Week 10 Final Discussion: Rasquachismo and Domesticana

    

    My favorite concepts from this class were rasquachismo and domesticana. I think there is something so radical about these concepts because they create their own space in a world that seeks to exclude non-white artists. It is incredibly powerful how these concepts take up space in the world. Domesticana is about how a person claims the space around them and it is so meaningful how people design their space into something they can feel safe in. I also like rasquachismo because it allows for people without resources to also engage with art and include themselves in the art world. This class was really eye-opening because I was able to see Chicana art that went beyond political posters, but also spoke about our everyday lives. I loved seeing how Chicana artists also engaged with digital art and I was surprised I didn’t know any of these artists or their work before this class. I was really excited to learn about these artists and concepts because I’ve taken so many art history classes, but I never got to learn these things and they’ve definitely changed my perspective in ways I did not expect. I’m really excited to see how I can apply the things I learned in this class to the rest of my time at UCLA as an Art major. I don’t think I would have learned these things in other art history classes that I am required to take for my major. This class has made me reflect on my own art and how I have unconsciously used rasquachismo and domesticana in them. I think rasquachismo and domesticana have been my favorite concepts because they seem so defiant and prideful. It's incredible how these artworks can exist in the streets or in galleries, which speaks to who these works are really for.

Week 9 Presentations on Photographers & Other: Deus Ex Machina

    

    Catherine S. Ramirez’s "Deus Ex Machina: Tradition, Technology, and the Chicanafuturist” describes how Chicanx art has imagined a future beyond today by using technological advancements that are available to us now. It was interesting to see pre-colonial images being used in the depiction of our futures, which seemed to signify some sort of justice or a safe place for BIPOC. It was beautiful to see that these imagined futures were all positive. I thought it was important to acknowledge that Chicana Futurism was co-opted from Afrofuturism, which I wish hadn’t been the case. I wasn’t sure if the article was implying that Chicanx people haven’t known how to use science and technology so far or if it was seeking a new way to do so. I think a lot of this work is already being done. I also thought it was interesting that there was so much focus on religious figures, which I did not expect to be a part of Chicana Futurism. I couldn’t help, but compare Afrofuturism and Chicana Futurism. I was curious about why Chicana Futurism doesn’t imagine a world outside of Earth or away from it or even indulge in science fiction. Chicana Futurism came off to me as really serious and academic, which makes me skeptical of who coined it, especially considering that it was co-opted from Afrofuturism. I would like to see a broader view of Chicana Futurism so more people from many walks of life could add to it and make it something more fleshed out.

Week 8 Presentations on Painters & Printmakers: From Black and Brown Solidarity to Afro-Latinidad

    

    It was great to attend the ¡Printing the Revolution! Virtual Conversation Series: From Black and Brown Solidarity to Afro-Latinidad panel discussion. It was awesome to hear from the panelists and I was particularly excited to hear from Favianna Rodriguez. She had a lot of good stuff to say and she also talked about her own experiences as an Afro-Latinx woman. She was super open about herself and her community. I loved hearing about her upbringing in Oakland and how she got into art. I was really curious about how she developed her art style, which she attributes to political posters she saw growing up. She was really proud of being from the Bay Area and claims that is where political posters are from. Favianna talked about other artists she worked with and what she learned about them. It was really nice to see what space she works with. She had many plants around her and lots of sunlight and she spoke about how she likes to work in positive environments. It was interesting to hear about Black and brown solidarity as well as Afro-Latinidad within an art setting because art isn’t usually part of this discourse. This panel was less academic and more about lived experiences, which I really enjoyed. Favianna Rodriguez’s panel was the one that stuck with me the most because she talked about her experiences as a woman and as an Afro-Latinx individual and I felt she had the most insight and she had many powerful things to say.

Week 7 Presentations on Public Art & Painters: Graffiti, Ornamentation, Murals

     

    The essays this week were so fascinating and empowering. I was most excited about the essays that spoke about Graffiti, Ornamentation, and Chicanx Murals. These three art styles have one important thing in common: they claim space. These art styles are incredibly radical because they essentially demand respect. Even after the person is gone, the materials are still present unless someone actively tries to take them down. These art styles say something about how Chicanx individuals don’t try to fit into the art world, but instead create their own. It is important to acknowledge that these artworks inherently reject the established art world that was built for white people. Graffiti, Ornamentation, and Chicanx Murals exist best outside of galleries and actually in the communities that the artists are from. These art styles don’t fit neatly into established art styles or fine art settings, which is what I love about them. The fact that these art styles are more commonly found in the streets makes them accessible to people who otherwise are not able to access art in museums or other places. The sad thing about these art styles is that they are often temporary because they are not actively preserved. This can also be a beautiful thing because the art evolves in the same way that the community evolves, which can also be bad if there is gentrification and then the disposal of the art also contributes to the erasure of the community. I like to think about Graffiti, Ornamentation, and Chicanx Murals as a type of branding or mark-making that proves that someone existed in that place at some point.

