Blog Post 10

    Throughout this course, we’ve explored and learned about many Latina artists. Among all the artists, my favorite was Carmen Lomas Garza. Carmen Lomas Garza is a Chicana artist who specializes in paintings, paper cutouts and sketches. Through her art, she tells a captivating tale about family, love, community and culture. Garza is the first Chicana artist I’ve come across who fully embraces and celebrates her heritage and it’s customs through visual art. I love her use of colors and her attention to detail. Most notably, her paintings leave a lasting impression on me due to their whimsical and dreamy appearance. I especially enjoyed seeing her artworks and reading her life story in the book Carmen Lomas Garza by Constance Cortez. The book beautifully summarized Garza’s hardships, influences and artistic journey. In fact, it helped me appreciate Garza’s art even more by providing insight into her backstory and artistic influences. 

As for concepts/ topics, I heavily enjoyed learning about the renditions of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Before taking this course, I was unaware of the politics and identity issues surrounding the Virgin of Guadalupe. I used to think that she was only associated with religion, but now I see that she’s also a cultural symbol for many members of the Latinx community. This shift in perspective occurred due to all the readings and discussions we had on the Virgin of Guadalupe, which I heavily enjoyed. I also loved seeing the Virgin of Guadalupe pieces by Yolanda M. Lopez and Alma Lopez and reading about the public’s reaction to them. It was definitely interesting to learn about the strong, negative responses people had to the unconventional fashioning/ imaging of Guadalupe. Personally, I love Yolanda’s and Alma’s Guadalupe pieces and I appreciate how they present Latinas as strong, powerful, fierce and independent women.    

Camas para Suenos by Carmen Lomas Garza

Blog Post 9: Chicana Futurism

 

    Chicanafuturism is a term coined by ​Catherine S. Ramírez. In the article, she refers to Chicanafuturism as the production of objects that results from technology and cultural ideals intertwining. By transforming culture through the use of everyday technology, identity and the future are subject to alterations. In other words, humanism is redefined and the intent of science and technology is questioned. It’s also important tonote that chicanfuturism touches on issues about the present and the future. These themes are especially prevalent in the artworks created by Marion C. Martinez. Particularly, Martinez is known for simultaneously preserving and breaking away from traditional ideas. She does so in order to reinvent the cultural identity of Chicanas and traditions of Latinas by allowing Chicanas to express themselves in the way they want with the use of present tools. Her works are praised because they depict change in a beautiful way. Her pieces are also known for analyzing the harmful ways technology has impacted the environment and the bodies of humans. Technologies that are used for Chicanafutrism artworks are cellular phones, pagers, boom boxes, lowrider cars, karaoke systems, etc. For example, in ​Jesus con la Cruz ​by Marion C. Martinez, the Christ is built from a circuit board and his head is adorned with a crown made of barbed wire. The barbed wire suggests a conquest of technology and it symbolizes the Anglo American expropriation of New Mexico. The concept of combining Chicanos with science and technology is important because Chicanos are typically linked with a basic and unsophisticated past instead of advanced technology and futurism. Specifically, Martinez’s art places Latinx people into stories of science and technology. This is crucial because it serves to challenge racist and sexist stereotypes about the Latinx community when it comes to the field of science and technology.

Jesus con la Cruz by Marion C. Martinez

Extra Credit: Ester Hernandez

 

