Week III

  The artist that influenced me during these readings has been Mickalene Thomas. I enjoyed reading about what inspired her work and what she hoped her viewers gained from seeing her art work. She wants her art to start a serious conversation; "underrepresentation and misrepresentation black bodies and female bodies." I loved that she captures a moment of this by using fun patterns, colors, and textures. Her provocative paintings of African Americans who romanticizes feminine sexuality and power. In her fun photos of these women she states how the era of disco represented glitter, patterns, and expressivity. The perfect scene to capture the series of poses Thomas envisioned. "By selecting women of color, I am quite literally raising their visibility and inserting their presence into the conversation,” This is powerful because it allows art to be represented by a different protagonist. Thomas knew that changing the focal point of art would boost questions, inputs, and overall conversations that once were taboo. “By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art.” Knowing how sure and ready to change the conversation Thomas has, I also followed into her footsteps to recreate a series that represented Latina women being underrepresented and misrepresented.

"Belleza y Cabeza" - By Guemely Pinto

"No te cortes el pelo!"

    Coming from a first generation home, I saw myself grow with my parents together. As I was learning the world, my parents were adjusting to a new culture, America. My mom came to America when she was 20 years old, and she had very long curly hair, which in many latin cultures is a representation of beauty. My dad first meeting my mother, said that her black-bouncy curls captivated him. However, my mom has always been unapologetic. She did everything for herself and didn't let men (not even my father) shy her expressivity. She's fun, adventurous and different, literally the light of room. She makes a point using her confidence and sass. During their early dating times, she did the BIG CHOP! the super bob cut from the 90's with the curly bangs and dark red lips! Lets just say my parents have been married for over 20 years...

 "Belleza"

  As a makeup enthusiast I have been drawn by the media of certain influences and of course make up brands. As I got older I noticed how makeup has changed from the times I saw my mom wear makeup in the early 2000s, and the culture of makeup when I started, 2013. It was the thin brows, light smokey eye shadow, and nude lips for my mom's time. For mine, thick dark brows, harsh contours, and dramatic eye looks, (lets not forget Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge).  “We are seeing a rise of Latinx beauty entrepreneurs because they do not see themselves represented, so they are taking matters into their own hands, We are not one-size-fits-all.” Margarita Arriagada, founder of Valde beauty. Needless to say, I can name many influencers who didn't look like me. All had fairer skin, light eyes, and blinding highlighters on. Where's my Latina influencers? Wasn't until more filters were added to media that I was able to discover Chicana influencers and Tejana influencers, later I saw girls like me from New Jersey.  

"Trophy Wife"

Is it bad enough Latina women are sexualized on television? "This is in line with a trend that "Every Latina in television, movies, or ads is super sexy, voluptuous figure, always wearing a low-cut, skin tight dress," according to a piece by Cosmopolitan Magazine.  "That media portrayal transfers into the real world where Latinas feel the obligation to dress explicitly or are expected to do so by white men in order to be accepted in society, which can harm the way Latinas view themselves." Maria Moyas explained. I remember growing up watching novelas every night 8pm sharp next to my mom. Let me tell you, I watched Mexican novelas and sometimes Colombian but mostly Mexican. Now, the beauty of these actresses made you feel like you weren't hispanic enough. These actresses had body, hair, skin, features, that just made them look like dolls. I asked myself, "why are Mexicans made fun of?" when someone would say "You look Mexican" this was offensive. As I got older I knew the "Mexican" Americans would describe as, short, brown,  having aztec-Indian features, and hypersexuals. In reality, media filters diversity (before more than now) and have physiologically damaged Latina image.

"Ama de Casa"

Many latin cultures believe the purpose of a woman is to bare children, take car of the house, and feed their men. Although women now are breaking barriers of submissiveness, theres still change to be done. Our grandparents look at 20 year olds and are saying, "Wheres your husband?" No more "housewife" titles, we need more Latina working women becoming successful, chasing dreams, and making changes.