Artworks have played an indelible work to the lives of humanity. The creative nature in Artists is a complex matter to define. The uncertainties in the intrinsic nature in art lay difficult aspects that can only be answered by values, themes and skills depicted in an artist artwork. Apart from playing the intricate psychological effect on humans, the artworks have been used as a tool of expression that has been revered and uniquely preserved for future generation.
Among some of the most revered modern forms of artwork has included Chicano Art that had a core relationship to Las Carpas, Indigenismo, rascuachismo and other forms of performance art. Indigenismo or Indianism was a political ideology in the Latin American countries that sought nationwide relation between the state and the indigenous minorities. In some quarters it was perceived as the pursuit of social and political inclusion among the indigenous people in America through national level reforms ad nationwide alliances.
All in all, Indigenismo sought assertion of their t indigenous rights, to seek recognition and to vindicate the indigenous communities linguistic and cultural difference. In some circumstances, they also sought compensation for the past wrongdoings inflicted by the republican ans colonial states (Karen, 13). However, Indigenismo saw the rise of Chicano art (Fernanda 36-57). The concept of Indigenismo formed one of the integral themes that was expressed in the Chicano form of art in the 1960s and 1970s. Chicano was a term that was originally used as a deprecating label given to the daughters and sons of the Mexican migrants.
The term was accepted both as a symbol of ethnic pride and self-determination. Some of the issues that the movement focused on was the awareness of a collective culture and history, equal opportunity for social mobility and restoration of land grants. Throughout Indigenismo, Chicano art rose as a form to express the histories, folklore, cultural values, and religions. The art over time to illustrate on the current social issues and struggle as well as continuing to inform and unify the Chicano youth around their histories and histories.
It was not only just a Mexican-American form of artwork but emphasizes the cultural affirmation, historical counter-narratives, political activism and mobilization, Chicano identity, community accessibility and solidarity. Indigenismo saw a rise in cultural movement that spawned many writers and artists towards exploring their national heritage to proudly indicated their ancient Mesoamerican past. The artist participated in this movement of social and cultural awakening, by studying and using indigenous concepts and imagery to express their messages to the public.
This ensured that Indigenismo became impetuously responsible for a number of Mexico’s vast great works of art. Whether it was printed n paper or painted on walls, it played a huge part to the legacy that has continued up to date (Karen, 14). The Indigenismo depicts one of the most influential time that paved way for other prominent works of art (Alexander 279-308). They pushed for Chicano identity imbedded in a time of cultural disunity, and a search for belonging. Although, the period had various divisions, strikes and chaos, the Chicano people always found a way to reunite under the arts and culture presented.
Trough Indigenismo, Chicanos developed a wealth of cultural expression through various Medias such as paintings, sculpture drawing, and printmaking. Similarly, they also used other forms of art such as novels, short stories, poetry, essays and plays that have flowed to the present contemporary Chicano writers. In addition, various cultural centers, film festivals, theaters, galleries, museums and other numerous arts have also grown in number as well in impact since this time. The Tarascan idol by Jean Charlot is a good example of the Chicano art that presents Indigenismo.
Jean who was born in Paris, spent most of his life in Mexico and in New York presents the Tarascan Idol which is a dazzling work that sought to expand the traditional picture of modernism of two cultures. The artwork fuses on the interest to the abstraction of the Tarascan symbology by painting a pre Columbian totem that emerged from the background of flat planes. The painting which is oil on canvas and forty by thirty carefully blends the colors that show a perfect depiction of the Jean trying to link to his distant past by borrowing designs and ideas from the ancient cultures that existed in Mexico.
Works cited Beigel, Fernanda. “Mariategui y las antinomias del indigenismo. ” Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana 6. 13 (2001) : 36-57. Print Dawson, Alexander S. “From Models for the Nation to Model Citizens: Indigenismo and the ‘Revindication’ of the Mexican Indian, 1920–40. ” Journal of Latin American Studies 1998 : 279-308. Print. Engle, Karen. The Elusive Promise of Indigenous Development. Duke University Press. 2010. Print Three Goals of Chicano Art The Chicano art movement rose during the civil rights era was based on three goals that included restoral of land, education reforms rights for farm workers.
The three goals followed by the Chicano Art artists had long been coming. One of the first goals included rights for farm workers. Arguably, the Mexicans Americans fight to secure unionization for the farm workers was one of the key goals of the Chicano art. In order to Sway the grape farmers, Cesar Chavez launched a national boycott that aimed at the American Farm Workers to give rights to the farm workers. The Latinos formed the highest number of farm workers in America at that time. The workers went on strike and Chavez went on for 25 days hunger strike. The farm workers gained support from Senator Robert F.
Kennedy and in 1970 the farmers finally triumph after the grape growers finally signed an acknowledgement of the United Farm Workers as a union (Nizan, 1057) The Chicano was also fighting for the restoral of land that had been taken from them. The Hispanic community was also fighting for equal rights that would allow them to own land. They were fighting for the return of land that was taken by the US after the signing of the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty (Carlos, 24). The Chicano radicals demanded that the land be given back to the Mexico Americans, as they believed it constituted part of their ancestral land.
Reies Lopez led a three-day march to Santa Fe from Albuquerque petitioning for the investigation to the validity of the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty as they believed the land belonged to Mexico. Education was also an important goal for the Chicano art era. Most of the Hispanic kids were not been allowed to most schools as they were still victims of racial discrimination. Prior to that time, the Latinos lacked the right influence to the national political arena by with the Mexican American Political Association unified to elect John F. Kennedy; they were established as a fundamental voting bloc.
After Kennedy was sworn in he showed his gratitude by appointing various Hispanic to administrative posts and also listening to the concerns and needs of the Hispanic community which included education reforms. The Chicano activism led to various educational reforms that also saw the dawn of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The fund was formed with the sole goal of ensuring more Hispanic kids can attend school as well as protecting the civil rights of Hispanics. This was the first organization founded and dedicated to such a cause.
In addition, efforts of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and the other groups that fought against racial discrimination proved a worthy cause. The efforts of these group ensured that the Supreme Court decisions followed the equal protection clause with favourable rulings that protected the racial minorities suffering injustices. An example is the Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada where the Supreme Court decision ruled in favour of a student who was denied entrance to a law school due to their race.
The court’s ruling pointed out that a requirement to enroll to a school based merely on the race had in fact violated the equal protection clause. This opened the doors for more Hispanic kids to attend school during the Chicano art era (Matt & Margo, 54). To get their message across, Chicano art was used. The Chicano movement included all Mexican Americans from all ages that gave rise to a minority civil rights movement, which objective was to represent their generational concerns but also sought to but sought the use symbols that personified their past and their ongoing struggles.
In order to achieve their three goals Chicano art was used and expressed in a variety of public forms of art. The Chicano artist fashioned a bi-cultural style that imbedded both the Mexican and American influences. While the Mexican style involved the utilizing of bright colors and expressionism, the American influences involved a more modern feel to the art. The involved mostly a symmetrical composition that shows that much attention was laid upon creating the artworks. The artworks involved simple forms of artworks such as oil on canvas, acrylic and crayon on paper and use of Lithographs (Estelle, 43).
Most of the artworks include a coarser feel and touch. They form works that represents the idealism and expression of the Chicano belief and historical context. In addition, the Chicano art paved the way for the creation of other forms of artwork. Initially, paintings were the common form of artwork found this time. However, Chicano art rose to include other art forms such as dances to express the histories, folklore, cultural values, and religions. The arts presented a powerful regionalist factor. In addition,
some Chicano artists used graffiti as a tool for expressing their indigenous heritage, political opinions, cultural and religious imagery. They also used counter-narratives that dominated illustrations of Chicano life found in the barrios. One of the elemental Chicano works of art at this period is the poem entitled ‘Yo Soy Joaquin’ or ‘Am Joaquin,’ written by the activist Rodolfo Gonzales (Carlos, 24). The poem supported a separate Mexican American state. The epic poem covered some essential aspects of the Chicano identity and history as well as putting on his personal views to the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty.
This is covered in some of the lines that says, “The Treaty of Hidalgo has been broken and is but another treacherous promise, My culture has been raped and My land is lost and stolen”. The epic poem was very famous among the Chicano as a fundamental piece of art that expressed the need for the Latinos to pursue their culture, identity and history. Works cited Jackson, Carlos F. Chicana and Chicano Art: Protestarte. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2009. Print. Meier, Matt S, and Margo Gutie? rrez. The Mexican American Experience: : an Encyclopedia.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 2003. Print. Shaked, Nizan. “Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement. ” American Quarterly 2008 : 1057-1072. Print. Tarica, Estelle. The Inner Life of Mestizo Nationalism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Print. Las Carpas Chicano Theatre art also encompassed Performance Art. Both had their roots based on the in the Mexican traditional form of art and entertainment referred as the Las Carpas. The Las Carpas were traditional tent shows that mostly resembled something between the American travelling circuses and Vaudeville.
The show focused more on dancing, singing, outrageous costumes and acrobatics rather than on freak shows or animals. They formed as pieces of entertainment for the many audiences in the Mesoamerica before they finally demised. Distinct families who run them in tents mostly were also the proprietors of the shows. The shows included a mix of song and dance, bawdy of stage comedy, acrobatics and clownery. They also incorporated a wide variety of entertainment that included flashy costumes, Mexican dance and traditional songs. The Carpa concept firstly evolved the clown and clown traditions of the Aztecs.
This is because before the Carpas were made famous, only companies of tumblers known as Maromas toured through Mexico. By the end of the 19th century a European circuses toured through Mexico that brought new acts and performances. Not to be outdone by the European circuses, the Mexicans formed the Las Carpas that combined various aspects of their ancient traditions as well as modern circus elements (Douglas, 221). The Carpas formed traditional circus and acts that took place in a ring or pasta. The acts were however, full of comedy and burlesque acts that were meant to keep the audience entertained.
While the larger shows included trained horses and dogs, they did not include large animals or freaks in the show, that were more often than not included in the traditional circuses. The shows also involved ensured they involved the traditional Mexican culture as well as the emerging modern culture. For example, the costumes mostly used in the Las Carpas were mostly from the traditional Latino culture (Rafaela ,39). While on the road, the Carpas also functioned as small business where they sold various wares and merchandise which they made such as clothing, silverware and ornaments (Mendez & Agnes, 123).
The members of the Carpas were tasked with meeting payrolls, keeping equipment maintained and getting city permits. They also had to constantly repair or replace the worn out tents, costumes and lumber. They also ensured they sold some items such as candy as the show was taking place. The Carpas mostly toured the Southwest and later took their shows to the north in the Southern parts of United States where most of the MLatino migrants were residing. The Carpas also included folkloric dances that depicted various cultures and separated carpas from the established circus shows.
The dances mostly comprised of the Mexican Hat Dance or the El Jarabe Tapatio, which was popularized by the carpas. In addition the carpas also learnt and performed other dances from Japan, United States, Germany and Holland. It also comprised of other distinct dances such as the jitterbug and Charleston. The carpas were also distinct as they included a family affair. Just like in all Hispanic cultures, family was important. Family ties were strong and important as everyone participated and hot involved to ensure that the show was a success.
Most of the performances involved four acts in which performers were replaced in a pinch (Rafaela ,44). The La Carpa Gracia formed one of the most historically hailed and revered La Carpas. It was one of the most popular and long serving Mexican tent shows. Manuel Garcia and Teresa, founded La Carpa Garcia which formed a small travelling entertaining tent show. They brought their circus and talent to the poverty-stricken people in the society, bringing joy and happiness for more than thirty years. Over this period, their performances starred in various parts such as Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
The show finally settled in San Antonio where they held various shows and touring neighboring parts such as South Texas. However, as the show grew, other families such as Manolo and Florinda Garcia, Rodolfo, Consuelo and Pilar Garcia, Raymond and Virginia Garcia, Esther Garcia Robinson, just to name a few joined into the act (Gabrielle & Evert, 7). The La Carpa Garcia not only involved circus and comical acts, they also incorporated a wide variety of other entertainment such as Mexican dances, traditional songs, embroidered costumes and hand sequined.
The Carpas mostly targeted venues used for social gathering or commentary in the shape of comical sketches. As most of the Garcia family members started to retire, the remaining members slowed disbanded to join other shows such as the Ringling brothers shows or became performers in other circuses or made performances in night clubs. Works cited Castro, Rafaela G. Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans. Oxford [u. a. : Oxford Univ. Press, 2001. Print. Cody, Gabrielle H, and Evert Sprinchorn. [a – L].
New York, NY: Columbia Univ. Press, 2007. Print Foley, Douglas E. “Performance Theory and Critical Ethnography: Studying Chicano and Mesquaki Youth. ” Performance Theories in Education: Power, Pedagogy, and the Politics of Identity. Ed. Bryant K. Alexander, Gary L. Anderson, & Bernardo P. Gallegos. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005. 221-238. Print. Kenya Dworkin Mendez, Agnes Lugo-Ortiz. Recovering the U. S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Recovering the U. S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project publication: Volume 5 of Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage. Arte Publico Press, 2006.
Print Rascuachismo Rascuachismo forms an important part to the Chicano art. It is a word that was originally derived from Rasquache and was used by the early Chicanos as having a negative connotation. The word was associated to negative attitudes towards the lower class or the poor people. However, the early Chicano arts movement, later changed the definition and transformed it into a style known as rascuachismo. Rascuachismo was used in referring to the professional limitations and materials that was faced by the early artists in the movemen (McFarland, 67).
Rascuachismo became common in reference to the Mexican working class and the Chicano artists as a way to survive the cruel realities of being marginalized and relegated in the society (Alicia, 15). The scantiness of material resources led to the people in Barrio to modify and recycle ideas, music, and objects for survival. The art was never exclusive to one particular generation but was continuously employed due to the reason that gave rise to rascuachismo are still in existence. It presents a virgin space in which the imposed symbolic orders and imagination are transformed to meaning.
It is a form of art that became infused with the current rasquache sensibility in order to reflect on the socio-historical contexts found in the Mexican communities and in the Chicano. Rascuachismo is unique as it involves the use of some of the simple, basic, crudest and quickest material that could be found to create desired expression, which in essence ended up to producing the most from the least. It formed the bicultural inspiration that these artist used in drawing their inspiration. The irrelevant and spontaneous was employed in crafting some from the least available and forming a stance that is both inventive and bold.
Rascuachismo expression came from fragments, discards and even recycled materials that many people did not have use for. The capacity to hold things together using old coffee cans, bits of string or broken mirrors was a signal of aesthetic bravado that formed the heat of Rascuachismo (Dworkin & Nelsy, 20). One fine example of Rascuachismo is the La Lowrider Bici. The lowrider bicycle is made out of the available bits and pieces to create this magnificent piece. The bicycle is made out of various metal parts that are put together to create this unique form of art.
Dr Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, who is a renowned literary and art critic, looks at the bicycle while trying to describe the parts that are used in making of the bicycle. He describes the act of putting the parts together as creating an aesthetic piece through experience gathered from living in that particular community. It encompasses making artistic pieces from the materials that one has. The works by Javier Chavira, El guerrero, The Warrior, is also a fine example of Rascuachismo at as it made use of acrylic and crayon in making of the artwork (Ilan, 26).
The artwork that is thirty six by forty eight inches presents a stylized and forceful acrylic crayon of the profile. The artwork present a rich array of cultural aspects and use of the available materials that is common of the Mexican revolution attributed to Chicano artworks. The artwork, which is currently on display at the Miradas exhibition, has attracted and inspired various art lovers in forecasting Mexico’s innovative stance and modern artistic modifications. Another fine example of Rascuachismo has been the use of rasquache rap method.
This a common feature that has been used by Molotov in the song Frijolero and in Sacred Circle by Aztlan Underground. Works Cited Arrizo? n, Alicia. Latina Performance: Traversing the Stage. Bloomington [u. a. : Indiana Univ. Press, 1999. Print. Dworkin, y M. K, and Nelsy Echa? vez-Solano. Spanish and Empire. Nashville, Tenn: Vanderbilt University Press, 2007. Print. Pancho, McFarland. Chicano Rap: Gender and Violence in the Postindustrial Barrio. University of Texas Press, 2012 . Print Stavans, Ilan. The Riddle of Cantinflas: Essays on Hispanic Popular Culture.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2012. Print. Chicano Art Collectives Chicano art has with time been defined by the works of various collectives such as the Los Four, Asco and Craf. These artists have been looked at as some of the artist to be included in the Chicano artist collective as their works were world revered. The works by these artists are considered as collectives as their works functioned as a response to the political and socio economic conditions that surrounded the Chicano community.
They formed as the inspiration to many of the rising Chicano communities through their art (Carlos, 49). During the Chicano artwork age, most of the artists felt the need or were inspired by their ancient civilizations found in the Mesoamerican region. The artists felt the need t ground their works or Abstract on something concrete, historical and understandable. They sought to give their artwork a link to their distant past by borrowing designs and ideas from the ancient cultures. They indentified this form of trend as primitivism.
The Mexican artist in the Chicano age participated in primitivism that sought to tap and combine various contemporaries such as Indigenismo with the growing Chicano arts. The works by this artists are considered as collectables as they employed various aspects in linear, foreshortening and atmospheric perspective that have grown to be important aspects. His works involved the use of both artistic and scientific practices through his paintings. They made use of perspective in their artworks and used it to give dimension and depth to their works.
The use of perspective can extensively be seen in their artworks as it helped them to create unique works of art. They employed the use of linear perspective in their works to depict their artistic skills (McCaughan, 11). However, what set these artist work to be considered as collectives is that they involved a collection of artists. The era in which Asco gained prominence was he era of revulsion, which was compelled by young people seeking new vocabularies for opposition done through the media, impact of public mobilization, and growth of Chicano movements (Mari?
a, 87). In addition, Asco artists strayed from the Muralism movement that was nationalist minded and instead opted to occupy a huge position between the countermovement and the mainstream movement. In addition, for the case of Los Four is considered as the intellectual vanguard that helped to legitimize Chicano art especially in the Anglo American art world. It is the works of this group that helped to start a school of art that would become known as Chicano art.
However, the works by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco also played a huge influence to the Chicano art. Conversely, the works by this artists are not considered as collectables yet as their artworks were mostly used for the purposes of passing social, political and nationalist messages. These works came to be associated with the Chicano Mural movement. The mural artworks at the time were considered as controversial as they included socialist messages, which were plastered on the colonial buildings (Annette, 195).
When it comes to commentary, Chicano arts believed they were supporting the Chicano movement through art. They ensured that they constructed a bi cultural style that was associated to the Mexican minority. Their works had a huge regionalist factor, which came to be affected by the societal values and political priorities. However, with time they deviated from political pieces to pieces that showed their artistic prowess and initiated new form of artwork such as easel paintings.
