Women, Websites, and Wikipedia: Accessible Digital Pedagogy and the Unde...

Wikipedia editing basics: Plagiarism and copyright violation

https://youtu.be/KbI1rqRVq7c

How to Upload a Picture to Wikimedia Commons

https://youtu.be/CIbqj-ae7xk

For this project, it is not required that you add pictures to your wikipedia article. However, if you are interested in adding a photo of your artist or their work, this video shows how you can do it. 

Please follow all warnings and instructions on IF you can add these pictures. Keep in mind copyright issues.

How to Create a New Wikipedia Page | Tutorial

https://youtu.be/0DoDQlK4yLw

Naming Chicana Latina Artists

Nine weeks ago, when we started the quarter, and as part of our introductions, we all named as many artists as we knew. As a class, we named almost 200 artists. Most of the artists we named, are European males/men such as Pablo Picasso Leonardo Da Vinci and Andy Warhol. This is not an odd phenomena, since most of us learn about art in school, museums or books. In the U.S., (and most likely in many other countries) most of the widely promoted artists are European men/male.

That day, we also named 72 women artists which included 32 Chicana/Latina artists.

Week nine, after your presentations, we were able to name twice as many Chicana/Latina artists. I am certain that each of you are able to name way more artists today.

Barbara Carrasco: Seen and Unseen Los Ojos de Barbara

Extra credit opportunity. Watch and write a blog before 11:59 pm on Saturday, March 13.

Ome Lopez Platica with Ester Hernandez: Las Guurrrls Del Valle - Chicana Art then and Now, ...

Extra credit possibility. Watch and write a post before 11:59pm of Saturday, March 13.

Video Link to Art of the State Symposium

 https://vimeo.com/user/18986884/folder/3543336

Link to videos of Art of the State symposium last month. If limited on time, I recommend the following which relate directly to this course: 

1. Pocha Peña (and her collaborator, Victor Payan)

2. Amalia Mesa Bains

3. Judy Baca

I Love Lupe: A Roundtable Discussion with Ester Hernandez, Yolanda Lopez...

This is the full 46 minute documentary featuring a roundtable discussion between Ester Hernandez, Yolanda Lopez, and myself on Virgen de Guadalupe work and reactions to it. We only watched some of it in class. I'm posting here in case you want to watch full video as you think about the post you will be writing for Week 5. The next post due on/before noon Monday Feb 1: As Chicanx/ Latinx, L.A. residents, and/or Catholics, we have knowledge/ experiences with the Virgin of Guadalupe. Please write about your experience with this image.

Today: ¡Printing the Revolution! Exhibition Preview

Per our syllabus, in lieu of mtg at our regular 10am today, we were going to participate in a zoom lecture this evening which unfortunately was rescheduled to next week.

Fortunately for us, the attached recorded Exhibition Preview featured Chicanx artist Ester Hernandez. Please watch. For Week 4, write your post on either this Printing the Revolution Exhibition Preview or the Denver Art Museum zoom discussion. 

Questions for Claudia Zapata, co-curator of Printing the Revolution at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

A few questions and discussion excerpts from your posts this week:

Fibiana Fuentes: Do Chicana artists feel that the internet has helped or hurt their ability to spread their art and or message? In the reading “The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now”,  the pros and cons of the internet for Chicana artists are shared. A con of the internet for Chicana artists is algorithmic oppression. Essentially, the internet can be biased when it comes to what shows up on someone’s screen. The algorithm may be more biased to a white male artist than a Chicana artist. Although the internet can reach thousands of people, the artwork made by Chicana artists may not be able to be seen by many because of algorithm oppression. A pro to the internet for Chicana artists is that they have the opportunity to showcase their art faster via the internet, spread their messages, and create more art...

Sofia Quintana: Is digital art/graphics harming activism? Throughout my reading of  “The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now” by Claudia Zapata I perceived there was a sense of dread regarding the rise of online tools/medium—daresay antagonism—beneath the surface of several of the featured comments. For example, on page 131 of the essay Carol Wells is quoted as saying, “You’re not going to walk into a protest with your computer monitor, or on your lawn. Even in this hi-tech age, posters need to be printed.” There is some truth to the statement, it is not ideal to take monitors or anything fragile and heavy to a protest, but it also ignores the activism that can happen online. The past year forced us to test the scope of online outreach and we were able to see various trends... 

