Harr Gam oa Jr. s Portrait eries xpands the Meaning of Chicano

Transcription

1 VI UAL ART Harr Gam oa Jr. s Portrait eries xpands the Meaning of Chicano Carren Jao eptem er 14, 2017 When photographer Harr Gam oa Jr. egan his portrait series, Chicano Male Un onded in 1991, the word Chicano implied guns, drugs and all manner of dangerous things. I started the car, turned on the radio and the 簀 rst thing that went on was an announcement from the news that sa s to e on the lookout for a Chicano male; he s dangerous, recalls Gam oa Jr. in a video with KC T, which is also on view at the Autr Museum of the American West, alongside an exhi ition of his long-running project, starting eptem er 16. That initial statement inspired Gam oa Jr. to seek out Chicano males that went against this prevailing stereot pe, men that were lauded in their 簀 elds. What the series achieves is not to give ou the correct de 簀 nition of Chicano male, ut to give ou nearl one hundred answers to that, sa s UCLA professor and curator Chon A. Noriega in the same short 簀 lm. Here s a glimpse of what a Chicano male can e. gamboa jrs portrait series expands the meaning of chicano 1/10

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3 Rodolfo Acuna Dr. Acuña is the founding chair of Chicano tudies the largest Chicano tudies Department in the United tates at California tate Universit Northridge (then called an Fernando Valle tate). Three of his 20 ooks have received the Gustavus M ers Award for the Outstanding ook on Race Relations in North America. Acuña was named one of the 100 Most Inᇱ uential ducators of the 20th Centur lack Issues In Higher ducation. One of his most famed titles is "Occupied America, A Histor of Chicanos," considered the de 簀 nitive introduction to Chicano histor. gamboa jrs portrait series expands the meaning of chicano 3/10

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5 Willie Herrón III Herrón is one of the founding mem ers of Asco, an avant-garde Chicano art collective that also included Gam oa Jr. In a 2007 article, LA Weekl calls Asco the the superheated core of the ast L.A. art scene, an underground legend in the making in the 80s. Herrón is well-known for his murals, especiall The Walls That Cracked Open, which he painted at the site where his 15- ear-old ounger rother was sta ed a local gang. This work is one of the estknown examples of earl Los Angeles street art, recognized immediatel scholars, art critics, historians and Chicano rights activists as a transcendent piece that spoke to the ph sical and ps chic violence surrounding man disenfranchised outh, according to the Los Angeles Times. MOR TORI OF CHICANX ART Harr Gam oa Jr.'s 'Chicano Male Un onded' Highlights Diversit Of Chicano Male Identit Chicanx Tattoos: From Prison adges to Venerated Latinx Culture Justin Favela's Outsized Piñatas are Colorful tatements on Latinx Culture ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// gamboa jrs portrait series expands the meaning of chicano 5/10

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7 Gil ert Magu Luján Visual artist Gil ert Magu Luján s work paved the wa for emerging Chicano artists to show in more esta lished art venues. He was one of four Chicano artists to ever exhi ition at the Los Angeles Count Museum of Art. Despite his role as one of the most iconic 簀 gures of the Chicano art movement, his work is not onl found in large museums and galleries, ut in ever da life; his whimsical st le full surrounds commuters on the Holl wood and Vine metro stop. gamboa jrs portrait series expands the meaning of chicano 7/10

8 alomón Huerta orn in Tijuana, Mexico, alomón Huerta gained fame in the 90s for his crisp paintings of lower middle- class homes and the ack of peoples heads. His depictions, while seemingl innocent, questioned the value and worth of these su jects to its viewers. ince then, his work has een included in Whitne iennial, Whitne Museum of American Art and has een exhi ited at the National Portrait Galler at the mithsonian Institute, the Los Angeles Count Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporar Art in an Diego. gamboa jrs portrait series expands the meaning of chicano 8/10

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10 Gregor ojorquez ojorquez is not our average photographer. His work 簀 rst gained attention when his photograph of a shooting on unset oulevard made the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Unlike the staid, posed photographs one would expect of Holl wood, ojorquez s images document street life in its wild, gritt and often sensual realit. His 2012 show at Hardhitta Galler, ".45 Point lank, was curated enedikt Taschen Jr., son of the luxur pu lishing magnate. The show and a pop-up galler also de uted in erlin and Cologne. Top Image: Framed "Chicano Male Un onded" photographs for exhi ition till from KC T video Like this stor? ign up for our newsletter to get unique arts & culture stories and videos from across outhern California in our in ox. Also, follow Art ound on Face ook, Twitter, and Youtu e. UPPORT TH ARTICL YOU LOV We are dedicated to providing ou with articles like this one. how our support with a tax-deducti le contri ution to KC T. After all, pu lic media is meant for the pu lic. It elongs to all of us. DONAT A OUT TH AUTHOR CARR N JAO Carren is the Arts & Culture editor for KC T. he is also an art, architecture and design writer. Her work has een spotted on Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Atlantic's Cit La and others. You can 簀 nd her online and on Twitter. gamboa jrs portrait series expands the meaning of chicano 10/10