    Ome Lopez Platica with Ester Hernandez: Las Guurrrls Del Valle - Chicana Art then and Now, A Queer Perspective discusses Ester’s artisitic career and offers insights into some of her famous art works. Over the years, Ester’s images have become central for Chicanos/as because of her commitment to community art. She also tackles political images, such as pesticides and workers rights. Additionally, she created a lot of images about women. Above all, Hernandez hopes to make the world a better place through her art. One of Hernandez’s famous pieces is The Offering. In this artwork, there is a woman with short, punk hair and a Virgin De La Guadalupe tattoo on her back. During the time this painting was created, women had to be feminine and tattoos were only for men, so this shows a woman stepping into male space. Furthermore, the woman is naked and looks confident, which wasn’t a common portrayal of women in the late 1980’s. Ultimately, this piece was significant for queer women. Additionally, La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Los Derechos de los Xican@s empowers women by disrupting the narrative of the Virgin. Specifically, the Virgin at this time was seen as motherly, but in this piece she is portrayed as a strong, confident fighter. Ester also created artworks on social justice. In fact, she first came across art being used for social justice during the United Farm Workers movement. One of her most notable pieces on social justice is Sun Mad. Sun Mad is a screenprint, which is a medium Ester loves because it’s cheap and allows for mass production. Since farm workers were advertised as happy people, this piece shows an alternative perspective. Specifically, this radical and critical piece shows death through the use of a skull woman holding a basket of grapes. It also touches on the issue of using the female body to sell commodities. 

The Offering by Ester Hernandez

Extra Credit: Barbara Carrasco

    Barbara Carrasco is an artist and a muralist whose works have been exhibited in the US, Central America and Europe. She received her M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts and her B.F.A. from UCLA. She works with many different mediums and her artworks center around feminism and social justice. One of her most recognizable pieces is Pregnant Women in a Ball of Yarn. In this piece, a nude, pregnant woman is bound to a ball of yarn. Carrasco created this in response to her brother forbidding his wife from attending college because she was pregnant. Specifically, he said her role was to raise their baby. Thus, Pregnant Women in a Ball of Yarn offers a feminist perspective on how women feel tied to the motherhood. Furthermore, this artwork is even linked to female sterilization. Another feminist piece is the Dolores print. This handmade art print honors the feminist Dolores. The print is even colored in pink to reflect the strength of Dolores and embrace her femininity. As for social justice pieces, the Los Angeles mural by Carrasco displays the history of Los Angeles. In particular, there is a panel about the Japanese internment camps. Carrasco faced opposition for this panel since this period of time is dark and sensitive. However, Carrasco seeked permission from the Japanese community and they motivated her to include the scene because it serves as a reminder for something that shouldn’t happen again. Other murals that touched on social justice are Carrasco’s UFW Martyrs and the mural at the UFW Convention. The UFW Martyrs mural is about a man named Rufino Contreras who was killed during the farmer’s workers movement. This mural serves to honor his life. As for the mural at the UFW Convention, it’s created with toxic ink that didn’t allow for breakage when it was folded up. Using toxic paint was done on purpose because the staff would fold the murals away in order to limit visibility. Image is Pregnant Women in a Ball of Yarn by Barbara Carrasco.

Pregnant Women in a Ball of Yarn by Barbara Carrasco

Blog Post 8: Panel

¡Printing the Revolution! Virtual Conversation Series: From Black and Brown Solidarity to Afro-Latinidad panel focused on the culture and unity amongst black and brown communities by discussing the lives and works of Malaquias Montoya, Moses Ros, and Favianna Rodriguez. The first artist introduced in the panel was Malaquias Montoya. He was born into a family of farm workers and raised by a single mother that showed him the importance of giving back to the less fortunate. When he was older, he worked at watermelon fields with Japanese Americans who were recently freed from internment camps. When he moved to San Jose, he learned how to silk screen and in 1968 he entered the political field. He created political posters, and even got fired from his job because of his ideals and involvement in politics. However, Montaya continued to create political posters because he knew it was important. Now, he is a strike poster artist in the bay area whose works revolve around topics regarding international solidarity, criminal justice reform and social justice. The second artist featured in the panel was Moses Ros. Ros is an artist, printmaker, architect and a Domican American graphic artist. Growing up, he felt invisible so his work focuses on identity. In fact, he uses aerosol paint and creates large pieces in order to socialize and network with students. Furthermore, he uses bright, and dynamic graffiti colors to give his art more life. The last artist in the panel was Favianna Rodriguez. She is an artist, cultural strategist and activist whose art touches on migration, gender justice, climate change and sexual freedom. These themes were inspired by the people around her. In particular, feminists inspired her to create art about a world she wanted. Additionally, her father and grandma were black and she didn’t see them represented in media, so she aspired to change that. Overall, this panel shed light on the solidarity between black and brown communities. It was interesting to listen to each artist’s background and inspiring to see how they use art to voice and stand up to their beliefs.