Week 6 Public Art: What is Rasquachismo?

 

Rasquachismo is the artistic equivalent of “DIY.” Many Chicanx artists do not have the means to purchase expensive materials to make “high art” with so they resort to using the materials around themselves to create something new. Repurposing found materials is a hallmark of Chicanx art and it seeks to reclaim the word Rasquachismo because it initially had a negative connotation and was used as pejorative for when low-income individuals tried to make due with what they already had. Rasquachismo can be applied to any art forms and everyday life. An example of rasquachismo in film is I Am Joaquin. This film rejected what films at the time were doing and instead focused on creating something with the materials and  resources that were already available. I would like to know if rasquachismo is also found in other cultures and if it is called something else. Is rasquachismo unique to Chicanx aesthetics? I think it is interesting how rasquachismo does not seek to fit into already established norms for art, but instead creates its own category that does not seek or need inclusion. I really like how rasquachismo seeks to create something new just for the sake of. It does not necessarily make something because it is needed, but just to command presence. I think rasquachismo and domesticana are hard to explain and I still haven’t fully grasped both concepts, but I am excited to discuss them during class so I can have a better understanding. I liked reading about the examples of rasquachismo and domesticana because it was funny to see how many of my friends and family participate in it without realizing they are doing it. Rasquachismo makes me especially proud of Chicanx culture because I am starting to learn that my art does not need to conform to Eurocentric ideals. 

Week 5 Rasquachismo: Experience W/ Virgen De Guadalupe Image

 

    I was born and raised in East Los Angeles where there are a lot of murals that depict La Virgen De Guadalupe. My family and I do not identify as Catholics, but we are still familiar with this image because it is very common to see it everywhere, even in non-religious settings, such as grocery stores or other business establishments on my block. I have always been interested in this image because I think it’s beautiful and it reminds me of many Renaissance paintings because of the religious imagery and the sun rays.  

    I love passing by the murals in my neighborhood that depict La Virgen de Guadalupe and I think it’s funny that people never graffiti over this image even though the rest of the wall would be graffitied. I have also been interested in this image in an artistic sense. I enjoy this image for its aesthetics, but I don’t partake in its religious significance. I know that this image is very important to a lot of people in my community so I respect it as well. I definitely think this image is empowering and I love seeing the different takes artists have explored.

A lot of people have become upset when I do not share their religious appreciation for the image. Even though I do not practice Catholicism I still love this image and I see its significance to Mexican culture. When I have depicted this image in drawings for my studio classes, sometimes fellow students will ask me about the religious aspects of the image, but I think it’s completely valid to use the image outside of religious contexts because it has evolved to become so much more. Some students have gone as far as to whitesplain why I cannot use the image in my drawings, but I think anyone can use the image the way they see fit.

Week 4 Guadalupe: Professor Lopez’s Panel with the Denver Art Museum

Last week I attended the Denver Art Museum panel presentation/ discussion. The panelists discussed Mexican Modernism and how that has influenced Chicanx art and artists today. 

It was a nice surprise that Professor Lopez was one of the panelists so we were able to learn more about her art practices. I especially enjoyed learning about the Aztec mythology that has inspired her work. My favorite art piece that she talked about was the one that was inspired by the Aztec myth of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The story goes that Princess Iztaccíhuatl was in love with warrior Popocatépetl and she was sad that he was going off to war so she killed herself. Popocatépetl found her dead so he took her body to the top of a mountain hoping that the cold would wake her up and they both turned into volcanoes. After telling the story Professor Lopez pointed out elements in her piece that referenced this myth and she explained how she aimed to retell, or rather complete, this story. 

In Professor Lopez’s art piece, Iztaccíhuatl was actually just sleeping and waiting for Popocatépetl to go away so her princess could come be with her. I was actually surprised to hear this context because I was familiar with the widespread imagery of an indigenous man carrying a dead-looking indigenous woman, but I did not know what it was about. I liked hearing how Professor Lopez extended the story rather than creating a whole other one in a parallel universe. I thought it was significant that Professor Lopez kept the original story and added to it instead of simply replacing Popocatépetl with another princess. Professor Lopez was able to normalize queerness by placing it in context with what was already going on the world instead of creating another world for it.  

