Chicano Art: A Unique US Style, Driven by Pre-Columbian & European Influences - Essay Sample

Introduction

Chicano art is a movement that was founded by the Mexican Americans in the 1960s and the 1970s. The movement showcases the attempts made by the Mexican Americans to bring out a unique sense of style in the style of the United States of America. The artistic creations and style were profoundly influenced by the then Chicano movement. The artists were driven by the thoughts and the ideas from the pre-Columbian art, the post-Mexican evolution, painting techniques from Europe and the social, political as well as cultural mode of living by the Mexican Americans ("LOWRIDERS & THE OSTENTATION OF CHICANO MASCULINITY" 57). The movement was then started in order to go against the common names that were prevailing along with the various stereotypes that had been raised leading to cultural autonomy and the self-determination shown by the citizens. The Chicano movement was more of a socio-political movement that aimed at bringing forth the challenges that faced the people of Mexican American. The movement was formed in order to fight and advocate for the sociopolitical rights of the people. Among the main ideas of the movement was to ensure the promotion of the equal rights to all the native occupants of southwest America as well as to the larger parts of the United States of America. The movement was focused on addressing the issue of the citizens being brutalized by the police, the violation of the civil rights, the Vietnam War, necessary social services for the people of Mexican American and other issues related to education. Chicano art movement consisted of all the Mexican American from all the age groups in the community. The age variations used in the movement was to ensure that the civil rights for the minorities were catered for. It was meant to represent the concerns that may arise with the current generation and the future generations to come ("LOWRIDERS & THE OSTENTATION OF CHICANO MASCULINITY" 56). The art movement decided to use the symbols which meant to symbolize their past struggles as well as what they were going through at the moment. The Chicano movement entertained young artists who came up with the Asco groups located explicitly in Los Angeles. The Asco groups which consisted of the youths was formed in the 1970s; it comprised of students who had just finished their high school studies.

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The Chicano movement was more of communal activity. It was started with the need to create unity within the various groups in the community. This kind of art movement raised the community to be an entity of social progression. This was to make the people see the need for people to come together and fight for the right to equality and justice just like the other occupants of the united states of America who had achieved their equality. In a long time, it had been the wish of the Chicanos to fight for approval and be noticed by the American society so that they could have the right to communal land which had been given to them rightfully by the government of Mexico to be honored by the government of the united states of America after it had grabbed land from the Mexicans. The Chicano movement gained strength to fight for equality and justice right after World War II. The discrimination of the Mexican Americans aggravated this in their attempt to return to the United States of America. This happened when the servicemen were being interrogated an instance that indicated the apparent show of racial discrimination or rather segregation.

Another instance that made it even worse was the dining issues and the burial rights whereby the servicemen who passed on was returned to Mexico instead of being buried in the United States of America. The Chicano art movement was even spiked further by the national farm workers association which was formed by Chavez, Dolores, and Gil Padilla whose main aim was to bring together and create a cohesion of the Mexican Americans labor forces to advocate or rather fight for the improvement of the wages and working conditions. This was to be done through the formation of strikes, marching and boycotting work ("REVOLUTIONARY WALLS:" 54). This aggravated the Chicano movement quite faster; it was a move that led to the use of symbols of art such as the sign of the black eagle which was followed by the creation of posters with unique kind of art. The unique art posters were used to advocate for the rights of the workers even in their absence.

The Chicano movement was used to drive the revolutionary culture of-of Mexican Americans. In as much as the Chicano movement was later dissolved, the art persisted as the only thing that the activists used to channel for their rights. The unique art drawn by the Mexican Americans was used by the activists to challenge cases of racial segregation and ethnic discrimination. The art was used to endorse the citizenship of the Mexican Americans as well as the nationality and the rights to good wages and favorable working conditions. The activists did all these in order to promote and evoke social change. The Chicano art was used as an epitome of so many grievances that were being put across by the activists in the 1960s and the 1970s. The art presented so many themes that were linked to social and or political importance in line with cultural affirmation. The activists used the unique Chicano art in as a way within which they presented the alternative narratives to the majority through the use of the historical consciousness, the presentation of the injustices and all kinds of indignities that the people of the Mexican Americans went through. The art developed a sense of belonging to the Chicano people in the United States of America. The Chicano art has ever since been a pervasive form of education which was done for the good of the people and by the people. The Chicano art used by the activists had a strong ability to enhance conversations and dialogues over the issues that would empower the Chicano people to come up with solutions of their own.

