Week 10: Quarter Reflection

The one most memorable thing from this class was the activity where we named the artists that we knew. It was the most memorable because it put into perspective how much I knew about art but also how much more I did not know about Chicana art or the impact that it had on the Chicana community. Before that activity, I could only think of Frida Kahlo and Georgia o’ Keefe as the most prominent women artists. Being introduced to many more artists from my peers was educational and it motivated me to stay highly engaged for future material.

One of the artists that really caught my attention was Yolanda Lopez because she referenced the Virgin Mary and religion which is something that I myself have been re-evaluating. Yolanda Lopez discusses her connection to religion and how it was considered unusual because she did not identify as a religious person like many other Latinos. I grew up going to church but for my family, it was something that did not come first and as a result, I felt that I did not have a deep connection to Catholicism. But I did feel that I needed to have a sense of attachment to the Virgen de Guadalupe because it was an icon that I saw everywhere around my neighborhood. Yolanda Lopez’s art and her motivations for her Virgen art pieces made me realize that the Virgen holds much more importance beyond religion.

Additionally, her art piece Nuestra Madre, which incorporates indigenous spirituality, gave me the best representation of this class. The art piece is an embodiment of Chicana femininity through different perspectives, it embodies the idea that Chicanx norms like religion prove to be barriers to Chicanas, and that through art these norms can be challenged.

Week 6: Rasquachismo

 In the reading “Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility”, Tomas Ybarra-Fausto tells us that rasquachismo is an underdog perspective and seems more like an attitude or a taste. I interpret rasquachismo as the belief that although many poor people are expected to give up, we use what is available to us in order to survive. Additionally, poor people are not expected to be immersed in “high culture” activities such as art, yet that does not deter us from using what is available to create art. Most of the time the items used are everyday objects that would have normally not been used in the artistic context. This allows anyone to create a political message through art without having to rely on “normal” mediums such as paints or brushes. I think overall the main message that rasquachismo gives is “We are not going anywhere, we are here to stay by any means necessary.” This strong and bold attitude is what has allowed many poor Latinos to survive in the United States because we are not wanted and have been forced to leave many times through different methods but we always find a way to overcome any obstacle. 

The reason I chose to place an image of a tape wallet was that growing up tape was seen as an essential item to have in the household since it could repair many broken things. Since many of the times my family could not afford to pay to have items fixed, the tape could be seen around the house as normal. Fortunately, I grew up with other people in my neighborhood who were in similar conditions which made me feel there was nothing to be ashamed of. At times, we even talked proudly about what we would be able to fix with tape. The use of tape to make wallets was popular when I was in elementary school and it was eye-opening to see that tape could not only be used for fixing but also for creating. Tape was also used to fix the bottom of backpacks that had been worn out and ripped or to fix the straps that had come loose yet it was not something that was made fun of. Instead, it felt that it was encouraged to use tape in some form or shape in order to feel more comfortable. To me, this example of rasquachismo is important because we took an item that was made to symbolize something is broken and we turned it into a statement of survivability. 

Blog Post Week 5: Virgen De Guadalupe

The Virgen de Guadalupe has been a prominent figure for me growing up here in East Los Angeles and as a Mexican Catholic. For my family, religion has been a place of keeping tradition while being away from our family in Mexico, who also value the Virgen highly. More importantly, it is a place where my mother gains strength and maintains faith when she feels times are tough. Growing up, my mother had the difficult responsibility of raising my sister and me by herself so the Virgen served as an icon of strength for her. Additionally, my mother and aunts would take turns, along with other women, in having possession of a Virgen statue for a period of time at their households. They would hold rosarios and to me, the Virgen de Guadalupe came to signify a symbol of womanhood and strength.  Although we are not devout Catholics, the Virgen de Guadalupe is a religious aspect that remains present in our family. 

Since coming to UCLA, I have had access to more information about the roots of Catholicism in Mexican history and one of those topics has been the Virgen de Guadalupe. The most interesting thing that I have learned is how the Virgen de Guadalupe had become a myth created by the Catholic church in order to convert the natives into Catholicism. The Mexica goddess Tonanzin Coatlicue had served as a major obstacle for the Catholic church because many natives held strongly in their beliefs to the mother goddess which is why they fabricated the story of Juan Diego and the Virgen de Guadalupe. While this historical information sheds light on how religion in Mexico and Latin America has dark roots and awareness should be raised, I also understand the importance that the Virgen has for many people such as my mother. Although this new information has made me more skeptical of the Catholic church and the Virgen de Guadalupe, I continue to show some belief because it is the source of strength for my mother who depended on the Virgen when times were extremely tough.

Blog #4_ Denver Art Museum Panel

 

The Denver Art museum event was enlightening on the subject of Mexican postmodernism. All panelists, Pablo Helguera, Alma Lopez, and Damien Ortega talked about the topic of layered identities which could be expressed through several types of art. While Capitalism and Communism or colonization was not talked about in the panel, I believe that it serves as an underlying theme of postmodernism. I think that this sparks an interesting conversation in Mexico’s modernization and the attempts towards cultural erasure. The reason why I believe that Mexico holds importance is due to the artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera who were able to contest “established” ideals such as Capitalism and Eurocentrism at a global scale. 

Helguera brought up Rivera’s Man at the Crossroads to speak about how Rockefeller had it dismantled and the whereabouts were unknown. Examining the mural and its history closely reveals the reason Rockefeller had it dismantled was due to its anti-capitalist messages that Rivera had subliminally hidden. One of those messages was how humans had control of machines and not the other way, further adding support to his renaming of the piece as Man, Creator of the Universe. In essence, Rivera is implying that capitalism does not allow for people to be themselves, and instead, they become slaves to machines. Damien Ortega attempts to re-establish the lost connection to people-made machines/tools in his installation Frozen Second where the viewer can place themselves at the center of suspended tools. It gives power back to the person by implying that it is the tools and machines that originated from people since they are facing outward from the center. Therefore it is people who have control of the tools that we have become slaves to and if we fail to freeze for a second to realize that, then we will continue to allow modernization to occur. 

