Querida MaestraArt Exhibition

El Mundo Zurdo 2013Activism, Philosophy, and Pedagogy

Curator: Anel I. Flores

Nov. 14-17, 2013UTSA Downtown Campus

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Curator’s Statement

Querida Maestra

Anel I. Flores

In the ethno-poetics and performance of the shaman, my people, the Indians, did not split the artistic from the functional, the sacred from the secular, art from everyday life. The religious, social and aesthetic purposes of art were all intertwined.1

When working with my hands on writing or painting, I open myself up to listening to the whispers of my ancestors that come in the form of gentle nudges of my imagination and my ability to see past what is directly in front of me but rather what is inside, under, beyond and in between the physical and spiritual. All of my work intertwines.

While gathering the artwork for the Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa exhibition, the same process of opening up and connecting the artistic with the functional and the sacred with the secular is priority. On a physical level, I also reread everything I can get my hands on, everything which Anzaldúa had her hands on, and listen to our Querida Maestra whisper and nudge us all into one ceremony, one dance, one altar de arte.

I am honored to be given the chance to work through our Querida Maestra in this exhibition and in my everyday life as an artist and writer.

Gracias, maestras.

1 Gloria E. Anzaldúa. “Tlilli, Tlapalli/The Path of the Red and Black Ink: Invoking Art.” Borderlands La Frontera: The New Mestiza 2nd ed. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books,1997

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CELESTE DELUNARed Coatlicue and Viva La GloriaWoodblock Print2013

My work is primarily about borderland spaces: physical, spiritual, and conceptual.  Those in between spaces are where I find myself, sometimes intact and sometimes, not so much. 

Biography:Celeste De Luna is a South Texas artist from the Rio Grande Valley. She was recently a Visiting Artist at South Texas College where she had a one person show “Nepantla: Art from the Four Corners of the Valle” and participated in the 2013 Texas Biennial.  You can reach her at litebluna@me.com  or see more of her work at www.celestedeluna.com

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ANEL I. FLORESCurandera Reverenda Virginia Marie RincónOil on Canvas2013

My work honors, explores, dissects and erects a home for women traveling through their bodies on the wave on gender, sexuality, love, skin, spirit, story and soul. Anzaldúa, her antepasad@s, along with contemporary maestr@s, live in all of her work.

Biography:Anel I. Flores, Tejana, lesbiana, writer and visual artist earned her BA in English and MFA in Creative Writing.  She is the author of Semi-Autobiographical Fiction collection, Empanada: a Lesbiana Story en Probaditas. During her 15-year career, Anel’s visual art and fiction has been produced and published in anthologies, journals, theaters, galleries and museums. In addition to her work as a community artist, activist and writer, she has been an educator and administrator in San Antonio’s public schools, and also curated and facilitated many creative arts partnerships with community groups. Her awards include the Mentorship and Leadership Initiative Award from the National Performance Network, a grant from La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA, The Yellow Rose of Texas Salute to Quality Education Award, and scholarship to the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Leadership Institute and National Conference. She is a member of Sandra Cisneros’ Macondo Writer’s Workshop and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. Currently she is working on a series of Silver Jewelry Sculptures, Oil Painting exploring her coined Gender Travel,

and a novel, Tiempo Olvidado.

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JOSH T. FRANCOIn tlilli, in tlapalli: three Tejanos in red and blackInstallation2013

I am interested in territorializing three notable figures’ bodies as Tejano. The three are Donald Judd, Sandra Cisneros, and Gloria Anzaldúa. These are chosen based on three factors: their philosophical explorations and political-aesthetic deployments of “red and black”; their conceptual and physical rootedness in Texas; and the role of their writings in my own conditions of possibility. Judd, Anzaldúa, and Cisneros each produce(d) substantial bodies of text. I am also interested in the inscription of these texts onto/as physical presences (bodies) and the space this might produce if presented together. One aim is that the co-presence of these three invokes a deterioration of borders between different aesthetic systems and their respective tribes who thrive in Texas: the art cognoscenti in whose cosmologies Judd is a central figure and the heavily overlapping worlds where Cisneros and Anzaldúa anchor different orbits. It is remarkable that these three not only reside(d) in Texas, but located the region centrally in much of their thinking and creations. Yet they are frequently figured as alien to one another (Judd and Anzaldúa / Cinseros).

“In tlilli, in tlapalli” is the Nahautl term signifying the red-and-black medium of the tlamatinime (the knowledgeproducing class) in which their wisdom was recorded. The red-and-black trope figures explicitly in key essays by Judd and Anzaldúa. Both evoke it in the context of indigenous Americans and the US Southwest as a territory. Judd cites the Hopi and Navajo and Anzaldúa “the shaman, [her] people,” understood as the Mexica. The pairing of red and black held spiritual, spatial, and visual significance for the indigenous, and consequently for Judd and Anzaldúa. Cisneros does not cite these indigenous traditions, but shares her own potent use of “simple” colors (including red and black) to produce sensuality in her writing as well as a clear concern for reading the US Southwest against the grain of conventional histories alongside Judd and Anzaldúa.

Finally, I am interested in the intergenerational transmission of knowledges. This interest is embodied in the act of hand-transcribing works by these thinkers and including “glyphs” of the artist’s own making into the work.

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NANCY GUEVARA¡Arriba Mi Gente!Digital Print2013

I believe in art that is accessible, art that empowers, and art that is socially aware. Accessible in that you don’t need to pay money to see it, accessible in that it is relatable and communicates effectively, art that does not intimidate. Art that empowers, art that reflects our communities, our pride, and our struggle. Art that is socially aware, art that educates, art that begins conversations, art that supports reflections over solutions. Art that shows the humane side of political and social chaos. Art and design that can help students problem solve, art that positions students as activists and critical citizens, design that allows for reflection and exploration of identity. Art that helps us learn more about ourselves and others. Arts and education that can give us the freedom to form our own thoughts, perspectives, and think beyond social norms.

My work has been heavely influenced by the writings of Gloria Anzaldúa, and this poster was directed by her concept of “El Mundo Zurdo”, the left hand world, as a process toward justice through education and advocacy. It focuses on bettering ourselves in order to improve society. I created this screenprint, to depict her activism and idea of societal healing through the acceptance and celebration of diverse linguistic, and cultural traditions.

Biography:I am Nancy Edith Guevara Medina, I am a designer, artist, and activist. I was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, where I developed as strong love for border culture, a passion for activism through art, a deep sense of social responsibility, and an adaptive reuse mentality and practice. I studied painting and muralism at the Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts under Jorge Vasquez, an artist and former bodyguard to Cesar Chavez. I went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin to study interdisciplinary design, where I gained a focus on humanitarian design. After graduating, I moved to Mexico City on a Fulbright grant to practice humanitarian design for education and youth. In Fall of 2013, I will be starting a Master’s in Arts in Education at Harvard University, focusing on the intersection of humanitarian design and art, social justice, Chicano studies, prevention and juvenile detention, and critical citizenship in youth.

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INES HERNANDEZ-AVILAAnzaldua CollageMixed Media2013

The photo is one that I took of Gloria Anzaldúa in Benicia, CA, in the 80's when she and I re-found each other, she drove over to see me, and we had a wonderful visit. She is still incredibly close to me. I am also Tejana, like her, on my dad's side, and we first met in Austin in the 70's when we were not so well-known. She and Yolanda Leyva and I were buds, dear friends. Gloria believed in me and I believed in her, always. We could share a look and understand each other. When I first read Borderlands, I felt tremendous joy in all my being.

Biography:I have been teaching since about 1986 at UC Davis, in Native American Studies. I have been in exile from Texas since 1981. Soy indigena through and through. Nez Perce on my mom's side, and on my dad's dad's side, we are from the San Luis Potosi area, with strong indigenous roots. Soy poeta, escritora, profesora, y guerrera espiritual en esta vida en esta tierra.

