a guest speaker Ofelia Esparza. She told us about her upbringing in Los Angeles and how she was heavily influenced by the powerful woman in her life and her great great grandmother who passed down the traditions, especially of Dia de Los Muertos. She has made beautiful altars that tell stories about her family and Los Angeles. She has passed down her passion for art to her family and now her children, and grandchildren also practice art.
The drawing exercise for this week was to focus on the shadows to draw our next four hands. For our sketchbook homework, draw the color wheel with primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
We discussed Virgen de Guadalupe images in the work of Ester Hernandez and Yolanda Lopez. We saw I Love Lupe video.
Next week, our guest artist is Los Angeles- based Chicana artist Ofelia Esparza. She is a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow who worked as a cultural consultant on the film Coco.
Waterpencil color wheel
Blog Post due noon Thursday 1/302020: After reading Gonzalez, Jennifer A., C. Ondine Chavoya, Chon Noriega and Terezita Romo, editors.Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology. Rasquachismo p 85; and Domesticana p 91, write about rasquachismo and domesticana.
Extra credit: Draw your own version of the Virgen de Guadalupe. You can use lead pencil or watercolor pencil.
Mark-making, shading, flat shapes to 3 dimension with shading, square to cube using perspective, and hand drawings.
This week, we started our sketchbook projects with a few mark making exercises including, "look at hand not paper." Then we began Virgin of Guadalupe icon discussion by looking at the photography series by Mexican-British visual anthropologist, Alinka Echeverria. Class ended with presentation of CARA exhibition by Professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba.
Blog Post due noon Thursday 1/23/2020: Write a post on one of the Yolanda Lopez images.
CSM175 Chicana/Latina Art board. Photo: Greg Esparza.
It has been good to meet all of you via your introductory post on this course discussion blog as well as on the first day of class.
This photo taken by your classmate Greg Esparza demonstrates that we are starting the quarter with the collective knowledge of 20-something Chicana artists. This is a great start. My hope is that after ten weeks, each of us will be able to name many more.
The two historical essays by Linda Nochlin, "Why have there been no great women artists?" and Sybil Venegas, "Conditions for producing Chicana art" informed our first discussion of women and Chicana artists. These essays perhaps help us see why most of us can easily name Anglo or European male artists. As a fun experiment, I suggest you ask friends and family to name as many visual artists that they can.
Nochlin's answer to her question is that the obstacles for women artists (and writers) have been primarily institutional: Education/Apprenticeship and Business/Market. In addition to these institutional obstacles, Venegas states that Chicanas also have the added obstacle of social and cultural roles/expectations.
Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights PBS documentary series is searchable on YouTube. The documentary focusing on education titled, "Taking Back Our Schools" featuring interviews with Chicana artists Patssi Valdez, Carmen Lomas Garza, Mita Cuaron and others demonstrates the education obstacle imposed not only Chicana artists, but on Chicana/o/x and other communities in the U.S.
See you Week 2 to discuss the CARA exhibition with Professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba and begin our sketchbook project. Bring your questions, sketchbook and a 2B pencil.
Blog Post due Thursday, 1/16/2020: Write about CARA essay by Professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba
