George Vargas says, “Chicano art is about a state of shared consciousness rather than a definitive style, political slogan, market trend, or palette of colors. It depicts the American experience in unique and startling ways…[it] is a significant expression in American art that represents not only Chicano culture but popular culture as well.”
This presentation is a survey of Chican@ artistic production. This includes the history of Chican@ art and aesthetics and the challenges faced by artists such as marginalization, exclusion and relegation behind the “Tortilla Curtain” by museums and critics. Some of the artists featured in this presentation will include Enrique Chagoya, Carmen Lomas Garza, Yolanda López and her Guadalupe Series, and the contemporary castas that appear in the art of Claudio Dicochea and Delilah Montoya. This presentation will also look at popular cultural icons such as La Virgen de Guadalupe, las Calaveras (sugar skulls) from the Day of the Dead, Doña Catrina, cholos, placas (street art), etc. as well as a discussion about the appropriation of some of these images by Anglo popular culture.
About the presenterAmanda Frantz-Mamani
I am a member of the English, Philosophy, and Modern Languages Department at Pennwest University. My interests include Colonial Latin America, especially the use of imagery in popular culture and the relationships of Power and Identity. I also study Latino/a culture in the U.S., and Women and Gender studies.