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MEAGAN A. LONGORIALupe la FuerteOil on Canvas2013

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“FE” FELICIA MONTESWhere’s Raramujer?Video Short--4 minutes2011

“Where’s Raramujer?” is a short video collage of various times that Raramujer and the bumpin bici have participated in street interventions. The video documents the various pieces into a creative video short interweaving performance, protest, and prayer in guerrilla interventions to embody themes of Mobility, Message, and Spirit. The artworks are public manifestations that investigate the aestheticizing of protest and move between privates spaces and public spectacles, thereby planting the seeds for dialogue and transformation of self and community. The work’s main focus is consciousness-raising in new audiences and getting off the stage, outside the gallery, and into the streets. The video asks the question, “Where’s Raramujer?” and thereby asks the viewer . . . Have you seen her? And Where are You?The character “Raramujer” is an urban indigenous woman who shares oral history and urban indigenous worldviews across Los Angeles. Within this role, I use my voice as a tool for education, empowerment, and transformation as well as other ceremonial happenings. Through these performance interventions I am a messenger of politics and peace who re-appropriates public space in marches and community corners as I ride a bike, play politically charged music, and share some of my own Xicana feminist political, spiritual, and cultural poetry and floetry/hip-hop. I ride along festivals and marches and sidewalks and street corners becoming both part of the events and urban setting as a performance and also making my life as a Xicana protestor and performing artist my art. I also share much of my indigenous traditions and songs thereby creating public ritual and performance prayers in the streets. The video is available on DVD or in a QuickTime file.

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MARICELA OLGUINRiver and Serpent Vinyl and Papel Picado2013

I like to use the old school tradition of Mexican folk art paper cutting with the recent photographs of everyday people. This is how I like to keep the memory of my ancestors alive in my everyday life. In River and Serpent, I use an image of Gloria with her arms held open and one arm is el rio and the other is the serpent. Water helps us heal, grow and its currents bring us new adventures in life. The serpent is a mix of rattlesnakes and indigenous iconography, and the struggle of one trying to be one or the other. The one thing that holds us all together is the corn. Seeds that were planted by our ancestors that give us our roots, traditions and nutrients.

Biography:Maricela Olguin, a local San Antonio, Chicana artist uses her cultural and creative expertise to enrich the community. Since her childhood days of dancing folklorico for an international ensemble, she has been devoted to creating artwork that stirs emotions and preserves cultura. She is the founder of Cochina and the owner and baker at Sweet Chela’s Bakery. 

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GENEVIEVE RODRIGUEZSin Vergüenza on the Line

Acrylic on Canvas2013

In this painting I wanted to create a challenging space. I wanted to invoke our malcreada desires and speak to the timelessness of struggles through accountability, communication, growth

identities and language.

Biography:Genevieve Rodriguez is a Queer Latina cultural organizer working within theater/performance, visual arts y labor to learn, grow, challenge, heal and love alongside incredible jot@s in my communities.

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ANITA TIJERINA REVILLAQuerida Maestra: Anzalduista y Muxerista SiempreOil paint2013

As a self-identified Anzalduista, her paintings are visual representations of muxeristas, Chican@/Latin@ feminists, and Joteria. Guided by Anzaldúa's call for healing and transformation, her art documents radical queer feminist love.

Biography:For twenty years, Anita wanted to take an art class, so in 2011 she took her first art class. She's pleased to share her art with you, con mucho amor. Anita Tijerina Revilla is Associate Professor and Director of Women's Studies at University of Nevada Las Vegas. She teaches Chicana/Latina Feminism, Critical Race Feminism and Radical Feminist and Queer Love. Her research focuses on student movements and social justice education, specifically in the areas of Chicana/Latina, immigrant, feminist and Queer rights activism. Her expertise are in the areas of Joteria Studies, Chicana/o Education, Women of Color Feminism, and Critical Race/Ethnic Studies.

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LUIS VALDERASThere Was a Time Mixed Media2013

I create because I have always wanted to see further—to collapse borders, to transform and explore social and cultural ambiguities that exist in that space in between. Growing up on the frontera and my father’s stories revealed spaces of shared experiences. These stories and experiences, fueled with my interest in Mesoamerican mythology and iconography present themselves in my work. The images explore possibilities by isolating and rearranging iconic components of realities. By retelling my family’s story while at the same time representing them as collective cultural icons I connect the collective experience of past and present generations.

