This course was one of the funnest courses I have taken at UCLA thus far. I am a sociology student so I don't often have the opportunity to take classes outside my major. It was pretty cool to be able to take a class with a great artist and learn about art that directly relates to my Chicana roots. One of the most interesting things i learned in this course was about the way Chicana artists were prominent in the Chicano movement. Many Chicana artists were conscious of the way the movement was dominated by males and took a stand to make their identities and experiences as women in the movement more visible. Alot of the artists we learned about in this class were dedicated to social justice movements and were directly involved in making active change through their art work. Whether it was just making political statements in murals, posters or being active in organizing marches and protests , a lot of them were extremely passionate and important in lifting  many Chicano from oppression  faced during the movement. This is one of the most valuable things i learned in this class as i felt i was able to have an understanding of how my art can also be a form of activism and create change rather than just be present for aesthetic beauty.

Chicanas and printmaking

In the text titled Where are the Xicana Printmakers? by Holly Barnet Sanchez the discussion of how printmaking was an empowering tool for Chicanos and the dynamics in which it played out are central. Printmaking in the 70's had a huge impact in the Xicano movement as it was often art that brought political and social ideas to light. Printmaking was a way to get an important and often empowering message to Chicano youth about the importance and relevance of their struggle. Chicanas were not as visible in the art realm so printmaking was a way for these women to not only get their creative minds at play but a way for them to connect and build with community. It was about social change.

A powerful print that caught my attention was Diane Gamboa's art piece on the left. Gamboa has a very interesting and unique art style. Her figures are almost cubic and she uses very bright colors while also including an insane amount of different perspectives and patterns and detail in her art. This image is particularly interesting to me because I interpret it as art that is attempting to make a social commentary on heteronormative ideas of gender and sexuality. I interpret this through the ambiguity of gender in the character she has painted and in the fact that the figure is also naked and covered in tattoos while wearing a ballerina dress. It appears that there is always a fluidity of gender characteristics in her characters which is something I really appreciate.

Week 8: Carmen Lomas Garza

Carmen Lomas Garza is an amazing artist that has inspired me to touch on various themes of family, tradition and celebration in my art. She is known for art that celebrates and commemorates every day activities and traditions within our Chicano culture which can be seen in various of her pieces that capture quincianeras, family fiestas, comida, dance, and many past times that honor La Familia. I find myself to be attracted to the simplicity of the characters depicted in her art but also the extreme detail she places in her pieces as most capture a variety of happenings in one image.
One image I specifically enjoy is La Feria en Reynosa. I chose this image because it reminded me of some of the Ferias and traditional festivities that happen in Mexico. When I was in sixth grade and I made a trip to Michoacan I went to a lot of fairs,  traditional Kermes, and pueblo celebrations. This image reminded me of that as there was often a lot of food, movement and lots of energy from busy and excited people. I really like how there are parents, couples, abuelitas, children while sodas are being sipped on, tamale are being eaten and cool items are being sold in different puestos. The events are captured to every detail. Just like many of her pieces, this art takes me back to my roots and connects me to my Chicana experience.

Week 7: Letter to Delilah Montoya

Hey Delilah,

First off I wanted to say that I have fallen in love with your work of art. The first thing I truly appreciate are the black and white photography aesthetic in many of your pieces. As someones that likes to create art as well, I often find myself driven to do black and white pieces as well as they represent a sort of raw simplicity which also has a lot of richness to it.

I especially find your Women Boxer pieces to be quite magnificent as it represents women in a light that they may not often be portrayed in. The pictures capture a lot of women of color in a fighting ring or getting ready to compete and I just love how bad ass they look. I really like watching their facial expressions as they often look extremely focused, angry or really relaxed. I find this great as women's bodies are often photographed to show sexuality, softness and innocence. In this series however, women's muscles, grinning teeth and even sweat are captured which are things that often only men are associated with.Which is pretty ridiculous...

I also have a strong appreciation for the graphic art look given to many of your images as it makes them really unique while connecting to a lot of Chicano symbolism like in Glass Jar, La Llorona,Virgen imagery and El Sagrado Corazon.

