week 10 - course reflection

 this class has been a fun way to get introduced to chicana artists which i didn't know about before. one of the readings that felt the most impactful was the one from i believe week 8 or 9 where indigeneity museums and art was discussed. as someone who only has knowledge of the spiritual significance of la Virgen de Guadalupe through other chicanx classes at UCLA i also really enjoyed getting to understand more of her cultural community context, and how chicana artists use la Virgen to define and redefine themselves, and their visual language. the presentations were extremely informative and my personal favorite part was getting to learn about more public art, artists. to me, public art is essential because it really opens up art to the community. museums and the american perspective on who is an artist and who makes are is curated to mainly represent white artists. gaining access to a museum as an artist is already difficult due to this but on top of that as a viewer, museums are often costly, outside of accessible places, or used to gentrify an area, making it really hard to even have access to art institutions in the first place. public art feels like an acknowledgment of this and brings the art to the people. i think there is also often an expectation that men make public art/graffiti, so it was really exciting and i think it important to see latina women being included in that narrative. overall im glad that i got to see so many works of art which exemplified our shared culture and individual experience and i want to continue learning more from the class's Wikipedia pages. 

week 9: chicanafuturism

 latinx community has often been excluded from the world of science, being part of research or having their research and knowledge valued. because of this the creation of chicanafuturism, becomes a radical inclusion of technology into chicana narrative. and as the author describes tourism and this exclusion contributed to a romanticization of a community and society stuck in the past. it it part of the colonial mindset that everyone who isnt white is stuck in the past, and any act of recontextualizing chicana culture and visual language into a modern setting broken from this easily digestible mindset into a radical, and real experience of chicanx people. to include physical parts of machinery is a realy interesting way to see into chicanx future. but i do think that its important and fascinating works of art, i think that even simpler gestures, seeing traditional clothing in modern life, including patterns and designs into images of current homes of different places from suburbs to barrios, top floor apartments to low-income housing, naturally and boldly adding in the culture which has been historicized and made into a museum marvel into modern daily lives itself would be another act of chicanafuturism. i would also be interested in seeing sculptures integrate aobe and technology into new buildings. the images she creates are really exciting and this is a style and way of thinking i havent seen before and i would be really excited to see these works more widely spread or integrated into functional technology, like the back of a computer screen etc, because i think it would be a really interesting way to continue to not only insert chicanx people into the technology and futurist narrative but then to continue to push that narrative to become part of common knowledge. so that others (like myself) who have yet to see this style with chicanx imagery can see these beautiful works. 

week 8: border arte

 this is a really interesting narrative writing where we are following the author around a museum and experiencing it as she is in a sense. she is seeing the way that the museum is catering the white visitors, and continuing the legacy of the white education system that teaches indigenous history as the extinct foundation of America. overlooking the lives of the existing indigenous communities, which continue to live their traditions and culture and be part of the ever-changing traditions and culture. still very much alive. she also talks about existing in the nepahlta this in between state, the constant changing identity depending on where you stand and who is looking, she describes the shift in identity from one side of the border to another. the carmon lomez garza painting camas para suenos is a really beautiful painting looking towards the moon. in it you can see a depiction of women making a bed and two children sitting atop the roof and watching the moon. i think the moon is a really interesting symbol in art, one that everyone can see if they are able to look outside and this dichotomy of the women inside the house and the children atop the roof gives this sense of existing in the in-between. 

Week 7: Graffiti is Art

 the writing graffiti is art opens up with a line that i think is very powerful and important when we look at art and it is " by creating you are also expressing your vision of the world." graffiti I think takes this idea to the next step by genuinely altering the world so that it continues to fit into the artist's vision. the author continues to describe it as a manifestation of self estimate. i think this is also relevant when considering that often the places that do have heavy graffiti are ones that are overlooked or looked down upon by the white middle-class suburbs. so then too graffiti becomes in many was a bold act of reclamation and vision. for me the reason graffiti feels like an important inclusion in the art world is simply that it is less exclusive then other forms of art. and i think because of that too it is easily and more often villainized as vandalism. that is not to say that vandalism doesn't exist but i think in the case of graffiti knowing that it is generally works which comes from community members to become their neighborhoods, decor, or writing, or defining signage is important. later in the article the author also brings up a concern about what happens when graffiti goes into a gallery space does it become a less genuine expression of graffiti? and to that i think it doesn't matter, i think that the problem lies when we divide up graffiti vs vandalism by who the artist is not the quality and intention of the work. and for me while i personally think that graffiti is at its best when it lives in the streets as public art and neighborhood decor and celebration i also know that it is not my place to define what is genuine art and what isnt. but graffiti is really important to me, it becomes a dialogue with the artist who created it, its location and its viewer. and as far as art goes public art to me will always seem most important because it creates a moment where people can create mirrors in the art world for those who have only seen art which has been a window into another life. graffiti is art, and an art form that has the potential to change and represent community. 

