Othervisionsothervoicesch8 Carrasco

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BARBARA CARRASCO Only in her late-30s, Barbara Car rasco has already established an interna-

tional reputatio n as an accomplished, sociallyconscious Chicana arti st Known widelyfor her murals in California, Nicaragua, and the former Soviet Union, she bas also produ ced many outstanding paintings , drawings , and animations that express the complexity of her artistic vision. Carrasco's work encompasses political, histo rical, and perso nal themes, focusing especially on the lives and struggles of wome n and ethnic minorities in the United States. Her ar tistic

efforts challenge viewers to probe beneath the surface and question the oppression, corruption, and dishonesty that have dominated so much of human history. Her early childhood provided her an abundance of experiences that later affected her mature efforts as an artist Born in El Paso, sh e moved to Soulh-

ern California as an infanL A third-generation Mexican-American. she grew up in the rough Mar Vista public housing project in Culver City, a resid ential Los Angeles suburb. Her neighbors were pred ominantly African American and Latino, many of whom wer e mired in unemployment or low income, dead-end jobs. Years later she stiU recalls chilling conversations with young peers about the crimes they had committed , including homicides. Thi s exposure to institutional poverty, racism, and violence tough ened her perso nally, fostering a consciousness that would eventually inform her entire arti stic work. Othe r family experiences helped foster a femin ist perspective that has also influenced her life and art She remem bers vividly the double standard she endured for many years, chafing as she and her sisters washed the dishes and perfo rmed othe r "women's work" while her brothers pursued their leisure activities. like many other young women of her generation, she had to be in by 9 p.m., a req uir emen t applicable only to the female siblings . Thi s strict, Catholic upbringing demanded rigid control of the girls. Her paintings and drawings throughout the 80s and 90s have helped her to overcome the sexist heritage of her youth. Her teenage years in particular catalyzed her political se ns itivity and awareness. A participant in the Upward Bound Program at Venice High School, she found oth er Chicano students during a special summer resid ency at UCLA These young men and women told her about her own heritage and history, realities largely ignored in her school experiences. Th is recogn ition of a vibrant Mexican past encouraged her to participate in the str uggles of her own people. Her activist background has contributed powerfully to her present identi ty. It has enabled her to identify and sympathize with all oppressed peoples throughOUt the world. And ironically, it has empowered he r to conde mn and resist the same sexism she has seen in the Chicano movement as she had experienced as a child.

Agure 8-1 "tte History of los Angeles: A Mexican Peescecuve" x BO' (40 4' x 8 ' panels)

wood 16 '

Mural on masonite and

Carrasco's artistic development both preceded an d coincided with her etnerging soci al co nscious ness. Both h er parents displayed strong artistic taleot and encouraged her to create her own artwork at home . Her fath er in particUlar admired the work of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, an influen ce that .-ou1d become apparent in her subsequent mural effor ts. In high sc hoo l, she advanced her own ar tistic techniqu e with the sympathetic guidance of one of her teach ers. Later at UCLA and in her M.FA studies at the California Institute of the Arts . she co nsolida ted the style and technique that have mad e her a leading socially conscious artist in Southern California. At the age of 19, s he began a lengthy, co ntin uing association with the United Farm Workers. head ed by th e legendary Cesar Cha vez until his untimely death in 1993. She worked on various political campaigns spo nso red by the UFW and co ntributed various banners and other visual works to the cause. She became well acquainted with man y of the people involved in the union, further suength en ing her own political commitment to the cause of Latino agricultural workers and others on the pe riphery of American society. By the early 1980s, Carrasco had developed her talents as a muralist. finding this public ar t form especially suitable for social and political co mm entary. Her initial mural project occurred in 1979, when s he collaborated with Chican o artists Carlos Almaraz and John Valadez on a zoot s uit th eme mural in Hollywood. Duri ng the 1981 Los Angeles Bice ntennial, s he documented the history of minorities there in a monumental work entitled "The Histor y of Los Angeles: A Mexican Perspective" (Figure 8-1). Painted on 40 4' x 4' masonite and wood panels, the effor t is a pa noramic historical vision, rich in detail an d reminiscent of Diego Rivera's historical murals in Mexico City and elsewhere. Like the works of her distinguished Mexican pred ecessors, it mu st be seen in pe rson , allowing viewers ampl e time to absorb its full impact and com plexity. The mural is thorou ghly multicultural in content Many important histori cal figures from African American , Latino, Jewish , an d other groups appear throughout the work. At the mural' s far left, the s tran ds of a young Mexican American woman's long hair e nvelop the entire pan orama. a sensually sym bolic gesture of solidarity with all peo ples beyond the mainstream of Anglo power in Los Angeles. Her long flowing ha ir also stretc he s across time. establishing th e historical focu s that generated one of the most heated artis tic censorsh ip battles in modern times. Unlike most other artistic effor ts for the Los Angeles Bicente nnial celebration, Carrasco's mural was critical rather than laudatory. Featuring numerous historical vignettes, th e work emphasized an accurate account of ethnic co nflict. political ch icaner y, and economic oppression in Los Angeles. Conseque ntly, Carrasco enco unte red an all too famili ar pattern of artistic s uppression in th e United States. The Commun ity Red evelopment Agency, the sponso ring city ag ency, rejected the mural an d so ught to reclaim formal ownershi p of the work. It main tained that the work was deficient on artistic grounds , citing its "cluttered" character.