Week 7 Blog Post

Gonzalez’s Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology on graffiti provided an inside look into the craft and offered an alternative perspective to this controversial topic. In the piece, Gonzalez declares graffiti as a form of art because it’s used for expression. In other words, artists create art for the same reason people do graffiti: to voice their thoughts and show their identity. Like Gonzalez pointed out, I perceived graffiti through a negative lens. In my eyes, graffiti was seen as vandalism and those who participated in it were considered thugs or lowlives. This perspective stems from my l;ack of awareness and society’s opinion on the matter. Now, I see graffiti in a new light. I no longer see graffiti as destructive or meaningless scribbles, but instead I consider it to be an unbashing display of power and self. Like Gonzalez mentioned, partaking in graffiti is about finding oneself and displaying one’s self esteem. In this way, they are demanding attention and proudly taking up space. Using graffiti to demand respect and announce one’s pride was unheard of for me. I love that Mexican Americans in Los Angeles found a sense of pride in writing in their name because it reassured their existence. It’s also interesting to see how graffiti has changed now that more people are receiving higher level education. Since I originally thought graffiti was done by criminals, I never considered that people with degrees would enjoy graffiti, but like Gonzalez mentioned, people who’ve majored in art, business, journalism, etc. love graffiti. In comparison to the 1900’s, graffiti today puts more of an emphasis on characters and backgrounds and is now featured in videos, magazines and clothes. It makes me happy to see how far graffiti has come and I’m excited to see how it’ll evolve within the next few years.

Week 6 Blog Post

Rasquachismo is a term coined in the 1900s. Originally, it had a negative connotation and was used to describe a person who is of lower class, impoverished and has bad taste. However, during the Chicano art movement, the term was positively redefined. Now, it describes someone who is bawdy, spunky and transforms social and economic issues into something positive in a witty and irreverent manner. Due to this, rasquachismo is not best defined as a style, but rather an attitude. Specifically, it is an attitude where resourcefulness and adaptability is honored and celebrated. When things are falling apart, they’re held together by the resourcefulness and the motivation of a person. Refixing things involves using anything and everything that is able at one’s disposable, such as plastic bottles or cans. Thus, things that are rasquache are temporary and often involve elaborate and creative plans or details. Ultimately, rasquachismo is meant to be playful and delightful, not something to be taken seriously. It’s also worth noting that rasquachismo can be used to describe a person, especially their behavior or an object, like a car. Using the examples provided in Gonzalez’s reading about Rasquache, I partake in this attitude by owning and proudly wearing chanclas and by shopping at JCPenney. However, the most notable example of me being rasquache is when I made bags out of capri sun pouches. When I was around twelve years old I loved crafts, but my family didn’t have enough money to buy art supplies, so I had to use whatever I had at hand. Since I loved sugary drinks, especially Capri Sun we always had a bunch of empty Capri Sun pouches at the house. Due to the abundance and the low cost of the pouches, I stitched them together in multiple panels to create a bag. The bag was very colorful, but not sturdy, so I only used it to carry light weight items.