post 5

 La Virgen de Guadalupe was never a dominant presence in my life. i grew up Jewish and as such there was never any depiction of god, and in general we didn't have depictions of religious figures in our household. however my mother is catholic and so the image did come up time to time, though even then not much as her family's most important saint, as passed down by their mother is san cristobal. and to be honest it wasn't until i was much older maybe 17 that i even knew that there was a distinction that was culturally significant between mary and Guadalupe. 

Outside of looking up images or seeing small photos of La Virgen de Guadalupe in households I have never really seen large scale depictions wholy or otherwise though at this point in my life her image is widely identifiable. the aesthetics of her have become something of interest to me, the stars of her shawl and the traditional halo of light which we show around spiritual and religious figures. However, to me I see her as another latina, one which is deeply revered and aesthetically recognizable but more of an iconic figure then a role model. 

Now I understand her religious significance, but still through a degree of separation. I can see her beauty, and her emotional relevance through another's eyes, and to me she is more than a thing. to me she seems like another piece of art, and whether my perception will change with more understanding of what she represents is yet to be seen. 

post 6:

 Rasquachismo is a frame works of existence, resistance and persistence. The core of it is to redefine the labels which others place on chicanx suffering inorder to make it seem like suffering is self inflicted. Often the first response is to say no we are better than that or that suffering is not us. And rasquachismo is instead saying yes we are suffering, and acknowledging that struggle is not self inflicted, instead the struggle is part of our identity as much as we are trying to do the best we can for ourselves there are still institutional warriors. And in having a consciousness about that riquisimo seeks to be spunky and loud and bawdy and say “we might be down but not out” i think there is something here that might also be seen a bit in the american punk scene, in terms of social consciousness and response to lived reality with vibrant and firm uplifting of those in community. 

And domesticana had built from that, with a specific focus on women. To me one of the most important aspects of this is that domesticana does not belittle the work that women are often socially expected to do, it doesn't dismiss it. Instead it looks to say the work you have done is good and important and you are capable of doing more if you want, and again having the social consciousness to understand why women are often pushed into the domestic sphere, and that women are often subjected in this way. It's saying women often work in the domestic sphere but there should be choice there, and if there isn't then we will meet women and uplift them from there. I think in the art world this could be seen through valuing art which women are often expected to do, such as sewing, embroidery, cooking etc. and seeking a place where women are in the domestic sphere if she so chooses or not if she so chooses.

Week 4: Printing the Revolution! Exhibition Preview

 printing the revolution considers the rise and impact of chicanx graphics movement. urgent issues looked at art which was about immediate community struggle, like the farmworkers. racial and global symbols to create a visual language that speaks to chicanx people across the globe. a new chicano world are works that reclaim chicanx images to reimagine how we present community experience and narratives. brings value and light to chicanx culture in visual art. this gallery also looks to show how we visualize the world we live in. and how chicanx artists insert their working into the mainstream art world, through social media and just out into the public world. this show overall does a really good job at not only highlighting the works of many overlooked artist but also how these artists influenced graphic arts outside of the chicanx community. we see in many ways how the works in this collection are created similar to many of the recent iconic works centered around justice and protest which we see today. the iconic line visual language the artists use in their works is really interesting. i really enjoy the ways they bring in portraiture, it feels like a more personal way to build community especially when these works are shared through somewhat impersonal means, such as social media. i think it would be really exciting to not only see these works within a traditional gallery space, but i also think it would be cool to see these printed graphic works hung up across a neighborhood, not simply as an act of protest, but as an act of community. situating these works in such a visible place and situation feels like a good way to further the act of self-love, radical reclamation, and visibility. 

week 3 - artist: Julie Zarate

 

Zarate was born in 1970 in huston texas. Her artworks are centered around pop culture and women empowerment. She also states that for her the process of making works is more important than the final product. She is interested in investigating new topics through different mediums and styles. 