Ashla Chavez Razzano: One might wonder if digitizing art devalues the work itself, as if the use of modern technology strips the essence (aesthetic, thematic, or practical skill) of a particular piece. Rupert García’s reluctance to use digital printmaking is an example of such a notion, as he is quoted on page 132, under the assumption that the exploration of digital media would “contaminate” the purity of his work as a fine artist. Though the question is subjective, one could answer that the utilization of online mediums is a powerful way of re-imagining modes of creative expression in a way that uplifts political movements by reaching a larger audience and is a new method of engaging with viewers.

Alberto Keossian: I wonder or question how graphic artworks have evolved or may be evolving from being artworks into a material or medium used physical and conceptually in a making newly developing forms of technological art? Is a graphic-poster-work still a graphic-poster-work if it is never printed and instead shared online, or does that graphic-poster-work transform into a material/medium in producing a new kind of advanced “digital-graphic-work”? This is not all to say that by any means this evolution of a work into a medium is a negative consequence of technological advancement. On the contrary, I feel it becomes a really positive and beneficial instance that gives more to the intended purpose of graphic works than it takes away from it. Digitally advanced works become much more accessible to a much larger audience as opportunities to digitally share imagery, video, experience, etc. become possible within the digital realm.

Nieves Winslow: How has a digital platform expanded the latinx art world? The digital format however i think brings on of the most essential part of any art and it is a community. It allows people to share images and ideas faster then before. Giving s push to activism / artivism where more voices are able to have a say about movements and protest images. And community needs and wants are more vastly discussed... Where i think a downfall is in the digital art world is that it can depersonalize a work, disconnecting them from their creators and intentions. Often people find it easier to take artworks as if they were a image which exists in a void instead of a meaningful, labor intensive work.

Jorge Cruz: My question is, how does digital art (or art through digital means) remain art? In order to answer this question we must first recognize that Chicanx art "continue[s] the advocacy objectives of protesting injustice, improving education, cultural self-reflection, and solidarity with oppressed populations..." (Zapata, 130) I asked myself the same question considering what digital art implies, which is simply a shift in tools. Zapata makes it really clear that it is not the tools which make art impactful, but the message conveyed. This is the "cultural layer" Lev Manovich writes on (Zapata, 130) that Chicanx artists stay true to.

Madison Quiroz: The internet and supporting technology is a fairly recent invention, and I would argue that those most well-versed in technological literacy are younger generations like myself, who grew up with schools that had mandatory computer classes. The recent influx of digital art and social media that helps disseminate art of all media leaves me to question, how effective are digital interfaces in making artwork more accessible to wider audiences? More importantly, is art that is created and shared exclusively via the internet exclude older generations who might not be as technologically savvy? How revolutionary are digital artworks if they are not accessible to those that either do not have access to computer and social media outlets, or are not well versed in using these resources?

Jessica Jimenez: After reading Claudia Zapata's essay a question I have formulated is "with all our technological advances happening everyday will all Chicanx artists once traditional modes of creations (political prints, public murals, etc) be completely left in the past?" While yes some new methods that have been created might make the process faster and more efficient it could lose the same nostalgic feeling when creating art.

Janelle McDonald: Do Chicanx artists face more boundaries with digital platforms or in traditional physical printmaking conditions ? Ultimately, based on what Zapata described in her article, I would say there are equal hardships and barriers that come with either creating and spreading your artwork in the online format or physical context. Perhaps even the internet boundaries could become even harsher because artists would be fighting against systems which they are not a part of. It would be difficult to fight and work against large corporations and businesses like Instagram, Twitter, and even Google.

 

Third Annual Art of the State Symposium: Change = Action/Time

In the first panel titled "The Califas Legacy Project: The Ancestral Journey/El Viaje Ancestral," Dr. Amalia Mesa Bains states that the early Chicano movement was very patriarchal. After macho vs feminist confrontations, Mesa Bains left feeling that there was so much work to do. During the Q&A, and in response to the issue of racism and sexism, CSUMB Professor Angelica Muro stated that women have not been able to equal male artist engagement.