Blog Post 5: The Virgin of Guadalupe

The Virgin of Guadalupe is an iconic symbol in the Catholic church and in Mexican culture. As a Chicana who grew up in a heavily religious family, the Virgin of Guadalupe played an important role in shaping my life. Since both of my parents are Catholic, I’ve always heard stories of the Virgin of Guadalupe and how she magically appeared before Juan Diego and asked him to build a shrine in her honor and asked him to collect roses, so when he opened his cloak the roses would fall and reveal an image of herself imprinted on the cloak. Another religious encounter with this figure includes the television show La Rosa De Guadalupe. In this series, characters who undergo hardships or commit sins experience life changing miracles after praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe. These experiences caused me to view the Virgin of Guadalupe in a religious light. In my eyes, she was a powerful, magnificent being full of love, hope and trust. Her soft appearance was also mother-like, so whenever I looked at her I always felt safe and comfortable. When I got older and stopped having religious affiliations, my perspective on the Virgin of Guadalupe negatively shifted. I no longer saw this figure as a symbol of hope and love; instead I felt trapped whenever I looked at her. In particular, her image was a reminder of the limitations the Catholic religion placed on my life and how my parents forced me to act and believe in things I didn’t completely agree with. I also viewed the Virgin of Guadalupe negatively because she presented a list of expectations for Chicana women. Just like the Virgin of Guadalupe, I was expected to dress modestly and act submissive. After taking this class and learning about Chicana/x artists and their experiences with the Virgin of Guadalupe and how they used those experiences to create artworks of her that emphasized strength and empowerment I view her differently. Instead, I see the Virgin of Guadalupe as a symbol of Mexican identity.

Week 4 Blog Post: Museum Panel

     The panel held by the Denver Art Museum touched upon Mexican Modernism with special guests Pablo Helguera, Damian Ortega and Alma Lopez. Every artist provided a brief back story of their life, introduced their style, showcased their art pieces and discussed important themes surrounding their work.  

    The first artist to speak in the panel was Pablo Helguera. He specializes in public art and his goal is to create modern pieces in order to introduce Mexican aesthetics into the world. He focuses on this theme for the sole purpose of exploring identity in Mexican culture. This curiosity is due to his inspiration from Frida Kahlo and her work, which largely focuses on identity through self portraiture. With this mindset, Helguera traveled throughout Mexico and explored identity through languages. 

    The second artist featured in the panel was Damian Ortega. Ortega is a mural painter, political cartoonist and painter. He become an artist because of his interest in murals and delved into the politics because his family works in a political theater. Ortega specializes in multidimensional art. His process involves taking ordinary objects and pulling it apart. In one of his pieces he painted a car and then drew the interior, so it sort of looked an x ray. He took this idea to another level by pulling apart an actual car and reconstructing it by hanging the parts together. This shows that in a system all pieces are connected together.   

Our Lady by Alma Lopez

The last artist in the panel was Alma Lopez. Lopez is a queer, chicana, feminist artists who specializes in digital art. When Lopez was thirteen she skipped school and went to a museum. At the museum, Lopez saw a Frida Kahlo painting and that was the first time she saw two Mexican women being intimate by holding hands and sitting close to each other. Since then Lopez has been inspired to create art that focuses on her identity. One of Lopez's most famous works is Our Lady, which showcases the Virgen de Guadalupe sporting a cloak of Coyolxauhqui and holding an assertive expression. This pieces is heavily inspired by Lopez's experience as a Chicana and her relationship with the Virgen of Guadalupe. 

              

Naomi Romero (Week 3 Blog Post)

    Naomi Romero is a non-binary Mexican and Puerto Rican character designer and illustrator. They were born in Los Angeles, CA and began drawing at a young age. Since they loved watching cartoons and animated tv shows, they mostly drew characters from series like Pokemon and South Gate. Naomi always loved art, but due to her parent's wishes, they went to college and studied criminology. However, at age 22 they dropped out of college to pursue a career in art. Since they didn't have enough money to got to art school, they had to learn to do art on their own. To improve their art, they studied art from successful artists and often doodled their animals. In fact, they focus their work primarily on animals. 