....Like many examples of arti stic censorship, however. the real pro blem was political. not ar tistic.

eRA offi cials were disturbed

that Carrasco's images contradicted the sanitized official versions of regional history. They were em barrassed by the artist's use in the work of an earlier ce nso red mural in Los Angeles by

David Alfaro Siqueiros. whose "America Tropical" was similarly critical of California 's tr eatment of its Latino residents and imm igrants. That detail (Figure 8-2) replicates Sique iros 's depiction of a crucified Mexican, a bitter commentar y about life in Los Angeles for non-white peoples , His original mural was whitewashed more than fifty years ago and has yet to be res tored as of this writing. Redevelopment personnel objected to the image, adapted from a Dor othea lange photograph of that

of a Japanese-American child awaiting her "evacuation" to an American co tra tion cam p during the racist hysteria following the bombing of Pearl H Barbara Carrasco respond ed forcefully to the attacks on her artistic int by mobilizing community leaders. journalists, scholars . union activists. celebrities and others to join the str ugg le for free artistic expression. After years of highly visible conflict, with all its attendant emotional consequences the artist. she regained her copyrig ht and physical ownership of "The Hi of Los Angeles: A Mexican Perspective." Th e work was prevented, howe"';; from being situated in downtown Los Angeles and has only intermittently heel exhibited since th at time . Carrasco's stature as a public mural artist led swiftly to several invitations Co parti cipate in other artistic projects. In 1985, she traveled to the Soviet Unioo. where she collaborated with local artists 00 mural works in Moscow and Yet&' van. In 1986, she went to Nicaragua, where she co-design ed and painted I mural in Managua Durin g her visit. she identified closely with the Nicaragull workers and peasan ts suffering severe pover ty and recurring attacks froID American-sponsored contra forces. Her own childhood, replete with comparable hardsh ip, made this identification a wholly natural response. Returning to th e former Soviet Union in 1987. she conce ived and organized one of the most imaginative public art projects of her career. Working in Vert'van with young Armenians and Ameri can s ages 10 to 16, she found a uniqut

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r~ express a message of peace and human solidarity.

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the mural, she used a trolley bus. a co mmon public transportation in the Armenian capital city. "Peace Stamps" (Figure 8-3) consists of

ages of postage stamps, each adding an individual dime nsion to the overall e. Carrasco and her young collaborators transformed the entire bus exteinto a color ful socially conscious artwork, ready to s pread its joyful message Iefever it could be driven . As th e trolley bus traversed the city, it met with lOunding and enthusiastic public approval from an historic people who knew the conseq uences of persecution and war.

Flgure 8-3 "Peece Stamps"

Mural on trolley bos

More recently. the ar tist has em ployed computer animati on to advance her social objectives as a public muralist Working again on behalf of the United Farm Workers. she created a work entitled "PESTICIDESI" (Figu re 84). Di.. played in New York's Tim es Square in 1989. this simple and effective image communicated to a vast aud ience a message about the deadly effects of pesticides on agricultural wor kers . The UFW has taken a powerful and courageous leadership role in this issue of worke r safety and public health. Carrasco's ar t COnstitutes an integral part of that crusade against Californ ia's pesticide-using grape gro wers . Her efforts have also extended the domain of public ar t, motivating other socially engaged arti sts to seek new venues and artistic forms to express their own commitme nts to social criticism and change .