We have collective experiences. Carmen Tafolla’s poem, This River Here, brought back memories-my history with my parents, brothers and sister. It represents images of my history floating in the space between memory and reality. The lattice is ambiguous; an allusion to the earth mother along a reed-covered river peppered with skulls suggesting our ancestors while the streaks of fingers grab at the chain links of a fence. Through the mist, a couple stands together hand in hand, an allusion to life and survival on the border.

Biography:A native of The Rio Grande Valley, Valderas‘ work is featured in; Chicano Art for Our Millennium & Triumph in Our Communities, by Bilingual Review Press. Permanent collections include: Arizona State University, the University of Texas San Antonio, the San Antonio Museum of Art and the Art Museum of South Texas.

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LILIANA WILSONNiña y lunaColor Pencil & Acrylic on Paper2013

Through drawings and paintings, I explore the power of complex emotions implicit in the human struggle for integrity. My images come from the subconscious - realities colliding on multiple levels while beauty emanates from my subjects. Recently, my work has shifted to incorporate spiritual aspects of the universe and its surrounding beauty as necessary components of our human experience.

About the work:There is an ethereal, otherworldly beauty in all of Wilson’s work that also lures the viewer to a place of hidden messages, mystical tales untold and lives to be lived. The paintings/drawings are intimate and moving, telling stories with the outcome left up to the viewer.

Biography:Liliana Wilson was born in Valparaíso, Chile where she began drawing at the age of eight. As a young woman, she studied law, but quickly became disenchanted after Chile suffered a military coup that lasted 25 years. She immigrated to the United States in 1977 and pursued formal studies in art, at Austin Community College and at Texas State University. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Italy.

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CLAUDIA ZAPATAEn boca cerrada no entran moscas (Flies don't enter a closed mouth)Acrylic2013

In Gloria Anzaldúa's pivotal publication, Borderlands, there is a phrase that is deconstructed and which my grandparents say; "En boca cerrada no entran moscas" (Flies don't enter a closed mouth). Whenever this adage was uttered I always had a personal, literal visual manifestation of such an experience of a fly actually entering into a mouth. This creation of a consequential agency for women struck a nerve and to queer this saying I decided to create an image that portrayed an assertive mouth, tongue and desire for flies-with flies being a metaphor for information and in essence a personal truth.

Biography:Claudia Elisa Zapata is an award-winning art historian and curator with a B.A. and M.A. in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently the Curator of Exhibitions and Programs at the Mexic-Arte Museum. She co-founded ChingoZine, a Latino art zine and the Puro Chingon Collective, a local Latino arts collective. Her art historical specialties range from Classic Maya art to Contemporary Latino/Chicano art and she is currently developing an educational resource webpage, chicanoarthistory.com. 

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RENE RIO YAÑEZ & SARAH GUERRAComprometida: Flowers or Maiz? expresses the Nepantla zeitgeist of Queer women in Tejas.Photography and Digital Art2013

Drawing on traditional Mexican wedding portraits and contemporary graphic art Comprometida: Flowers or Maiz? expresses the Nepantla zeitgeist of Queer women in Tejas. The images feature Anel and Erika a traditional San Antonio Lesbiana couple whose love is not being recognized by the Government or mainstream society. The portraits features symbols like corn and tampons in defiant response to the struggle for Queer rights and women’s rights in Tejas.

Biographies: Rio Yañez is a curator and graphic artist from San Francisco, California. His work mixes Chicano icons and pop culture as a tool for exploring identity politics. He has exhibited his work from San Antonio to Tokyo.

Sarah Guerra as born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and currently resides in Oakland, CA. She is a photographer, cultural worker, and warrior of the non-profit arts. Guerra doesn’t kill for the thrill, but she cuts for the cause.

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The Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúahttp://www.ssganzaldua.org

The Women’s Studies Institute at UTSAhttp://www.utsa.edu/wsi/

Latin@ Studies ProgramUniversity of Missouri – Kansas City