Her paintings and drawings are often of womens faces. And while the style of her works changes many of them use bold colors and intricate line work. Many of her works also use flowers, detailed patterns and halos of light. The detailed patterns seem to reference a lot of textile arts, some patterns are more similar to ones which you might find in embroidered latina clothing styles. As well as sort of gives an acknowledgement to other types of art which women are often expected to fo (embroidery, textile creation) in a new light as oil and acrylic paintings. The halos she uses also reference old religious artworks, where gold plates are used behind figures to show  whollyness. And is also often used when depicting la virgen guatalupe. And many of the women she paints draws on the iconography of la virgen as an iconic women figure in art and culture. 

She has had her works in a variety of art shows, one including las chingonas which she and two other artists put together. This show highlights mexican women, one that looks at representations of women, and independence. This is relevant to most of her works and the way that even when portraying sadness the women are always depicted as strong. The subject is always looking the viewer in the eye. 

Winslow, Nieves week 2

 How has a digital platform expanded the latinx art world? 

Latinx graphic art has been vastly expanded by the digital platform. As described in zapata’s essay digital formats has changed the ways people print and also spread into rendering art works in photoshop  and virtual reality. These then are distributed online, the online distribution of art and digital creation of works gives more latinx artists publish and show their work. They don’t have to wait for it to spread physical community yo physical community or wait till an art curator picks up the work for collection. They fan share the work from their own space, through a digital file or photograph and i think this helps in breaking down the exclusivity of the predominantly white physical 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. In this reading we see one work which was created in memory of a bay area latino who was murdered. However it pulls from the black lives matter visual language. Because the words are recognizable and the imagery iconic building works with it is immediately impactful. However when we take from the black lives matter artworks for our non afro latinx community we are also taking away the focus and intention of that work which is for black lives, specifically. When making works about non-black people we need to make works which arent taking the spotlight from black artivism but instead highlighting both movements individually. One example is the art created at my high school where bsu used black love to uplift community and latinx connection used brown pride to uplift community. And both were promoted by both groups to make sure to highlight not overwrite one and others struggle. We must create works together not instead of. 

week 1 intro

 Hi my name is Nieves Winslow. My pronouns are they/them/theirs, and I am currently a 4th year double majoring in art and sociology. I am from east bay area but currently living in LA. Most of my art and areas of interest are centered around visibility, race, queerness and disability and I choose most of my sociology and other upper-division art courses to help me gain more insight and do more research into those ideas. I'm taking this class because as a chicanx studying/making art I think it's important to see and learn from the work of other artists. 

I am a gemini, and i really enjoy re-watching shows on netflix, cooking and raising my hamster. I am currently applying to grad school, finishing my bachelors degree as well as working with some campus organizations! I'm really looking forward to this class and how it will inform not only my art-making but also how I understand the chicanx art world. 

The chicanx graphic art movement makes a lot of room for collaboration and far reach. In the reading it discusses the impacts of the graphic style, it was often affordable to make in comparison to more expensive traditional materials and many people could access it, print it and use it. I think the stylization of graphic art is inherently bold, unlike other mediums where that quality is developed with graphic styles, bright colors and high contrast, and large shapes it is bold, which I think lends itself to the ideals of protest, loud, bold, visible, strong. The works they show really represent that. I think the one downfall with graphic arts however is that I think sometimes the creators and their intentions get lost. For example, the gallery discusses the wide range of people who make these arts, cross-community connection, and various intentions, but as we spread graphic images they can become distant from their creator, and i think it is important to recognize what their original intention was, how it impacts art culture and also just recognition for the artists and leaders that have contributed their labor to community. 

Also, i think the idea of urgent images is really interesting. With memorable simple bold images that over time grow to carry the weight of an idea, a protest slogan, a face of a community leader etc. the works become even more accessible, to a point where the image may no longer need words to explain their meaning the image alone becomes chicanx iconography. 

Also looking at the article “why are there no great women artists' ' i think that the article is correct that the artworld is not a free easy to join place, like other constructed "worlds" there are warriors to entry founded on sexism and racism. I think that as I mentioned with graphic art there are women artists but their works are often decontextualized with themselves as the artists and also women are often pigeonholed into certain art forms which we then de-value as artworks (ex: textiles).