Extra Credit: Art of the State Symposium "Change = Action/Time: Generational Activism in Chicanx and Latinx Art"

    On Saturday January 9 I attended the Monterey Museum of Art’s third annual Art of the State Symposium "Change = Action/Time: Generational Activism in Chicanx and Latinx Art." I heard from many Chicanx and Latinx artists and institutions that support these artists. Half-way through the symposium Pocha Peña said a quote that stuck with me: “We are planting trees in whose shade we will never sit in.” Peña’s quote made me think about how many BIPOC create things, but don’t usually get to reap the fruits of their labor or do not receive the recognition they deserve. It was interesting to talk about this problem, while also talking about art practices. 

    Throughout the sessions many people kept sharing resources and art institutions in their area. It was awesome to have this space and be able to hear about these artists’ experiences as Chicanx artists and people. This symposium gave me a greater sense of what the term Chicanx encompasses and what Chicanx art can look like. For me I always think about East LA Mexican American youths when I hear the term Chicanx because that’s where I’m from and what I have always seen on TV. Some artists presenting during this symposium were from other places, but still identified as Chicanx.

    I also loved hearing from Dr. Judith F. Baca and her work with Mexican murals in Los Angeles. I have heard about her class, but it has never worked for my schedule so I loved having the opportunity to hear about her work outside of school. Baca spoke about these murals as being important and worthy of being discussed in higher education. I grew up around these murals and I felt a sense of pride to see them talked about so highly. Overall, the symposium was very validating and inspiring.

Week 2 Revolutions: Zapata’s “Chicanx Graphics in the Digital Age”

    This week I read Claudia Zapata’s “Chicanx Graphics in the Digital Age” in !Printing the Revolution!: The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now. The first few sentences surprised me because they described how Chicanx art by Barbara Carrasco was exhibited for 30 seconds in between advertisements at Times Square. I began to think about how art has evolved throughout history and how artists have reconciled new media and what that process looks like. Are all new media met with skepticism?

    I’ve heard of non-Chicanx artists exhibiting their art in the same way, but I was not aware of Chicanx artists being invited into this space. I was also surprised that I hadn’t thought about digital Chicanx art because I had always thought about Chicanx art as existing in the streets as posters and sometimes flyers on social media. This reading completely changed the way I define “art.” I began the reading with little knowledge about digital Chicanx art so I appreciated how Zapata acknowledged that Chicanx art is better known for its posters and analog graphics, but there is also so much work that goes beyond this canon while still retaining the original objective of advocacy.

    I also appreciated a quote Zapata included in the reading by Marshall McLuhan: “a ‘new medium is never an addition to an old one, nor does it leave the old one in peace. It never ceases to oppress the older media until it finds new shapes and position for them.’” This quote was really helpful in understanding how digital art fits in with analog art. A lot of people sometimes discredit digital art because they think it’s easier than analog art. I also undervalued digital media until I began to explore it myself and saw how much work went behind it and how it can be instrumental in raising awareness of issues because of its ability to be widely distributed across the internet. This quote made me think about what possible media can come next and what new properties it can bring to the table. 

Johanna Toruño

Johanna Toruño is a queer Salvadoran-born and New York-based artist who describes herself as a community-taught visual artist. She wheat-pastes her graphics in the streets to make her art publicly accessible. Her work focuses on uplifting and empowering Black and brown communities.

I came across her work when I was in New York a few years ago and kept seeing her posters around the city, especially in places frequented by Black and brown individuals. I loved how these posters created representation and commanded space for people who have been historically marginalized. I also love how Johanna Toruño’s work rejects the traditional art world by going around galleries and heading straight to the streets. 

Duarte, Zuri

 

Hi everyone! My name is Zuri and I use the she/ her/ hers pronouns. I am a 2nd-year at UCLA double-majoring in Art and Labor & Workplace Studies. I became interested in this class because I identify as a Chicana artist and I’m really excited to learn about how my culture influences my art. I have taken a few art history classes, but I rarely got to learn about Chicana artists so I am very excited to focus on Chicana artists in this class.

I was born and raised in the East Los Angeles/ Boyle Heights area. My mom is from Mexico and my dad is from Guatemala. I have mostly identified as Chicana, even though I am also Central American, because that is the label that society has placed on me, but I am learning to self-define and embrace all my identities. 

This week I especially appreciated the reading titled ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now by E. Carmen Ramos because it talked about art as a tool and how it was made widely accessible to the masses. I have always struggled with my own creative processes because I never considered my own art to be “real art.” This class will be very empowering for me because I will be exposed to many artists that I will be able to relate to. I’m interested in studying what is considered “fine art” versus what is considered “folk art” and why. My favorite part of this reading was when Ramos compared the Codex Aubin to Chicano graphics today. I definitely see the resemblance, but I had never acknowledged this influence so it was awesome to learn about it. I’ve been really interested in how Chicano graphics heavily employ text and I loved learning about how this style goes back hundreds of years. This reading was a great start to the class and I look forward to learning more about Chicana artists with y’all!