    One of Naomi's most notable works is their Anxiety Fox. Since Naomi deals with anxiety, they created a cute character called Anxiety Fox to help cope with their feelings. Anxiety Fox  can now be purchased as a cuddly plush or enamel pin. The pins have phrases like "I'm going to be okay" and "I'm not broken" inscribed in them. Other works done by Naomi include the character design for the tv show Blue's Clues & You! and character illustration for the upcoming movie Blazing Samurai.  Most commonly, Naomi draws dogs, especially corgis or dog related species, like wolves. On their site, they share a lot of digital drawings of dogs and fun pieces of dogs as characters from different tv shows or movies. For example, they've drawn dogs as the different versions of Spiderman from Spider-man: Into the Spider Verse, dogs as Marvel superheroes, like Captain American and Iron Man and dogs as anime characters, such as Deku and All Might from My Hero Academia. Naomi has had many clients ranging from Nickelodeon to Facebook to Spark House to Mass Animation. Currently, they continue working as a freelance illustrator working on character designs for upcoming projects. Naomi is even doing character designs for an upcoming mobile game. 

References: 

https://characterdesignreferences.com/blog-interviews/naomi-romero

https://naomiromero.com/about

https://remezcla.com/features/culture/women-in-comic-book-industry/

https://outlawkritters.com/blogs/news/naomi-romero

Week 2: Claudia Zapata Reading

      Claudia Zapada's !Printing the Revolution!: The Rise and Impact of  Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now delves into Chicano digital art. After reading the essay, I pose the question: "In what ways does technology broaden the concept of art for Chicano/a artists?" 

    Due to the invention of technology, more tools, like VR, AR, photoshop, interactive websites, computers, laser cutting tools and ink became readily available. Chicano/a artists honed these tools and used them to create unique, mesmerizing and impactful works of art. In particular, VR, which stands for Virtual Reality is a computer generated tool that creates an immersive environment of a real or unreal world for viewers to interact in. In Out of Exile: Daniel's Story audio recordings and visuals were used in VR so participants could experience the vulnerability Daniel felt when he was kicked out of his home for being gay. Another device is AR, which stands for Augmented Reality and it puts digital images onto real world objects in order to add something to reality. A lot of graphic artists used AR in their art to create new visual experiences. As for photoshop, it's image editing software that allows users to manipulate and rearrange photographs in numerous ways. This allows artists to create countless impossible realities. A popular form of photo rearrangement is digital collages. With the help of computers and editing softwares, artists can create collages using digital pictures, digital graphics digital markers, digital stickers, etc.  The possibilities are truly endless. Another way computers are useful is through interactive websites. Glass Houses by Garcia is an interactive muli-media website that allows users to explore the house of a family by clicking on buttons that sends them to sub pages that show intimate digital images of their home. As for inks and laser cutting tools, they allowed users to create neater pieces. In particular, inkjet is able to create photographic quality and the laser cutting tools allows for precise cuts. With the help technology, Chicano/a artists were able to broaden their ideas of art by creating new art forms, like interactive worlds, and digital pieces and by using new methods to perfect their works.

Ureno, Lizbeth (Liz)

 Hi! My name is Lizbeth Ureno, but I prefer to be called Liz. I'm a fourth year at UCLA majoring in Statistics. I chose this field of study because I enjoy working with data. In particular, I like gathering data, analyzing test results and creating graphs. I grew up in Los Angeles, California, but both of my parents were raised in Zacatecas, Mexico and moved to the US when they were adults. Since I'm part of the Chicano/a community, I believe it's important to learn the stories, struggles, and achievements of Chicano history. Doing so makes me feel more connected to my culture, especially because my parents never discussed in detail their experience as Latinos in a new country or even much of their personal life in Mexico. Additionally, I've taken two other Chicano courses in the previous years and I've found them incredibly fascinating. I also love telling my parents about the things I learned in my Chicano classes, so I'm very excited to learn new things from this class. 

    As for the reading, Ramos discussed a lot of important topics regarding Chicano art and its role in the revolution. While reading, I was constantly impressed by the impact of art in movements. When it comes to movements and revolutions, I usually think of strikes and walkouts, but never of art. In other words, I usually thought about art as an outlet for creativity, but never put much thought into art from a political standpoint.  With this being said, it's absolutely brilliant to use art in a political agenda to inspire people and cause change because in comparison to protests and other popular approaches used during movements, art speaks in a different language. In particular, it introduces color, conveys an array of  emotions and tells stories all at the same time, which can leave more of a lasting impression on people.