Critical Viewing and Contested Public Space

Yolanda Lopez, "Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?"
1978, National Museum of Mexican Art Permanent Collection
(Chicago, IL.)

Ester Hernandez,"Sun Mad"
1982, Smithsonian American Art

Judith Baca,"Division of the Barrios and Chavez Ravine"
1983, segment of the Great Wall of Los Angeles

Mario Torero, Rocky, El Lton, Zade, "We Are Not a Minority"
1978, El Congreso de Artistas Cosmicos de las Americas de San Diego

Hola a tod@s and welcome back.

The blog has been on hiatus since I haven't been teaching. And this year/semester, I'm using it for a slightly different purpose as well. I'll post songs, images, and videos that my Intro to Mexican American Studies class will be "reading" alongside the literature. But I'll also continue using the space to comment on my own research and teaching.

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Alongside Corky Gonzales's "I am Joaquin" and Lorna Dee Cervantes' "Under the Freeway," I'd like to consider the impact of imagery--signs, symbols, visual art--on contested public space. One of the first images we'll be considering in this light is Wayne Healy's "Ghosts of the Barrio." This image, from Flickr, is also available at USC's Digital Library, where you can zoom in to see details.