Week 10- Reflections

Yolanda Lopez, Margaret F. Stewart: Our Lady of Guadalupe,1978   

The last art course I took was in my senior year of high school. Now as a senior in college I am thankful that I decided to take an art course before I graduate. From the first day of the course I was exposed to issues surrounding art that I tended to not think about. I was surprised to learn that the art we often expose ourselves too often aligns with the characteristics of those in power. Art from a women of Mexican descent or origin is going to have a more difficult time getting her work recognized because her experiences and art challenges the patriarchal society around them. This is especially true for Yolanda Lopez's case whose central works, such as the 'Guadalupe series' focuses on redefining what it means to be a Chicana in contemporary times. 

This class also opened me up to further perspectives about religious figures in art. I always saw them, especially the Virgin Mary, as a sacred cultural symbol, so after reading about Yolanda's pieces it surprised me to learn that she has never viewed Mary as with religious understanding but rather as a symbol of what the perfect women should be. She saw the need to transform the image of the Virgin Mary to that of modern-day, living, breathing women. Guadalupe's symbol of power and virtue is transformed to the images of women we know. Yolanda brought on the issue of how we wrestle with the representation of us in the majority of culture. She questions who our role models are, the portrayals of ourselves within our own culture? Its our culture so we should make sure it represents us. Her artistic interpretation of the Virgin Mary made me rethink the symbolism of other figures beyond a religious standpoint. 

Zuly Garcia Diaz, Amor a la Oaxaquena 

Not only has this class taught me new perspectives to understanding the art we see but also made me learn about Chicana Artist who deserve more recognition. Female artist like Yolanda Lopez, Carlee Fernandez (the artist I chose for this class), and Zuly Garcia Diaz (an artist one of my classmates talked about in class whose work I really grew to like) are all women who use there media to go against the patriarchy and challenge the Eurocentric influence that is currently on art. So many female artist were discussed in this class and I am glad that I was able to learn about there existence and see the amazing work they do get spread to more people. These artist are so powerful and I am happy to see them get their own Wikipedia. 

Blog 9: Chicana Futurism

When first hearing the term Chicana Futurism, my initial thoughts was the effects technology had on the Chicanx art pieces and culture. Catherine S. Ramirez defines "Chicanafuturism" as the cultural transformations in response to the up and coming technological changes. These new everyday technologies create and alter stories of identity, technology and the future. Drawing on Nelson's definition of "Afrofuturism", Chicanafuturism also proposes new meanings for defining humanism and the human that aligns with modern technology and scientific promises. What makes Martinez's work so interesting is that it merges science and spirituality into her pieces. She salvages technological pieces that people have discarded and recreates these circuit board parts into images and icons from her New Mexico culture, as seen in her Corazon de Guadalupe. 

Using technology Martinez transforms the traditional art style of the Indo-Hispanic and highlights New Mexico's history as being a landfill for technological trash. By doing this she challenges the nostalgia and romanticism vision of the "Land of Enchantment" by interrogating the lines of Chicana and Hispanic identity. Martinez recognizes that change is inevitable, but that does not mean a total loss. Her work is meant to inspire and introduce tradition and culture through this new media. Using the tools of the present provides the opportunity to define the past and who she imagines her people to be in the past. Martinez's Chinanafuturism shows the need and value in change by using the inspiration from traditional practices. She manipulates these traditional practices by "locating them in the technologies of the present" (159). Having read this I see know that Chicanafuturism is not just how technology will change culture but also how culture will be translated through new devices. 

Marion C. Martinez, Corazon de Guadalupe

Blog 8: Smithsonian Panel

 

Due to class I had to attend the panel late and leave early. Lucky for me I arrived right when Moses Ros-Suarez began his section of the panel, introducing his piece El Reggaeton del Bachatero. The title immediately caught my attention and so did the art. He describes the relationship he portrays in this piece to be one of "ambivalence". He sees ambivalence as is a common emotion that characterizes the Dominican experience of migrating to the US. The first part of this piece is a beehive, while the piece on the right is paradise island. At the center of the 'here' and 'there' or "aqui y alla",as Moses described it, is the psychological split of this figure with two heads. The bridge can also be more than a metaphor for connection, but it can display the large distance between these two locations. Instead of having the left and right panels combine their colors in the middle, the middle panel is absent of that. The difference in color further expresses the difficulty Dominicans face when it comes to deciding where they should plant their roots. Moses describes the man in the middle as someone who wants to be in his home country but he needs to stay for the opportunities. This man can chose the "izquerda" (the left side) with the "panal" or he can go to the "derecha" with the "flor". Yet if he decides "izquerda y derecha" he will be on a bridge in a state of limbo deciding which direction to take. The piece reflects the tough decision one must make when they know they need to make a choice for planting their roots and searching for opportunities. 

