"This is America" artwork
1 media/ezgif.com-gif-maker_thumb.jpg 2019-12-15T18:34:50-08:00 Aleina Dume a13aba391e3937da535197bf51d990e0d55fbd34 35843 1 plain 2019-12-15T18:34:50-08:00 Aleina Dume a13aba391e3937da535197bf51d990e0d55fbd34This page is referenced by:
-
1
media/Screenshot_49.png
media/floresart2.png
2019-11-25T19:31:22-08:00
Yocelyn Riojas: 1st Art Piece
33
"This is America" artwork by Yocelyn Riojas.
plain
2019-12-15T20:20:55-08:00
The first piece of Riojas’s art is of two angels facing each other in front of a red brick wall. These bricks are assembled one on top of the other and structurally resemble the side of a building. These red bricks represent society built with a foundation of blood, which is only accessed through pain. Embedded in buildings as well as in our daily lives is the violence that built the United States through slavery and unfair work practices. This blood loss is also metaphorically present in the sacrifices that the Latinx community must make. To move beyond the wall, looking at the country through a smaller lens, I will analyze the iconography of the angels. One has a darker hair and skin color when compared to the left angel, which means this angel on the right represents the Latinx community. The other symbolizes the United States and its dominant European culture. An angel generally has a positive and pure connotation. Both groups of people are presented as angels which shows neither is inherently bad. This is because neither has weapons of violence permanently attached to their body, so it must have come from their past or what is behind them, like the wall/society. The left, lighter one is a byproduct of its environment or the United States. As dominant society hold their guns, they can put it down too. Moreover, what the right angel holds is significant. While dominant culture faces others who are different with hostility and violence, the “others,” in this case the Latinx community, respond with beauty and an intention to create beautiful things. They want to find harmony. In this artwork that is by playing an instrument. In society, that is by dispelling negative stereotypes much like Riojas does by portraying Latinx people with good intentions.
These angels face each other and are nearly symmetrical, with the exception of what they hold. Such disposition further illustrates the conflicts between the Latinx community and Americans with power. Both groups share a basic goal to survive, but the Latinx community faces deeper struggles because a gun, representative of the violence aimed toward them, exists. Continuing to look at the artwork overall, I will now focus on the title and its implications. “This is America” is on the wall like graffiti would be, like a stain or an afterthought. This is because no one considered the reality of life in the U.S. with such tension until after Latinx people were discriminated against. In addition, angels are associated with eternity and immortality so using angels in place of actual community members speaks to the long term, essentially never-ending battle that the Latinx community is in. A lack of motion between the angels indicates that their battle is at a standstill and there is no change in their stance, meaning no progress has been made in regard to the Latinx experience. The country of hopes and dreams, that distinguishes Latinx people, cannot make dreams of harmony a reality.
-
1
media/Screenshot_49.png
media/3085ef6876a90b40_A.jpg
2019-12-08T13:59:27-08:00
Conclusion: What Questions Remain?
13
gallery
2019-12-15T18:54:12-08:00
All three artists manage to reflect the Latinx experiences and those narratives as they have been captured by Latinx literature as well as mainstream media. Riojas, Flores, and Lukashevsky deal with issues of femininity, representation, immigration, and community. These artists subvert expectations in the use of color and symbols, while they also encode deeper meanings and confirm other long-held truths. In this way, all three reflect components of modern Latinx art. The difference between these artists, as previously mentioned, however, is that one does not explicitly identify as Latinx. I will now return to my guiding questions and explore answers that reflect my analysis of the five artworks.
Latinx art aims to represent and amplify the experiences of Latinx individuals. None of the artists contested this concept, as each incorporates symbols of Latin American, Latinx people, and their varied struggles. This reinforces my initial answer to the first question, in that all three artists prioritize Latinx narratives. Similarly, such a determination begins to address the second question of why Latinx art exists. There is a need for Latinx art given that there is a lack of Latinx representation. Art, along with literature and other texts, aim to close this gap and present a fuller, more colorful image of the Latinx experience and who a Latinx person can be. This brings me to my final question of, “Who can make Latinx art?” Although Lukashevsky does not identify as Latinx, she does not try to take the value or culture of Latinx people away through her art about them. Rather, Lukashevsky also propels Latinx narratives and uses her platform to do so. She happens to have a significantly higher number of followers and more press coverage than Riojas and Flores, which indicates that her platform has a positive influence on mainstream Latinx representation.
For the reasons that I have discussed, non-Latinx people like Lukashevsky can make art about Latinx people, with a few restrictions. First, they must accurately reflect the Latinx experience and advance said experience as opposed to their personal agenda or platform. Additionally, they must lead lives that incorporate Latinx values ranging from respect to equity. Otherwise, they are not true allies. While artists do not need to be allies, Lukashevsky is with her politically charged art and this activist stance makes her goals as an artist more aligned to Riojas and Flores. I urge people like Lukashevsky to also employ their platforms to highlight Latinx artists, especially if their art is about the Latinx community. Art made by and for Latinx communities remains the highest standard of Latinx art, though Latinx art by others confirms the Latinx community’s foundation that in difference there is value.