Intersectional Chicana Feminisms by Aída Hurtado

Author:Aída Hurtado [Hurtado, Aída]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SOC010000 Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory, SOC044000 Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Hispanic American Studies, SOC028000 Social Science / Women's Studies
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Published: 2020-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 11. Alma López, Our Lady. Copyright © 1999 Alma López. (Special thanks to Raquel Salinas and Raquel Gutierrez.) See more at http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-7526-shame-as-it-ever-was.html#sthash.z35zim2M.dpuf.

Box 8. Biography of Alma López

Alma López is a Chicana visual artist who was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in 1966. She and her family moved to Los Angeles during her childhood but returned to Mexico for frequent visits. The border culture and the Chicana/o art renaissance in the sixties and seventies influenced the development of Alma’s artwork. The core of Alma’s work is characterized by the reimagination of important Chicana/o cultural icons through a queer Chicana feminist lens.

Alma earned her bachelor of arts with distinction in studio art from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her master of fine arts in studio art from the University of California, Irvine. While working as a research assistant for professor and artist Judy Baca at UCLA, she was introduced to digital media as an art medium.

One of her first digital series, Lupe and Sirena, included a work titled Lupe and Sirena in Love. In this piece La Sirena from the lotería cards is superimposed over La Virgen, appearing to be in an intimate embrace. Reviewers dubbed Alma the “Digital Diva” for this series. One of her most notable works, Our Lady, was also included in this series. Our Lady features a young Latina gazing confidently at the viewer while wearing a bikini of roses. She is supported beneath by a bare-breasted woman with her arms raised.

In 2001 Our Lady was exhibited as part of the Cyber Arte: Tradition Meets Technology exhibit at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Soon after, Alma and the museum curators were inundated with criticisms and threats. One main objection was that the imagery of Our Lady was oversexualized and blasphemous, Alma argued that the work was about strong women and the lives of Chicanas. The model depicted in Our Lady explained her choice as part of her healing after being raped. With her spouse, poet and professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Alma co-edited a book about the controversy, titled Our Lady of Controversy: Irreverent Apparition (2011). Alma posted several hundred messages she received about the work on her website (http://www.almalopez.com) to engage in public discussion.

Alma was an artist in residence for The Serie Project and produced the serigraph La Briosa y La Medusa. She was inspired by Lucha Libre and the female luchadoras participating in traditionally masculine activities and flourishing in their pursuit. The serigraph depicts two female luchadoras in their masks, backless and high-cut wrestling outfits, and combat boots planted firmly on the mat, staring each other down before the fight. In the background, she included a selfie of her niece, indicating that watching others succeed is an avenue for youth to learn what is possible.

Alma’s work has been exhibited in more than a hundred solo and group exhibitions across the globe, including the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Sheldon Museum of Art (Lincoln, Nebraska), Richman Gallery

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