I think the title he chose for the artwork is also interesting, not only because I love dancing to reggaeton and bachata music, but because it is another way of describing Dominican and African Roots. The symbolism that comes with having two split heads can represent the need to make a decision, struggle with holding two different identities and the internal struggle between the head and the heart. Although I know that piece is meant to describe the Dominican experience, I find myself relating to the man in the middle. As I grow older I face more situations that leave me feeling split, as though I have two heads myself. 

Moses Ros-Suárez, El Reggaeton del Bachatero, from the portfolio Manifestaciones, 2010, etching,
 aquatint, and chine collé on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Blog #7: Whose Monument Where?

    It was Judith F. Baca’s sub heading ‘Public Art in a Many-Cultured Society’ for her paper, “Whose Monument Where?”, that caught my attention. I immediately thought of this plane that the city of Long Beach dragged from a war and displayed in a park to inspire us and reflect the great power of our nation. Baca immediately opens her paper with how public art stems from the “cannon-in-the-park”(304) tendency and this type of display is a common example of a monument thought to use the past to inspire the future. Not only did this essay hit the nail on the head of what I originally thought of after reading the title, but I found myself relating to many of the points Baca made about public art being displayed in a community with multiple cultures. 

    Baca states the public art is used to help the developers agenda and oftentimes art uses this beauty to erase the ethnic presence in the area by transforming it into a blended visual culture. Instead of receiving a public presence they receive something beautiful to see. When I was in middle school my city began beautification projects all across North Long Beach by setting initiatives to plant trees and using the city’s money to pay for murals and sculptures that would be placed in the middle of parks, streets, or buildings. A pro to these projects was that people began to go outside more since the streets looked safer, a con was that most of the city’s budget that year was spent for a couple of sculptures, like the ‘Orange Twist’, costing the city around $10,000 for each piece. Long Beach is recognized as an art town yet the Orange Twist came from Denver. I also consider Long Beach a diverse city with socioeconomic diversity, ethnic diversity, and industrial diversity, yet the sculpture does not capture this. It is used purely to beautify and take away from the actual socio economic issues taking place in North Long Beach. The budget is spent on non-local art rather than resources that can help the community directly,  like building homeless shelters or providing materials for public schools.

    Just as the developers of Los Angeles created their symbol of ‘unity’ for a $500,000 artwork by two New York based artists, these pieces felt as though they were replacing the real voices in the city. A variety of cultures means a variety of art. For these public spaces to be filled with art they need to be approved by the developers and what tends to happen is that the voices of the people who actually live in these parts of the city are not represented. We end up with meaningless and expensive art like the Orange twist.

Orange Twist, Sculpture made of aerblock, stone-like, man-made
material. 12' long and 9' wide and sits on a granite base. 

Blog 6: Rasquacismo or Domesticana

Rasquache is a deep inward feeling rather than an intellectual description. It's not a concept or a style that can be adopted or understood by studying it. This is more of an attitude or a taste that one becomes acquainted with through experience. Scholar Tomas Ybarra-Frausto views rasquachismo as an “underdog perspective”(Gonzalez, 85) in a working class Mexican-orgin community. Rasquache is an aesthetic commonly used in the Working class Chicano art movements that makes “do with what’s at hand”(Gonzalez, 86). We see this used in Yolanda Lopez’s work when she uses unrefined materials to create her artworks. Not only is this showcasing her “rasquache sensibility” (Davalos, 15) but it is also intervening against the eurocentric notions of art by not using fine materials. 

Similar to its male counterpart, domesticana is the female rasquachismo. Stemming from the “resistance to majority culture and affirmation of cultural values but also from women’s restrictions with the culture”(Gonzalez, 94). Domesticana places emphasis on short-lived site-specific works innovating traditional works like memorials, capilla, and domestic memories, such as vanity dressers, bedroom altars and ofrendas, while reflecting the everyday moments of glamour and femininity. 

From my own personal experience, I feel like I have experienced more rasquache sensibility than domesticana. Raised to always make the most out of our resources, my roommates and I took this mindset into the decorating of our apartment. In the beginning of our unfurnished apartment we walked around the neighborhood picking up furniture or plants people planned to throw away before their move. Once my roommates had 4 colors and one white paint so we made some art with an old canvas we found. Like most college students we keep our glass bottles and try to decorate the house with them. Old rags become rags to clean. Growing up I remember my dressing would rip and my mom would bring out her machine to sew up a new outfit. My pants would become shorts, and an old ripped jacket would be patched up and unique. When I think of rasquache, I think of being resourceful and making do with what you have to get the best result you want.

