CHICANO ART MOVEMENT attends: AZTLAN 2015 ‘Mujeres de Aztlan/Desde el Corazon de La Mujer’ 2015
(AZTLAN 2015 - ‘Mujeres de Aztlan/Desde el Corazon de La Mujer’ (Women of Aztlan/from the Heart of Women) at dA Center for the Arts.)
Via: The dA Center for the Arts
‘Mujeres de Aztlan/Desde el Corazon de La Mujer’ (Women of Aztlan/from the Heart of Women)
The dA Center for the Arts
252 S Main St, Pomona, CA 91766
October 9 - November 21, 2015
“For the past twelve years the exhibit AZTLAN has been an exploration from roots of the Chicano/a Arts Movement to the vast influences that Chicano/a Culture has had on the entire South West United States and beyond. It has been a continuous observing the transformation of real cultures in a mythological land from original Mezzo American first nation people to the inclusion of people and their cultures from around the world. Ultimately AZTLAN is about a sense of a place, the environment that molds culture and what was as inhabitants have most in common. This AZTLAN exhibit, in it thirteenth year, focuses on the influence that women have had on this sense of place and the roll that the feminine heart has played in its transformation.
The da Center for the Arts is pleased to have Margaret Garcia as this year’s artist honoree. Margaret has been a participating artist since the inaugural Azlan exhibit ‘Returning to Aztlan.’ She has been part of the exhibit’s transformation and has strived, while helping to secure the legacy of the Chicano/a Arts Movement, to insure that the important contributions that women artist have made are not over looked. Margaret is a life long resident of East Los Anageles. She is a painter and has exhibited nationally and internationally for nearly half a century. Her work is represented in museum and private collections. She continues to be a prolific painter, maintaining a studio where she works and teaches painting. Margaret Garcia is truly una Mujer de Aztlan.”
(Photo of Margaret Garcia by Oscar Castillo)
Via: Rhett Beavers and Margaret Garcia
“The dA show is the Aztlan show organized by Frank and Cathy Garcia. They live in out in the Pomona/Claremont area and thought that there needed to be some representation of Chicano art in that area. Frank spoke to Margaret about the idea and Margaret encouraged him and made introductions and the Aztlan show has been going on for 13 or so years. this year it honors Margaret. Margaret invited many of the artists she knows, respects and has shown with over the past 40 or years she’s been making art. The folks include many of the old time Chicana/o artists as well as other artists from places as diverse as the Watts Towers and the USC art department. About 85 or so artists are showing and honoring Margaret.”
(Artist: Margaret Garcia - “Dreams washing over me” 2015 oil on canvas)
On Saturday October 11th, 2015 we took a trip to downtown Pomona to attend AZTLAN 2015 ‘Mujeres de Aztlan/Desde el Corazon de La Mujer’ exhibition, and partake in the second day of scheduled events honoring Chicana artist Margaret Garcia at the dA Center for the Arts. We were personally invited by Rhett Beavers and Margaret Garcia, so attending was a must. In conjunction with the exhibit the city of Pomona’s 2nd Saturday of the month artwalk was also in full effect. This would be our first time attending an event in the city of Pomona, California. After finding parking we headed on foot towards the The dA Center for the Arts. Walking to the gallery It had seemed we gotten a little lost. We stopped to look around and check the map on my phone for the galleries exact locus. That is when I happened to spot photographer Oscar Castillo using the trunk of his car as a desk uploading and sharing his photos. Seeing him assured me we were in striking distance of the venue. We greeted Mr. Castillo and asked him for directions, which he graciously pointed us on the right course. Later on inside, we were able to talk with Oscar, he also took a photo of Anita and I next to one of his photographs exhibited in the show.
(Artist: Ramon Ramirez - “Her Benevolence” oil & oil bar on canvas)
Walking into the exhibition we had arrived before the large crowd of art goers would fill the gallery. This gave us time to view and capture some images with plenty of elbow room. Viewing the line up of artists I was excited to survey artworks by Margaret Garcia, John Valadez, Wayne Alaniz Healy and Frank Romero. A couple of my favored works in the ‘Mujeres de Aztlan/Desde el Corazon de La Mujer’ exhibit were, Margaret Garcia’s alluring “Dreams washing over me.” I reveled in the hints of grand inspiration from Monet to Gauguin in her composition. The second artwork was by artist John Valadez, “Wedding Window” a mesmerizing realist work that bordered on the edge of surrealism. Other notable pieces in AZTLAN 2015 were, Ramon Ramirez’s vibrant yet serene, “Her Benevolence,” Wayne Alaniz Healy’s, 1960′s style “Serving the Lounge Lizards” and both of George Labrada’s velvet-esque looking paintings included in the exhibition.
(View of second gallery which contained artworks by Wayne Alaniz Healy, David Botello and Paul Botello)
Within about an hour of us arriving the house brimmed with a large crowd of art admirers. About that same time we began to hear the rattling of ayoyotes vibrating through out the gallery. The idiophone percussion instruments belonged to the group of Copali Copili Aztec Dancers who were there to perform a ceremonial dance for honoree Margaret Garcia, which closed out the event for the night. The main area of the gallery filled to capacity during the Copali Copili Aztec Dancers presentation. After viewing a portion of the ceremonial dance we stepped out to get some air and headed over to the related adjacent gallery located across the street. The second gallery was a more intimate space that housed fewer pieces, but most of them were larger in size artworks.
(Copali Copili Aztec Dancers performing at dA Center for the Arts in Pomona, California 2015)
During the night we were able to meet the dA Center for the Arts director, we were also introduced to AZTLAN 2015 curator Frank Garcia. I had the chance to talk to Frank for a couple minutes. He shared his story about how he teamed up with Margaret Garcia and the dA Center for the Arts to bring established Chicano/a artist to Pomona and exhibit. I commend Mr. Garcia for using his aspiration to bring inspiration through art to the Latino/a youth he helped guide as a teacher and principal during his tenure in the Pomona School District.
I would especially like to thank Rhett Beavers, Margaret Garcia and dA Center for the Arts.
More information on dA Center for the Arts visit: http://www.daartcenter.org
More Images: CHICANO ART MOVEMENT/Facebook page