Alma Lopez’s artwork serves to contest the Catholic church mainly through her piece Our Lady because it challenges the views of the church. In doing so, I believe Lopez allows us to take a moment to examine the importance of Catholic influence in Latin American history and culture. The Catholic church in Latin America is rooted in the brutal colonization of the indigenous people of the Americas. This included practices to force indigenous populations to conform to Catholicism through fear and punishment. Today, the Catholic church holds major influence within Latin American culture, including Mexico, which has allowed it to reshape its narrative within Mexico to serve as an institution that has made the people of Mexico prosperous through its teachings. I believe that Our Lady is crucial because it allows us to question the reason why the Church had taken offense to the art piece beyond being “anti-holy”. It reveals that people can create their own version of the Virgin Mary to fit a narrative that empowers them, exactly like the Church when they created the myth of the “Virgen of Guadalupe” in order to further establish its power in Mexico. In essence, it exposes the Church’s foundation in Mexico and Latin America to have been established on lies. 

This panel left me with more questions about the future of Mexican postmodernism. I believe postmodernism artwork holds influential power not only in Mexico but globally. By further promoting its messages, I believe it can help change many broken systems that have led us to hate and corruption worldwide. 

Week 2: Zapata Reading

 Question: Do technological strategies take away the message from the poster making process?

Answer:

I think that although the technological strategies for making new art may seem like it removes a personal connection to the art-making process, I believe that it is preserved and made more efficient. The importance of poster-making as described in the reading is, "Chicano poster artists[in the 1960s and 1970s] functioned as the unofficial conscience of the country." For many of these artists, poster making was more than a tool since it had allowed the furthering of activism in a way that it could engage many without having to speak. The reading also highlights the views of Rupert Garcia who believed that digital strategies would commercialize the art and therefore "corrupt the purity of fine art." Garcia later incorporated digital strategies and replaced printmaking for digital posters. I think the main goal of Chicanx art is the one given in the reading, "to shaping a decolonial consciousness, to infiltrate and dismantle systems of oppression by whichever means necessary." Therefore, digital strategies allow for artists to more efficiently create art that takes less time to produce and allows for more effort to be placed into a singular work of art. It also allows for new and better methods of outreach that reach more people such as Alma Lopez's use of emails to send her artwork to personal friends. It further encourages the idea that Chicanx art is not defined by printmaking or poster-making, but rather it is defined by the message it intends to send. Therefore, it allows Chicanx art to have survivability against the tests of time and technology due to its fluid and adaptive nature. Most importantly, in order to stay true to the message of decolonization, Chicanx art must not be defined or forced to conform to a single medium because it is perpetuating the same idea it is meant to fight. 

Blog Post 3: Sand One

Sand One

Sand One(1992-Present) is a Mexican-Guatemelan Public Artist known for her signature doll and long lashes art style murals. Sand focuses on female characters that take as much as possible for whatever Sand chooses as her canvas. Her "humongous" female characters serve as a sense of empowerment for Sand as she speaks about her shorter stature. 

Biography

Sand was born in 1992 and was raised in East Los Angeles where she gathered most of her inspiration for her work. Sand describes her experience as rough and wanting to avoid the crime and drugs lifestyle she turned to art. Sand wants to send the message to people who see her artwork to pursue after her dreams, especially in areas such as East Los Angeles where gang activity is high.

References

1.https://www.bangkokpost.com/print/605800/

2.https://www.lataco.com/sand-ones-trials-tribulations-la-brea-san-vicente/

3.https://laist.com/2011/10/14/laist_interview_sand_one_street_art.php

Further Reading

1.http://www.pinupgirlstyle.com/profiles/blogs/la-s-youngest-female-street-artist-brought-to-you-by-elaina-soto

2.https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/money-career/sand-one-artist-interview-latinx-heritage-month

External Links

1.https://www.sandoner.com/press

Art

Exhition : Bow Ties Sand Chikz

Orgullosa De Ser by Sand One, East Los Angeles(LA)

Big Walls By Sand One, Atomik, Quake - Miami (FL)

Aguilar, Angel

My name is Angel Aguilar. My preferred pronouns are He/Him/His. I am a 4th-year Political Science major with a minor in Chicano Studies. I was interested in this course because I love to explore art that is rooted in Chicano culture and Latin American culture, more specifically in Mexico. 

I was born and raised in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights. Coming from this area, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to many murals and graffiti that has allowed me to better appreciate and seek art that reflects Latino culture. Many of the murals that I grew up around aimed to show the true reality of Latinos living in the United States as well as sending messages of strength. I believe that activism through art is a strong way to get your message across because it can convey emotions that are hard to explain through words. I hope through this class I can be introduced to new art that explores experiences within the Latino/Mexican culture that might not be as prominent. 

In this Week’s Reading, “Printing and Collecting the Revolution” by E Carmen Ramos, I enjoyed the explanation for wall art. Wall art is a medium to “engage a community with little to no access to mainstream news or cultural outlets.” Personally, coming from Boyle Heights I saw many murals that depicted many of the Latino Immigrant perspectives that were not talked about in the mainstream news when I was a child. But growing up I feel as if the murals have lost their effect on the main population because people are not as moved by the messages in the murals. When a mural is created, it is seen as nice art on the wall and nothing more. Since they mention printmaking as the other public medium that had the same effect, I wonder if it is also losing its effects in communities that are majority Latino or if the art is not thought-provoking
enough.