Week 5: I Love Lupe...

     Growing up in an Mexican immigrant household in Southern California my family routinely went to church and my parents taught us very young about Catholic values. Compared to other immigrant families in my community, I feel my parents were one of the few adults who were never religiously strict when raising their kids. My mom never pushed us to do our confirmation since she’d rather we use that time to study and her trust in the church was depleted around the time I finished my communion. Both my parents felt that the Catholic churches in California were just a business compared to the churches in Mexico that do not charge to practice a belief. My mom also acknowledges that those churches have their own problems too since there have been many scandals for years. We still consider ourselves as Catholics because we believe in the values of the religion but we do not attend church anymore. Although we do not practice at these institutions we do hold the morals and lessons we were taught through the religion in our lives.  

    To me ‘La Virgen de Guadalupe’ was always this spiritual entity that I would pray to growing up to ask for guidance, protection, and provide appreciation for. When I was young I saw her as a protector of all things and the mother to everyone. I grew up having a piggy bank shaped Virgin Mary, a Virgin Mary cartoon wallet and even now I have a virgin Mary keychain, each asking for protection for my money, myself or a prayer that riches continue to come into my life. I never viewed Virgin Mary as merchandise but rather the first line of defense for my safety. Even now a part of me now feels that she’ll protect me, although I am aware that she will not physically be there to do so in case I get robbed or attacked. 
 
    My Saturday school talked about how the Virgin Mary is a symbol for what values a woman should have. She practiced chastity, yet she was able to fulfil her female role as a mother and she never committed a sin. In my eyes she is a powerful spiritual being but I do not feel I will be able to follow in her footsteps. I view her as a powerful symbol because I view her as someone who is strong and caring. She is someone who will care for others and will never purposely try to ruin someone else’s life. She faced a lot of hardship yet she always stayed true to herself.

¡Printing the Revolution! Exhibition Review

    Featuring 119 works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) top collection of Latinz and Chicanx Art “¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now,” is said to be a landmark exhibition. In 1995 the Museum received a significant gift from scholar Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, acting as the catalyst needed for increasing the holdings of Chicanx artworks within the museum. Ever since then then the museum has built on of the largest collections in Latinx and Chicanx graphics on the East coast. This was all thanks to the major donations and aspiring acquisition program from the museum. 

     “¡Printing the Revolution!” exhibition was led by Dr. E Carmen Ramos, a curator of Latinx Art and received help from curatorial assistant of Latinx Art, Claudia Zapata. This collection presents both historical civil right era prints and contemporary works, side by side for the first time. The panelist that appeared during the exhibitions online preview were artists Juan Fuentes, Ester Hernandez, and Zeke Peña who discussed the importance of Chicanx art to sparking conversation for social justice work and its role in the American experience. The collections present artist using vibrant colorful prints, graphics, augmented reality(AR) and exhibits to reflect the larger social issues of their time. 

    The artists use their art to discuss the political climate of their time through the social cause that are included, such as anti-war, civil rights, feminist, LGBTQ+ Rights and more. Oree Originol’s Justice for our Lives is an on-going artwork inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement. Using photographs to capture the political justice issues in his time, Originol’s artwork is created from black-and-white portrait photos of the men, women, and children who were lost due to police brutality. He makes use of public spaces so a passerby can see this large dynamic installation of a piece that will continue to grow until the deaths by law enforcement altercations end. This piece is a powerful critique of contemporary racial and social issues because it will only end in the violence does first. 

     American experience of art and history is captured through the lenses of previously marginalized group of artists just as the narratives of LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and people of color. Though the tools used to address things have changed the need to spread the conversation has not. This exhibition perfectly demonstrates social concern, shifts in Chicano and the ways in which the public continues to be engaged.

Week 3 Artist- Carlee Fernandez

Born in Santa Ana, CA in 1973, Carlee Fernandez is a conceptual artist who defines herself as sculptor. She often uses photography as her medium of choice to accentuate her three-dimensional pieces. 

Self-portrait of Chicana Artist, Carlee Fernandez, made for the exhibit "Portraiture Now: Staging the Self" by the National Portrait Gallery and for a showing at Americas Society in New York City (2015) 

She earned her BFA from California State University, Fullerton in 1997 and a MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 1999, where she was later awarded in 2000 the Fulbright Fellowship. Later in 2008 she goes on to received the California Community Foundation Fellowship for her artist influence. Her work has been a part of various solo shows and exhibitions, such as the summer 2010 Inman Gallery exhibition. Solo exhibitions have taken place at Acuna-Hansen Gallery (for 2006, 2004, 2002 and 2001) in Los Angeles and ACME in 2010 and 2014. Her art has been shown in group shows at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC in 2014, Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City in 2008, Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 2014, Orange County Museum of Art in 2010, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2008 and again in 2011.

