Suchergebnisse

This article offers an interdisciplinary approach to some of the most iconic pieces of Chicana Art using Gloria Anzaldúa's Borderlands/La Frontera. Parallels between the textual and visual representations of identity politics and social commitment in Chicana feminist art and Anzaldúa's work, respectively, will be established through the concepts of "Borderlands" and "New Mestiza" as interpretation keys. The article begins by addressing representations of geographical borders as a unifying theme; then, it establishes a correlation between the concepts "Borderlands" and "New Mestiza," and the reformulation of female identity represented in Chicana visual art. Finally, it will explore the purpose of the social commitment of the author/artists and how it is represented in their literary/artistic productions. The visual art of the selected Chicana visual artists, including Ester Hernández, Yolanda M. López, Alma López, Santa Barraza, and Judith Baca, accurately portray the experience of Chicana women theorized in Borderlands/La Frontera. (PAL)

Three years ago I found my mother's name in a book about muralism throughout California. Not knowing my mother as a "public" artist, I pursued an intimate investigation on Chicana artists in public vs. alternative spaces. This thesis explores the process of making a short documentary film, that focused on two artists Cecilia Aranaydo and Silvia Figueroa Garcia (my mother) from an early Chicana art collective in the San Joaquin Valley called Las Mujeres Muralistas del Valle (1978). As we dig through the memories of constructing their only mural, which was whitewashed and destroyed shortly after its construction, we uncover what it means to be a Chicana artist in California's San Joaquin Valley. This research aims to develop an experiential lens in understanding Chicana Art by asking, when we're dealing with histories of erasure and censorship, is a name in a book—representation—enough? Should art production merely be evaluated through the product, often losing the artist's social and political location? A particular focus is posed on how and why the artists moved from public muralism to private crafting collective spaces, exploring connections to the rural and urban divide of the Central Valley and the artists' connection to place, space and memory.

Denver is the city where Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales founded the Crusade for Justice and the place where "El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán" was conceived, but it is also the birthplace and home of Chicana artist Carlota d.R. EspinoZa. This essay rethinks the place of Denver in Chicana/o art history and argues for a more regional approach to gender and place in order to make room for EspinoZa in the history of Chicana/o art. EspinoZa has been painting since at least 1966, but she is typically not discussed in either mainstream or Chicana/o art criticism, even though she is one of the fi rst Chicana muralists. EspinoZa's works point to the importance of Denver in Chicana/o art, and they illustrate how gender and place inform the aesthetics of Chicana/o critical regionalism.

"This manuscript introduces the reader to Chicana feminisms as a field of study. The focus is on providing an overview to prepare the reader to pursue more specific areas and authors within Chicana feminisms. It provides an overview of the field of Chicana feminisms, tracing the historical origins of Chicanas' efforts to bring attention to the effects of gender in Chicana and Chicano studies; highlights the innovative and pathbreaking methodologies developed within the field of Chicana feminisms, such as testimonio, conocimiento, and auto-historia; explores Chicana art and activism; and looks to the future of Chicana feminisms by discussing the newest developments in the field. As is customary in the Mexican American Experience series, there will be additional suggested readings and exercises at the end of each chapter"--

A study of working class and elite intellectual Mexican and Mexican American women that focuses on their sexuality and identity, particularly their identification with four primary Mexican female cultural symbols: La Malinche, Aztec goddesses, the Virgin