Fcure 8-5 "Bang," (Detail) Banners 3 ' x 3'

Barbara Carrasco has experimen ted with a variety of public ar t forms durir her career. In her 1991 M.FA exhibition. she created a series of painted ba ners to advance her social vision. Once again focusing on prominent ethn minorities, she high lighted men and women who have been targeted by oppre sive forces in recent U,S. hi tory. In this detail from ""BANGI" (Figure 8-5) , viet

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dSconfront 3' x 3' por traits of folksinger Buffy St Marie. UFW Vice Presiden t J)elol'es Huer ta , an d civil rights lead er Martin Luther King . Characteri stically, the artist reflects her co mmitm en t to ethnic solidari ty by pintly depicting a Native American, a Latina, and an African Ameri can in thi s iastaUation. On the reverse of the portraits . Carrasco reprod uces Quotation s

(rom her subjects that reveal their resolve to resist oppression and injustice. Huerta's Quotation is ind icative : "A Baton Can not Silence the Voice of Truth ."

for Huerta. this is no mere abstraction, for she was savagely beaten by San fl'1l10 SCO police during a recent political demonstration in that city. Clearly taretted because of her effective uni on activities, she lost her s plee n as a result of this egregious. unprovok ed assault She sued and settled her case; she now con-

tinues her lifelong struggle for justice and civil righ ts. Car rasco's ar twork

rtfiects the same dedication. providing inspiration to others

to follow s uit Concur re nt with her over tly political pub lic artwork, Carrasco also produces drawings and paintings reflecting deeper personal themes. In pursuing su ch themes, she is fully cogn izan t of the close linkag es of the pe rsonal and the polit-

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-Figure 8-6 "sne's Given A Bone-

Ball pOInt pen drawing 4 w x e"

icaI. At bottom , she real izes that intense personal feelings and exte rnal hurna reactions ar e inseparable from th e dominant realities of soci al life. In th eir ow uniquely creative ways, all the women artists in thi s book prom ote an identic. unders tan ding . An emotional work she prod uced in 1986 exemplifies this co nscious nes "She's Given A Bone" (Figure 8--6) , a 4" x 6" ink drawing, reveal s her feelings a

a woman in modern society. By placingthe unclothed female imageOil aU mouth wide open to receive whatever scraps may be made available, the emphasizes the continuing gender inequality in all aspects of life. For her, real ity has pe rva ded her entire life. It emerges eq ually from her ch ild and lescent experiences and from her adult life as an artist and activist Her recollectionsof supplication persuadeher that the modestbenefits derived this posture come at an overwhelming cost of self-respect. TIle deeper I>OUlli message is unmistakable: women must demand an equal share of family PIlI leges, artistic commissions. job opportunities, personal dignity, and ever~ else that men have taken (or granted over the centuries. "Bones" will no lorIIi suffice. , rt , Th e drawing also encompasses a similar perspective abou t race and social

class. The artistgrew up poor and Chicana in a white society. She has equalIy vivid memories of her people begging desperately for bones in a capitallst society preserving its privileges through institutional racism and other protective mechanisms. "She's Given (. A Bone" speaks with equal force to all people forced into lives with little hope and even less dignity. Carrasco also uses her art to explore her role as a lig ht-s kinned MexicanAmerican woman, with all the conflicts and confusions that that status inevitably generates. A painting from 1990 sensitively expresses her distress about her absorption into mainstream American society. "Milk the Pass" (Figure 6-7), loaded with autobiographi cal significance, depicts a nude young woman being swallowed into a milk bottle, signifying the dominant Anglo society. The last part to fall is the woman's long, braided hair, a Mexican traditioo for females, and a recurring image throughout Carrasco's work.. The artist also uses several other details in the composition to indicate her complex feelings about her cu ltural identity. At the base of th e milk bot-

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F''ilJre 8-7 -Milk the Pass· Acr)i1C canvas 12 · It 24 -

.. de for exam ple. are the numbers 8-5-55. the date of her birth in EI Paso . The no peppe rs at the side of the bottle also reflect Mexican eating customs. bUt they tOO are overw helmed by the much larg er sym bol of white society. ~rien ced viewers fam iliar with Mexican food also recognize that milk cuts the sting of spicy food, a furth er indica tion of th e declining role of community lJistoryand culture for Mex ican s living in the United States. Finally, Car rasco p1ICt5 very light images of cockroaches on the curtain in the background.

