Final Post

   I've taken a lot of art history courses throughout my three years in university but I have never taken one that integrates the study of art/artists with the creation of art itself. I think it's important as an art history major (or any major, really) to understand what goes into the production of the art being studied because it allows us to connect with the art in a different manner. Finding out we were going to have a journal with weekly drawings was a nice surprise! I loved doing the hand drawings because I was able to see my skills progress. As I was working on my hands, I didn't see any progress but when I compared my first and last drawings, the progression was evident.

   When I first signed up for this class, I thought we would be studying a handful of Chicana artists but I really enjoyed learning about almost fifty Chicana artists. Knowing that there are so many artists out there who identify as Chicana is reassuring to me. Often times it feels like the only art that's valued is that of white males but it was wonderful to have this class because I know Chicanas are out there producing art and making a difference.

   This class made me question what kind of art I've been told is "good" and what kind of art I've been told is "Chicana" art. I learned that there is no such thing as a homogenous Chicana style and that my people create all kinds of art. The only unified characteristic between the artist we studied is that most of them identify as Chicana.

   I am so appreciative of this class and so appreciative to have a professor who is an established Chicana artist who brings her own unique experiences to the classroom.

Chicana Printmakers

Holly Barnet-Sanchez discusses the impact printmaking had on Chicanas in the mid-1970's. She discusses how the prints that Chicanas were making in that time period had an immense impact on the Chicana movement. Printmaking allowed for Chicanas to get their message to the public in a shocking and creative way, these women made their voices heard because they were often silenced by men creating artwork.

One of the most powerful images that came from that time-period is Yolanda Lopez's Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? not only because of the message it made then but because that same message holds true today. The image is of an Aztec warrior in the uncle sam pose confronting the viewer. This image is not so much asking who the real illegal alien is but rather demanding who it is. The crumpled up immigration papers is and the use of the word pilgrim is suggesting that white people are the real illegal aliens because they took this land from the natives who were here centuries before them.

It is incredible for me to think that this image is just as relevant today as it was in 1978 when Yolanda Lopez first created it. It upsets me that this image is still relevant, but it does not surprise me. I don't find it surprising that it's relevant because this country was founded on the racist, colonialist values that this image confronts and it is hard to dismantle centuries of mistreatment. But me being unsurprised is not me being complacent with the world around me, it means that I need to work harder for the justice my people deserve. Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? ignites that fire in me.

Carmen Lomas Garza

In Carmen Lomas Garza's expansive catalog of work I have managed to find a personal favorite piece. My favorite is titled, Tamalada, depicting a family coming together and making tamales. You can't tell if it's for a special occasion of just because but everyone in the family pitches in. I love this piece because it is so relatable because when my family makes tamales, everyone is in the kitchen helping. And in my family we only make tamales for Navidad so it is an activity that brings the entire family together. I can see myself in this work, trying to embarrar la oja and then failing miserably. Although I am not very good at it I stand in the kitchen in solidarity with the members of my family who are experts. 

At first this seems like an everyday, mundane activity but this print had me look at the process of making tamales as a ritual. First you have to wash la oja del tamal, shown by the group of three standing above a huge pot where you soak the leaves. After the ojas are dried, then the process of embarrando, then rellenando, and finally cerrando. Once all that is done you cook them and a couple of hours later you are ready to enjoy the finished product. By seeing the art of making tamales as a ritual I was also able to see it as an extension of the Navidad ritual. When I look back on all of my christmases, I remember eating and preparing tamales as much as I do opening up presents. Tamales are a part of that tradition and ritual and are just as important as the religious aspect of Navidad. 

Dear Margaret Garcia

Hello, Margaret. I hope this letter finds you well! I had the great pleasure of researching you for my presentation on a Chicana artist. As I was doing research on you and your art, I noticed a reoccurring theme in you work: motherhood. What about motherhood interests you so much? Do you view motherhood as an extension of womanhood?

One of my favorite works of yours is the painting of La Virgen outside sleeping next to a river and a beautiful landscape. Part of the reason that I am so fascinated by this image is that it places La Virgen in a setting I've never seen her in before: outside. She is always in her fixed position, mounted on a pedestal held up by an angel, praying. To get to see her outside relaxing taking a nap is refreshing because she isn't worried about anyone else but herself. Is she pregnant in this image? Expecting her son, Jesus? I read it as if she is pregnant which I think opens up a lot more conversation because it is a pregnant mother who is tired and maybe a little scared. 

What I also like about you paintings is that these mothers are in vulnerable positions, yet they are not weak. You allow them to be vulnerable because their jobs are difficult and they need to take a nice nap once in a while, not because they are lazy and can't handle being mothers. What is your take on vulnerability not equating to weakness? Are you a fan of the strong mother because of the influence your grandmother and mother had on your life?

Best,

Estefania

Laura Aguilar

One of the artist we discussed in class this week was Laura Aguilar. She is a photographer who uses herself as her subject. I really enjoyed the her work; I found it to be powerful and striking with a clear message. She uses herself as her subject because that is what she is most comfortable with.

