Where is home?

Since this column was filed, murals by Willie Herron and Frank Romero were partially painted over, funding for a mural at Olvera Street reappeared and a new Chicano Art publication made it's debut. Plus, critics have embraced a story based in Echo Park, showing that films on the Mexican-American experience have come of age,  a Chicano Arts institution gets a letter, we lost a Keeper of Stories,  and Culture Clash opens "Water and Power." From the August 2006 Arts District Citizen version of View From a Loft:

Art with a Latino voice is homeless. Its history rests on walls as murals or it wanders from gallery to gallery as Chicano Art.  As it matures from its grassroots sources, it's expanding into a movement that encompasses diverse Latino voices. And that growing influence needs a place where it can be studied by anyone with an interest in art history.

Cheech Marin is an advocate of the label 'Chicano Art,' but thoughtful artists and supporters that are more independent don't hold tightly to the name. Rae Anne Robinett, Curator for Patricia Correia Gallery in Santa Monica, has fought for using the label sparingly because, as she says, "This work is a viable form of American Art and should be presented as such." To her, labeling it Chicano Art does more damage than good. Man One, graffiti-artist-turned-muralist, is aware of his role as a leader in Chicano Art, but he sees his work as "an underground voice brought to the street." Even Ernie Varela, an El Salvadorian CalArts photography student, feels his ethnicity is in "international waters," but states, "You don't want to lose your own [ethnic] voice, but developing it depends on historical reference."

In academics, art by Americans of Mexican ancestry -- Chicanos, Hispanics, and Latinos -- should no longer be isolated or housed exclusively within Chicano Studies programs or departments, but rather included as an art form within Humanities departments that recognize its place among other forms of artistic expression. This proposed new conceptual home for Chicano Art would, of course, take into account where and how the art form developed and where previous artists were raised and influenced. What's necessary is an accessible education with adequate resources. There needs to be a vast library of work that is close at hand, where students can focus both on Latino artists and on non-Latino artists working with Latino themes, as seen in murals.

The potential institution for this already exists: California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). It could easily become the home of an art history major that emphasizes Chicano/Latino themes, explores studio art and mural and East L.A.'s place in the development of an American Art movement. CSULA has alumni that includes Frank Romero.  The neighborhood brought us Gronk, Willie Herron, and Paul Botello, to name a few. (If I listed all the names, it would fill two pages of this publication.) Around CSULA, you would find a living laboratory: some of Los Angeles' most visible murals are down the hill from the campus, from David Squieros' "América Tropical" (1932) just across the river, to Willie Herron's "The Wall That Cracked Open" (1972), just across the 10 freeway.

According to Sean J. Kearns, Director of Media Relations for CSULA's Office of Public Affairs, the Fall of 2005's campus enrollment was 36.1% Mexican-American (6,105 students). An additional 15.5% identified themselves as Latino (2,616 students). Among CSU campuses, CSULA has the largest percentages for these respective groups. Kearns adds, "I'm struck by the focus of the students, where the education, not the 'college experience' is why they are here." While this resourcefulness can be interpreted as a disenfranchised college experience -- as students balance time between classes, jobs or families -- it also represents a constant theme in Chicano Art: creating something tangible from available resources.

CSULA has an identity that isn't well known. Its alumni have already paved roads for Chicano Art. The neighborhood's history -- the way it interpets its own history and the work of its artists -- has already inspired several generations. So as all institutions, from private universities to city colleges, show students how to create innovative art; a Chicano/Latino Art History program at CSULA can be a place where you discovery why.

Photo: "Going to the Olympics" By Frank Romero. Taken July 2006 / View From a Loft

Comments

[Memo Pisa el Lodo]

also... harry gamboa teaches classes at CSULA every now and then.

[e@v]

Good point, Memo.

[katrina alexy]

Bravo! CSULA is a university that is rich in history and culture. I attended CSULA in the late 80's studying theatre under the likes of Jose Cruz Gonzales, Susan Mason, and many more talented and committed instructors widening our ideas of theatre to include playwrites of all races and cultures with an emphasis on Latino works. I feel I walked away from my B.A. at CSULA enriched and truly "educated" with an even larger appreciation of the working class and the immigrant experience. Almost all of us studying at CSULA were first generation Americans and first to attend college, many of us (myself included) putting ourselves through school. Although I am white, and was a minority at CSULA, I felt I was part of an incredible movement in art and theatre that was uniquely Los Angeles. I felt CSULA represented my city better than any other place and, to this day, my experience from those college days informs me and feeds me creatively. I am just sorry more people do not take the time to explore all that CSULA has to offer the community at large. This school truly represents Los Angeles.
Katrina Alexy