Yolanda Lopez
Encyclopedia
Yolanda M. López is an American
painter
, printmaker, educator, and film producer
. Her work focuses on the experience of Mexican American
women and often challenges ethnic stereotypes associated with them. According to López, "It is important for us to be visually literate; it is a survival skill. The media is what passes for culture in contemporary U.S. society, and it is extremely powerful. It is crucial that we systematically explore the cultural mis-definition of Mexicans and Latin Americans that is presented in the media."
. A third-generation Chicana, her grandfather had been a tailor in New York City
.
After graduating from high school
in Logan Heights
, she moved to San Francisco
and became involved in the student movement that shut down San Francisco State University
in a 1968 strike
called the "Third World Strike". She also became active in the arts.
During the 1970s, López returned to San Diego. She enrolled at San Diego State University
in 1971, graduating in 1975 with a B.A.
in painting and drawing. She enrolled at the University of California, San Diego
(UCSD), receiving with a Master of Fine Arts
in 1979.
.
She continued her artistic investigation of women's labor issues with a series of prints called Woman's Work is Never Done. One of the series prints collection, one of which, "The Nanny", attempted to study some problems faced by immigrant women of Hispanic
descent in the United States.
Her famous political poster titled Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? features an angry young man in an Aztec
headdress and traditional jewelry holding a crumpled-up paper titled "Immigration Plans." This 1978 poster was created during a period of political debate in the U.S. which resulted in the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1978, which limited immigration from a single country to 20,000 people per year with a total cap of 290,000.http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=593&page=20 With this poster, she claims that the modern descendants of the Aztecs and their neighbors have a fundamental right to immigrate freely to the United States of America
and Canada
because Spain
claimed much of the western portion of North America as its colonial territory. (The Aztec territory itself never reached further north than what is now central Mexico; pre-colonial North America was instead populated by hundreds of independent aboriginal peoples.)
López has also curated exhibitions, including "Cactus Hearts/Barb Wired Dreams", which featured works of art concerning immigration to the United States
. The exhibition debuted at the Galería de la Raza
and subsequently toured nationwide as part of an exhibition called "La Frontera/The Border: Art About the Mexico/United States Border Experience".
López has produced two films, Images of Mexicans in the Media and When you Think of Mexico, which challenge the way the mass media
depicts Mexicans and other Latin America
ns.
She has also taught art in studios and universities, including UCSD and the University of California, Berkeley
. She also mentored high school youth who painted a mural in San Diego's Chicano Park
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, printmaker, educator, and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. Her work focuses on the experience of Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
women and often challenges ethnic stereotypes associated with them. According to López, "It is important for us to be visually literate; it is a survival skill. The media is what passes for culture in contemporary U.S. society, and it is extremely powerful. It is crucial that we systematically explore the cultural mis-definition of Mexicans and Latin Americans that is presented in the media."
Biography
López and her two younger siblings were raised by her mother and her maternal grandparents in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. A third-generation Chicana, her grandfather had been a tailor in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
After graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Logan Heights
Logan Heights, San Diego, California
Logan Heights is a neighborhood in central San Diego, California. It is bordered by Interstate 5 on the south and west, Interstate 15 on the east, and Imperial Avenue on the north.-History:...
, she moved to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and became involved in the student movement that shut down San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
in a 1968 strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
called the "Third World Strike". She also became active in the arts.
During the 1970s, López returned to San Diego. She enrolled at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
in 1971, graduating in 1975 with a B.A.
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in painting and drawing. She enrolled at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
(UCSD), receiving with a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in 1979.
Work
López obtained international celebrity for her Virgen de Guadalupe series of drawings, prints, collage, assemblage, and paintings. The series, which depicted "ordinary" Mexican women (including her grandmother and López herself) with Guadalupan attributes (usually the mandorla). The works attracted praise for "sanctifying" average Mexican women, who were depicted performing domestic and other labor. Critics, particularly devotees of the Virgin, objected to the series, which they viewed as a sacrilegious debasement of a holy imageIcon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
.
She continued her artistic investigation of women's labor issues with a series of prints called Woman's Work is Never Done. One of the series prints collection, one of which, "The Nanny", attempted to study some problems faced by immigrant women of Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
descent in the United States.
Her famous political poster titled Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? features an angry young man in an Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
headdress and traditional jewelry holding a crumpled-up paper titled "Immigration Plans." This 1978 poster was created during a period of political debate in the U.S. which resulted in the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1978, which limited immigration from a single country to 20,000 people per year with a total cap of 290,000.http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=593&page=20 With this poster, she claims that the modern descendants of the Aztecs and their neighbors have a fundamental right to immigrate freely to the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
because Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
claimed much of the western portion of North America as its colonial territory. (The Aztec territory itself never reached further north than what is now central Mexico; pre-colonial North America was instead populated by hundreds of independent aboriginal peoples.)
López has also curated exhibitions, including "Cactus Hearts/Barb Wired Dreams", which featured works of art concerning immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
. The exhibition debuted at the Galería de la Raza
Galería de la Raza
Galería de la Raza is a non-profit art gallery and artist collective that serves the heavily-Latino population of San Francisco's Mission District. GDLR mounts exhibitions, hosts poetry readings, workshops, and celebrations, sells works of art, and sponsors youth and artist-in-residence programs...
and subsequently toured nationwide as part of an exhibition called "La Frontera/The Border: Art About the Mexico/United States Border Experience".
López has produced two films, Images of Mexicans in the Media and When you Think of Mexico, which challenge the way the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
depicts Mexicans and other Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
ns.
She has also taught art in studios and universities, including UCSD and the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. She also mentored high school youth who painted a mural in San Diego's Chicano Park
Chicano Park
Chicano Park is a 32,000 square meter park located beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan, a predominantly Mexican American and Mexican-immigrant community in central San Diego, California...
.
External links
- Davalos, Karen Mary. Yolanda Lopez. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.
- Yolanda Lopez - Guide to the Yolanda M. López Papers, 1961–1998 from the California Ethnic and Multicultural ArchivesCalifornia Ethnic and Multicultural ArchivesCalifornia Ethnic and Multicultural Archives is an archival institution that houses collections of primary source documents from the history of minority ethnic groups in California...