What I found most compelling about Aguilar was her series of photographs in the desert. She is nude and she positions herself in between rocks, slabs of earth, water, and whatever else is in the desert. Aguilar becomes an extension of the desert. The video we watch in class about her taking about her work was especially eye-opening. She mentioned that she poses in the desert because so that her body becomes a part of the earth. Her body is untouched, much like the desert. I also found it really interesting that she said the way she starting getting comfortable in her own skin is by photographing herself in the nude. A lot of time you would think that exposing yourself and letting yourself be vulnerable would be even more intimidating, but for Aguilar it was freeing. Laura Aguilar is an excellent example of an artist who shares her life through her art.

Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta

One of the artists that struck me the most in this week's presentations was Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta. Her election series with each drawing of a skeleton being representative of one of the seven stages of grief especially caught my attention. The drawing I liked the most was the final one that represented acceptance.

The formal title of this work is ACCEPTANCE (never!) which I think represents how ever person who voted in the 2000 presidential election felt during those tumultuous months. Instead of a skeleton acting out one of the stages of grief, this character is clothed. By being clothed, the character has accepted it's defeat and once he has done that he is able to move on. His clothes represent the moving forward instead of looking back. Going forward means the character can look to the future and take steps in order to improve the unjust situation this country was put in. The stars and stripes shirt doesn't signify his approval of the president or of the fixed democratic process, but the responsibility of the next generation of voters to do the right thing. For them, and for the generation to come. 

What I also liked about Acosta is that she wasn't old enough to vote when she did this series. Someone who doesn't have any control over this outcome but who will be deeply effected by it and the frustrations that come from this. All of her works that were shown in class interested me but this one in particular stood out to me the most. 

My Stencil

The stencil I chose for the cover of my sketchbook is Blue Nude II painted by Matisse:

At first, I had chosen a simple poppy flower because I thought it would look cool on the cover. But after I saw Blue I thought it would look better on the cover. The reason for this being that the original painting already has a stencil-like quality because the it is actually constructed from painted paper cutouts that would translate well into the physical stencil I would be making. Not only was this a better choice for my stencil because it would look better on the cover but because of what this painting means to me.

To me this work represents a woman who is vulnerable and strong at the same time. I feel like a lot of the time women are forced to chose between being strong or being vulnerable, with the latter being equated with weakness. But this work for me means that being vulnerable is not a weakness but a strength. The woman in the painting is nude but she is not exposed. Thus her vulnerability comes from being obviously nude, but her strength is that she is not literally exposed she is only her silhouette. Having this work on the cover of my sketchbook will be a continual reminder throughout the quarter that I can be strong and vulnerable at the same time, and that the vulnerability I experience is not weakness.

La Virgen

I grew up with the image of La Virgen my entire life. At my paternal grandmother's house in Mexico, she has a large portrait of la Virgen in the living room, as well as smaller icons of her throughout her house. In my own home growing up, the image of la Virgen was always present; we have a medium sized portrait of her in the hallway. Although I grew up with her image and knowing who she was, I never identified with her as an important icon in my own life.

Being raised Catholic, I went church on Sundays, I was baptized, and I did my first communion (when I was fifteen, granted, but better late than never!). In order to be able to have a primera comunion, I had to go to el catecismo, which are weekly classes in which you learn about what it means to be Catholic and what a primera comunion is. I learned el padre nuestro, el ave maria, el credo, every oracion out there, I know it. But even though I know all of my oraciones and a lot of alabanzas, for some reason I have never felt a deeply spiritual connection with the Catholic church. Maybe it is because I was just doing it because that's what you do when you're raised Catholic. So seeing the of image of La Virgen changed with a shorter dressed or doing karate does not offend me. I think she looks relatable when she's depicted doing things everyday women do.

Even though the re-purposed images of La Virgen do not offend me, I can understand why some people would be unhappy with seeing her with a shorter dress. I know if my abuelita saw one of the works of art we studied in class, she would probably have an infarto.

Artist for Presentation: Margaret Garcia

I would like to give my presentation on Margaret Garcia

Quirino, Estefania

My name is Estefania Quirino and I am a junior art history major. My parents were both born and raised in Mexico and I was born in Palm Springs, California. It was important for them that their children learn to speak, read, and write in Spanish so that we would not lose our Mexican roots in the United States, so my siblings and I are fluent in Spanish. I decided to take this course because although being an art history major exposes you to art from all around the world, it rarely focuses on Chicana art.

I found the chapter, "Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask: The Mirror of Malinshismo," by Gaspar de Alba incredibly interesting and informative. The way in which he describes the CARA exhibition and how the Chicana artists' voices were being ignored in favor of the Chicanos. This reinforces the fact that, as Alba mentioned, Chicanos within the Chicana/o community are at the top of the hierarchical power structure that continues to oppresses Chicanas. As de Alba was focusing on individual artworks by Chicanas I noticed that their art had a lot to do with the female reproductive system. Which makes me question whether the Chicanas who had art featured in the CARA exhibition were also excluding women who cannot have children. Do you think that this kind of Chicana art that focuses so much on female reproduction is exclusionary to those Chicanas who cannot have children?