Essay On Chicano Art Movement

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The Chicano Art movement inspired many Mexican-American artists in the 1960’s that empowered Chicanos and Chicanas. This inspired art to be created to show their identities in their cultures. Most of the stories that were being told were in murals near the road; however, they were men who told their story. Yreina Cervántez, a renowned Chicana artist, dominated the male dominating industry by breaking barriers, reclaiming Latina representation, and supporting the art community. There are many Chicanos who contributed to the art movement, but of those, who are women? In an interview between Christopher Ho and Cervántez, she revealed, “Women have not been very visible in today’s art, and if they have, they are portrayed very stereotypical” (Ho, …show more content…

Freese notes, “She currently serves as an assistant professor of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge.” A pioneer of Chicana art shifting careers as an assistant professor may seem as Superman with a new job as a pharmacist, but just like her artwork, she communicates with different perspectives and different backgrounds. Even becoming an assistant professor comes with its own hardships. They have to establish themselves to be deemed a qualified professor, similar to the struggles she had as an artist. Christopher Ho mentions her involvement to her community, “Cervántez spent six years at Self Help Graphics, a non-profit in LA that supports community art.” Although it was only a few years, she volunteered to the artists starting out because art was not a huge deal back then. She visualized herself in the young and imminent artists in Self Help Graphics as she was once an artist with an idea. “To Cervántez it was a form of social justice, a way to serve the community through art.” Cervántez is a role model to her community and to aspiring Mexican-American