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'TheSt unpleasant pests. evoking strong memories of childhood in the public btJUsing projects, are also on the verge of disappearing, per ha ps a positive consequence of the impending absorption into white society. Millions of immigrants have had similar reactions to the Joss of their heritage. Like Carrasco. whose skin color and professional involvement in mainstream America mak e her wonde r who she really is. they mu st also grapple with the dYnamics of image an d identity. Whatever th e individual and co llective answers, ;I1WOrks like "Milk the Pass" stimulate people to reflect seriously about issu es Ihal will per vade this mu lticultural society for decades to come. Barbara Carrasco's art also celebrates various aspects of Mexican cultural history that have enrich ed her own life and work . Forem ost among them is the 'fibrant tradition of visual art. Her familiarity with th e great Mexican muralists gf the early 20th century has infl uenced her entire artistic direction for almost reenty years. Th roughout that time , she has eq ually acknowledged the importanee of Frida Kahle. the celebrated woman artist with whom s he feels a s pecial

FIgure 8-8 -Frida y Yo-

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affinity. Carrasco has expressed this close emotional and professional c0llntt. tion in several paintings and drawings. Like other women artists. she r~ nizes the immense value of identifying with a creative heritage long ignored by male dominated cultural institutions. A striking example of her Frida Kahlo portraiture is an ink drawing she call "Frida y Yo" (Frida and I) (Figure 8-8). Once again she returns to f301ililr imagery, th is time intertwining the braided hair of Frida at the left with her 01Il at the right. The hair of both women artis ts comes together at the ce nter, at. ating a lamp-like symbol that memorializes the linkage and illuminates tilt opportunity {or other women artists to discover their own creative ance Her close physical resemblance to Frida Kahlo in this drawing, mor strengthens the feelings of solidarity, an additional inspiration to her women leagues throughout the artistic community. Many of Carrasco's smaller scale works express the same overt political mentary featured in her murals and othe r public artwo rks.in the United and abroad. In 1991, Karen Atkinson invited her to contribu te a work to slide projection project in New York entitled "1992: Conquests Do Not Be Only To TIle Past," a public art event explored more fully in Chapter 3. raseo responded with a scath ing work entitled "Undiscover 550 Years" (Pi 8-9) . This car toon-like effort reflects her own strong dissent from the cele

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"uncrsccver 550 veers" Ink on paper (slide cartoon stri p)

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ory nature of the Quincentenary. Instead, she emphasizes the act of false giv-

ng that quickly tran sforms into real taking. The smugly dishonest expression of the European conqueror contrasts sharply the puzzled look of the inhabitant of the newly "discovered" land. The Euro!fan'S gifts. not surprisingly, reflect the treacher y, thievery, and geno cide that lave transpired for the past five centuries . Carrasco's simple image esc hews illbuety, an effective strategy to engage the public audiences looking quickly at he images being projected as they walk along the street in New York' s theater listrict. Th e satirical undercurrent in much of her work makes her an outstanding representative of that ancient visual trad ition. As part of a larger series ofball point pen drawings in the late 19800, she called dramatic attention to the hypocrisy of many right-wing American religious figures. Focusing on the discred ited Jimmy Swaggar t, she produced a scath ing drawing called "Here Lies/ Hear Lies (Figure 8-10). Th e title's play on words aler ts viewers to the forthcoming visual assault, Thi s small scale effor t is reminiscent of a calavera, traditional Mexican folk ar t for the Day of the Dead, popularized by Jose Guadalu pe Posada a century ago. Finely drawn lines and witty details combine to high light Swaggart's well publicized disgrace. The prostitute at the bottom of Figure 8-10 " Here Lies/ Hear Lies" Ball point pen the drawing wears only drawing 11 " x 14" sh oes and slinky hose, stuffed with the cur rency hat Swaggar t and other slick televangelists extract from their gullible audiences. Grasping his leg. the prostitute symbolizes the actual debau chery that

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virtually destroyed the Rev. Swaggart's lucrative operations. The preacher sell, replete with bible and microphone, sheds the crocodile tears that ingly mollified his supporters before his final encounter in the sexual un world. His ghost-like features represent his welcome departure from the national scene, facilitated with the traditional "hook" representing a failed ... unwelcome per formance. Extremely effective in its own right, "Here Lies/ H Lies" joins the distinguished tradition of anti-clerical satire produced by Bo Bruegh el, Goya, Grosz, Hear tfield, Orozco. and many others. Barbara Car rasco's political commentaries and her personal explorati solidify her stature as an artist of complex vision and enormous talent intense moral vision infuses her entire ar t. allowing her to confront some of major issues of the times. Her perceptive observations. impressive techniq and exceptional versatilty ensure an even more visible presence well into next centur y.