The Chicano art is well known to take the approach of geography, displacement, and immigration as their central themes. The artists took up the approaches provided by the activists in order to bring out the presence of the Mexicans historically and the indigenous people who initially occupied the southwest. They presented the cases of human rights abuses as well as the undocumented immigration of the occupants. The art also gave out the unobstructed view of racial profiling and how the border was militarized (Rodriguez 78). The Chicano artists came up with various drawings which mainly focused on the fears and the dangers that the Chicanos were bound to face at the border. Most artists used the barbed wire in order to bring out their point. The barbed wire has been used as a symbol of the kind of pain and anguish that the people of Chicano go through by being intertwined into two different cultures. The Chicano art presented by the Chicano artists was used as a platform to challenge the evil deeds and the kind of stereotypes that had been formed against the Mexican Americans. The Chicano art also brought out awareness to the world on the broken immigration and the law enforcement system. At the same time, the art was used to politicize and mobilize the targeted audience to arise and take the necessary action.

The Chicano Art as Community Centered

The community and most people heavily supported Chicano art because the artists took up the form expression of their grievances through the use of art. For instance, the art was used to channel for the rights of the citizens. Chicano artists took a point of presenting the common issues faced by the people of Chicano and those of the Mexican descent in the United States of America. For instance, the Chicano art was used by the activists to advocate for the rights of the people by ensuring that the workers were given fair wages, good working conditions and the right to equality and justice (Rodriguez 65). This is a move that would create the attention of many people in the community. This is one amongst the most substantial reasons as to why the majority of the people heavily supported the Chicano art movement. Another reason as to why the movement was widely accepted is the fact that, the art presented by the Chicano artists was meant to stop the cases of racial segregation and ethnic discrimination which violated the burial rights of the servicemen who had passed on during their time of service were being transported back to their home countries for burial. These acts were quite discriminating to the people of the Mexican descent and thus they were in for the support of the Chicano artists who minded their social lives by presenting their grievances in an artistic form that managed to send a message as well as make the people to take action towards the regulation of the pain and anguish that the people of the Mexican American face in the united states of America (Krochmal 207). The fact that the decorative paintings and drawings done by the Chicano artists were used to beautify the environment and even connect the people to their culture especially the cultural arts done by the Chicano artists.

Chicano Peoples Park was the main epitome that presented the Chicano art to be community-based. This was through the community orientation and foundation. The murals which were created by the Chicano artists reclaimed the public places; this was a move that encouraged the participation of the community and helped with the development of the Chicano people's neighborhood. The Chicano art was also as elements of aesthetic beauty to the community. By the communities who originate from Mexico, they believed that the shared spaces by the people were to be considered as the public spaces. Most people and families of the Mexican origin were forced to share public houses due to lack of sufficient houses as well as the recreational facilities. The community art by the Chicano people was divided into two; the mural and the cultural centers (Gunckel 456). The art was mainly used to create cohesion and unifying the people to come together in fighting the common enemy which would result in advocating for their rights as a common factor for all. The Chicano art was supported heavily by the community because it provided a platform to empower the youths by the creation of groups such as Asco which were used to advocate for the rights of the ordinary citizens. The movement was formed for the good of the community, and therefore it was in favor of everyone's heart in the community. The Chicano movement gave a sense of belonging to the people of Mexican American descent and was therefore widely accepted by the community for it was formed for the people and by the people. The Chicano art movement also had developed community-based projects which were in favor of the youths in the community another reason for the great support from the community members.

Themes in Chicano Art

The Chicano art has maintained its originality through the various artistic themes which shows the cultural heritage of the Mexican culture. This has been showcasing the use of the religious iconography and some of the crucial elements and themes of their Mexican, United States of America and the indigenous cultures (Bermudez 97). For instance, la Virgen de Guadalupe, an essential figure in the culture of the Mexicans, has been widely used by the Chicano artist's to portray and bring out the idea of socio-political context by the artists in the Chicano art movement. His image was used by the artist to bring hope to the people during the times that the people experienced anguish and pain. The artistic image created a sense of empowerment especially where it was meant to characterize the average size of ladies or in times of resistance. The Mexica...