From the "Arranging Family"
 Exhibition

Her work has been discussed by big magazines like The Los Angeles Times, LA weekly, and Art in America. Some of her pieces have even found their way into being part of permanent collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas.  

Fernandez work is often established as being autobiographical as seen in her solo exhibition "Arranging Family". This show perfectly highlights her style of art and a reveal into her current life. With three large-scale sculptures and three large sized photographs the works reveal the artist family history. One of her sculpture pieces is this spiral-calendar engraved with the birthdays of her family members. A hugely sized baptismal cup displays the artist's family genealogy. A handmade dress was another piece in her show. This dress contains images of her family and DNA patterns to display the patterns found across the different generations of her family. Two of the photographs show the artist and the family she made with her husband. The third shows the artist beside her father. Fernandez shows often appear as putting herself on display and she creates these milestones in life and self-discovery, she allows her audience to learn more about her by treating them to a story of her life. With so much currently known about her its time for her to get her own Wikipedia. 

References:

-link information on her collection and biography: Inman Gallery: Carlee Fernandez

-link to 2015 resume: C_Fernandez_resume_IG_2015 (inmangallery.com)

-link to articles that have discussed her art Fernandez, Carlee | Articles (mutualart.com)

Blog Post 2: Claudia Zapata Q/A

 Q: Using the Claudia Zapata essay, “This Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now”, how has technology created or influenced culture? 

A: Just as technology is created from our culture, technology also creates the framework of our current society. When a notification appears on your screen, that is technology influencing culture. When you are stressed out because of all the emails you have to go through or the digital drama you might have became a part of, that is technology influencing your culture. When an artist displays their work online, the viewer sees it and tells their friends about it the next day. That is technology's influence on our culture.

All the little ways that technology has changed our collective behavior, as well as individuals, add up to the cultural changes historians and technologists have to point out. These changes to our culture become factors for artists and social leaders to be concerned about when planning for ways to display their art or spread messages. A Nomad in Love is a collaborative print that has multiple levels of technological involvement and comprehension. This includes the drawings made by Pe

User viewing A Nomad in Love in the Augment El Paso App

ña, Arturo Negrete’s screen print using the 75 Grados printmaking studio and David Figueroa AR embellishment using the Augment El Paso app.(146) As the master printmaker Figueroa works with artist to make sure their ideas and visions get passed on correctly. Zapata states it best when she says that Figueroa’s multi-dimensional artistic decisions need to “conform to the original work’s spatial and now conceptual arrangements, resulting in an augmented yet integrated whole.”(146) This displays technologies current influence on society, as the artists choices need to fit the technological framework that is currently in place. 

Artists use software features to make their work easily accessible for redistribution and modification of the general public. Not only does this provide a form of engagement with the artist followers but it begins a direct conversation that is spread among a larger audience. The movement's message is spread, gaining more momentum and building a larger community. Thanks to technology we can find relationships and build connections that fit into similar passions. A solidarity built among these Chicanx artists and their followers will transfer beyond the screen from which they connected.

Nario, Alexandra (Alexandra)

 Hello everyone!

My name is Alexandra Nario with my pronouns being she/her/hers. You can call me Alexandra, Ale or Alex. I have no preference so just refer to me however it feels right for you. I am a fourth-year student from Long Beach, CA with a Sociology major and minor in environmental systems and society. I am a few classes away from fulfilling my major as well as my minor. I heard from previous UCLA alumni's that WAC class were interesting and enjoyable. I had some spare units that I wanted to use for classes that do not pertain to my major nor minor, so my alumni recommended me to take this class before I graduated. I really enjoyed the Chicana/o studies classes I have previously taken so I am extremely excited to take this Chicanx Latinx Arts and Artist course.

Looking over the reading for this week, !Printing the Revolution!: The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now by Carmen Ramos, I believe it highlights well some of the topics that will become foundational for understanding the course. The reading redefines revolution and its relationship to the Chicano culture and expressive art. Ramos states that the civil rights movement established a new generation of Chicanx activist, artist and thinkers whom challenged the historical frameworks that gave rise to marginalization and misrepresented the Chicano community. (40) Chicanx artist, like Yolanda Lopez, reestablished these misrepresented narratives and critiqued the immigration program through her recreation of  "Whose the illegal alien, pilgrim?" (41). Art has the ability to be used as a cause for revolution and a effect as well. I recently took a class call the Sociology of Collective Behavior, where I learned a common effect that comes from a movement is culture. I think this reading is a perfect example of  that effect since these different artist became part of this artist revolution with the result being a new understanding for what it means to be part of this Chicano Culture and identity.