As an inspiring artist myself,  a question I will have for you is where do you get inspiration and ideas for your art? I know much must be directed from being a Chicana but what specific events, experiences, or things strike upon an idea for you and tell you that is something meant to be
captured?

Reply to "Better Late than Never?" post by Daniela Salazar

I was reading Daniela Salazar's as it attracted me because it was super long and I noticed it was an introduction post as well. I was particularly interested when she made remarks about the ways she personally connected to some of the things discussed in class. I found myself being able to connect with her experiences as well. In the paragraph where she speaks about her experiences with Virgen imagery she mentions how she was always a present image in her home but she never had a personal religious relationship with La Virgen Maria. I had the same experience with La Virgen where it was granted that her pictures, statues and candles will be in our home and family members as well. However, as a child I was mostly forced to attend Catholic mass and never felt a significant personal relationship with La Virgen or Catholic religion in general. Something that I found to be very interesting was when she mentioned her father.Similar to what her experiences seemed to be based on this post, I also had a father that was a bit too controlling toward my mother and the rest of the family. It was really interesting to see how this affected her family's religious process and home development. In my case, my father was someone that always enforced his patriarchal notions which ended up shaping my feminist and resistant views so it was very interesting to see how this patriarchal figure in her house affected her experiences as well.

Week 5: Laura Aguilar

The presentation done my one of our classmates on Laura Aguilar really captured my interest. I particularly liked that fact that she was a photographer because this is a medium we have not been talking about much. Laura Aguilar is a photographer that uses bodies (including her own) for her artwork. She photographs larger naked women in a beautifully expressive way. Her art is non-conformist as she is one of the few artists that breaks from photographing thinner stereotypical bodies of what women are told to need in order to be beautiful. Her pieces are mostly in black and white and demonstrate the women laying in different landscapes and backgrounds. I especially like the ones where women are laying down near a river or tree. Being one with nature. Her work demonstrates that all types of bodies are beautiful and all are art pieces worthy of capturing. Asides from her Chicana roots, Laura Aguilar is also a queer artist. She is representative of minority communities and does a great job at representing them in a visually and significant manner.

Week 4: Patssi Valdez

One of our classmates did a brief presentation on the Chicana artist Patssi Valdez. I found this Chicana art to be quite stunning. I really enjoyed the different styles and mediums of art that she used for her work. From photography to muralism with a strong emphasis on making political and/or social statements. When compared to many other Chicana artists, i felt Patsy stood out as having a unique and different style that really exemplified artists ability to be bold and creative in their work. Patssi Valdez also defied systems of oppression within the Chicana community as shown in the picture below where it makes a statement about the underrepresentation of Chicanos in the art world and other spaces as well. Along with this, something that I really liked about Patssi was within her involvement of ASCO. As the only women there she really defied the idea that Chicano/a art is only from hombres. Her presence as a female artist was a way of defying the often patriarchal space within artists as well. She did this by being a bold and refusing to be submissive and quiet in a man dominated space. A true chingona.

Week 3: Stencil Art

The stencil that I decided to use for the cover of my notebook was the image presented below. This image appeared as I typed feminist stencils, art stencils, women power and a couple other phrases into Google. I literally chose this stencil 5 minutes before class as found it to fit quite perfectly with the conversation and purpose of this class. I have not painted the image into my notebook yet as i did not have one but i intend on doing so soon with a variety of at least 3 different colors to emphasize the detail in the image.

The image depicts a strong looking women with her head held high as if she is standing for her power and her statements. Around her the stencil reads "Make Art, Not War" which is a commonly made statement that I strongly believe in. This stencil resonates so much with this class for obvious reasons but also because it is about staying resilient and opposing systems of power that create negativity and conflict instead of positive ideas and actions. Specifically this piece reminded me of the political art we have discussed about in our class as it is anti war art. It advocates social change and the power and dynamics that art has to achieve that.