During the second panel, Dr. Amalia Mesa Bains discusses Cultural Transformation which is the taking of cultural iconography to transform such as in Consuelo Underwoods Tortilla performance on the U.S./Mexico border fence; Societal Healing, in which we find ways to heal ourselves such as in the works of Carmen Lomas Garza to counter childhood experiences discrimination; and The Path Ahead is affected by the ongoing struggles such as Black Lives Matters and Children Caged at the Border, among others.

The second panel also included presentations by Victor Payan and Pocha Peña who discuss concepts of pochismo, negotiating serious issues with humor such as LAFTA, being a professional outsider and the need to be activists as a group not just an individuals who can be ignored. Storytelling is crucial to art activism.

The last panel featured Judith Baca, public artist and founder of the Social and Public Art Resource Center; Kathleen Gallegos, curator and founder of Avenue 50 Studios; and Armando Duron, lawyer, collector and co founder of Chicano Art Collectors Association.

A few more artists mentioned during symposium to add to our lists: 

Cruz, Dolores printmaker

Diaz-Infante, Amy www.amydiaz-infante.com

Gallegos, Kathleen (Kathy) curator and founder of Avenue 50 Studios

Leon, Carmen https://museoeduardocarrillo.org/califas-legacy/carmen-leon/

Mendoza, Connie, print, Duron Collection

Moctezuma, Alessandra

Muro, Angelica angelicamuro.info

Peña, Pocha

Prieto, Monique, Duron Collection 

Chicano! - Taking Back the Schools.mp4

Before our next class meeting, please watch the documentary video below. I have included this documentary to provide us with some historical background as we study the visual works of Chicanx/Latinx visual artists, and especially as we discuss the current exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum titled, Printing the Revolution: The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now. The video includes interviews of Chicana visual artists Mita Cuaron, Carmen Lomas Garza, and Patssi Valdez. 

Above is the link to the PBS documentary of the 1968 East Los Angeles student walkouts, and here is the poster image fo the film WALKOUT produced by Moctezuma Esparza (who is also interviewed in the documentary). I recommend WALKOUT if you want to see a dramatized version of this historical event.

Lopez, Alma (Prof. Lopez)

My name is Alma Lopez. I am a visual artist and the professor of this ChicanxLatinx Art & Artists course offered by the UCLA Chicanx Central American Studies (cross listed with Art and World Arts & Cultures). My preferred pronouns are she/her, and I prefer to be addressed as Professor Lopez. I am always excited about teaching this course because I am able to share artists and art that I find interesting, and often through student presentations, I am introduced to new artists. I am a Mexican-born Queer Chicana visual artist. I think of myself as a visual storyteller. Using digital media, as well as painting, photography, public art and silkscreen, I take culturally familiar icons and filter them through my own feminist lesbian lens. The result is something that may look vaguely culturally familiar to Chicanx/Latinx and others but totally different and sometimes even controversial.

The purpose of this blog is to serve as additional discussion space. Zoom Lecture time affords us a limited time for discussion. Therefore, it is important to have a space to stay connected to the course material throughout the quarter. On this blog via short posts, each of us will be able to continue discussions on art, artists, and reading materials. Posts are due every week on or before noon on Mondays. Please post before we meet for the first time on Monday, January 4. If any of you have any issues with Blogger, we can figure them out the first week of class.

After accepting Blogger invitation, write a new post. Below is the New Post writing area. 

1. Title your posts every week. For the first post title as follows: Last Name, First Name (preferred Name). Email me at alma@ucla.edu to let me know if names on title or label are different from class roster/gradebook so that you receive credit for your posts.

2. Label every post! Create label as follows: 2021LastNameFirstName. Use same label every week. Email me at alma@ucla.edu if you are using a different name than on class roster/gradebook.

3. Write approximately a 300 word post (this post is approximately 445 words). This first post is your introduction to our class. Therefore, introduce yourself (name, preferred name and pronoun, program, research interest, interest in course, etc), include a photo of yourself, and any thoughts or questions on the reading for this week (which will be posted on course site before end of year). Double check your spelling and grammar.

4. When you have titled your post, written your post, included a photo, and labeled, then click orange "Publish" button in order to submit your post to the blog. See sample post below.

Please see video below to learn/review on how to accept Blogger invitation and post your first blog. The video was made for another class (Art on Trial: Art Censorship).