Artist of Choice: Delilah Montoya

I want to do my project on the Xicana artist Delilah Montoya. Her photography is mostly black and white and very intriguing.

La Llorona in Lillith's Garden , Delilah Montoya

Week 2: La Santa Virgen

The image of the Virgin Mary was an important religious icon that constantly presented itself in my childhood. Growing up in a catholic household, although not religious at all, brought images of various Santos y Santas, Jesus y su madre La Virgen de Guadalupe. I remember attending church and occasional events where we prayed to the virgin to serve us a miracle which mostly involved caring for our grandparents across the Mexican border and having better days ahead of us. I just looked up at images of her with veneration but never gave much thought to her as a woman. To me La Virgen was known as Jesus mother and I guess as I analyze now I never acknowledged her as having an identity outside of that. My mother had framed images of her, candles, calendars and gold necklaces and string ones. Plenty of iconography but the religious devotion was not as present unless there were special occasions like baptisms or confirmations. And it seems as time passed by and I grew up the image of La Virgen got lost along with the very little sense of religion we had in our household. Sure an image of La Virgen that was taken from the cover of a Spanish newspaper is still framed in my mother’s living room but it no longer holds any significance for me and it seems as not much for her as well although she still holds onto her beliefs. La Virgen was also a cultural icon for me more than a religious one as I saw her in various images around my neighborhood including this mural in Pacoima that's only a few blocks from my place.

Seeing La Virgen presented in a lot of Chicana artist’s pieces, especially those that try to make feminist statements seems quite revolutionary to me. Gaspar de Alba's lecture at our class and her experience within the chicana artist realm made me see the connections between LaVirgen and her place in Chicana feminists space. I enjoy the idea of giving La Virgen an identity separate from her as a mother or as attached to the male image of Jesus and Juan Diego. It is quite exciting to me because it allows me to see La Virgen as someone I can connect to better. As a regular women like me. Seeing her in images with walking tacones, fondling Sirenitas breasts gives her an identity as a powerful strong women that does not have to be constantly held in a pedestal but that can also live a little and have some fun of her own just like I wish every women can. I also really enjoy the idea that these chicanas are interpreting this religious iconography in their own way and reclaiming it as theirs which is what art expression is all about.

Sesmas Yadira

Hey! My name is Yadira Sesmas and I am a 3^rd year Sociology major from the San Fernando Valley. I hope in getting a double major here at UCLA as well after I explore the vast classes this school has to offer. I have a strong interest in community building and activist work as I am involved with organizations that fight to end stigma towards womyn and I also have a strong interest in art. I enjoy drawing, occasional painting and draw most of my inspiration from many visual artists as well as great deal of musicians so I am extremely excited to take this course. I also consider myself as a Chicana which has been a new found identity of mine here at college. Femenista y artista. I hope to find inspiration from the people and the topics in this class as well. Because of such interests an ultimate career goal is to do social work and work in community organizing,especially abroad, while also being able to do activist work through a artistic lens.Maybe a bad ass artivist that paints up my beloved Pacoima but also travel around the world liberating people from oppressive situations....and get paid for it .haha.

In the essay “Out of the House, the Halo and the Whores Mask” by Gaspar de Alba explores  various topics but with a strong focus on validating and understanding how gender intersects with class and race specially for a brown Chicana like me. This goes about while explaining and exploring feminist topics and how Chicana feminists have their own experience as womyn which is very different from a white feminist experience which may not have been recognized by previous womyn movements. Chicana artists in particular are constantly needing to challenge the artists community and needing to reclaim their space for recognition amongst a mostly white centered space. This brought up a lot of questions for me as I am aware that arts are not taken very seriously specially in the Latino community for a variety of reasons which include male dominance as well. This reading brought me to thinking about the importance of intersectionality not only within our womyn but also within the artist community. How can young Chicana artists gain respect and recognition in a community that may not be as understanding of our different and unique experiences? Does it begin with us? Whom plays the role in giving visibility to our brown womyn in this space and is our existence as Chicana artists enough to do this?