My Selected Work of Art
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| Tlacolulokos Smile now, Cry later, 2017. Acrylic on canvas. Museum of Latin American Art |
In this blog, I would like to introduce an artwork from the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) 2020 exhibitions titled "OaxaCAlifornia: Through the Experience of the Duo Tlacolulokos." It contains multiple paintings. These painting are created by Dario Canul (1986) and y Cosijoesa Cernas (1992), they are as the artwork title suggested, a artist duo called Tlacolulokos. Here is the context of the painting explained by the Gabriela Urtiaga, Chief Curator himself, "These paintings consider the relationship between the city of Los Angeles and the Zapotec communities of Oaxaca and California through the visual arts, education, social activism and literature."(Urtiaga)
My Research
While looking at this amazing artwork, in regard of its theme. I found a JSOTR article called "The Oaxacan Enclaves in Los Angeles: A Photo Essay" by Devra Weber that helps identify what exactly what the events that this artwork's theme included is all about. The article basically introduced to us about a little bit of history and culture about the Oaxacan immigrants here in California. Here is what the article explained, "Immigrants from the state1 of Oaxaca have gravitated to California in large numbers since the 1980s. They are largely indigenous Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Mixes, Triques, and Chontales. In Los Angeles, the majority are Zapotecs, from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Sierra Juárez, or the Valley of Oaxaca, who have formed enclaves around the city."(Weber 1) I would also suggest like to checking out this article to get the full experience, since it's a photo essay.
Connection
What's important is that how this artwork and the history that it's referencing can connect to cultural authenticity, and most importantly, how does all these connect to the theme of religion? Here might be the answer, "It transcends territorial and national divisions and describes not only a continuous flow of people, but also a network of symbols, and of a culture constantly reinventing itself, secured by strong networks of solidarity and belonging."(Urtiaga) Religion, in some cases, does not really relate to our beliefs in our God or Gods. If we think of religion as the word itself, we could also think of another word called "rely" which in this case, shares a lot more to what we have discussed in this blog than we could imagine. Through the wheel of time, we can see that the Oaxacan have formed its ties with California, or more specifically, in sunny cities like Los Angeles. In the end, I want to show a short video intervewing the artistic duo Tlacolulokos.
Interview with Tlacolulokos - Youtube - by LA Public Library
“Interview with Tlacolulokos.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3tPqOWe0Y. Accessed 11 Dec. 2021.
“OaxaCAlifornia Online Exhibition.” MOLAA | Museum of Latin American Art, molaa.org/oaxacalifornia-online. Accessed 11 Dec. 2021.
Weber, Devra. “The Oaxacan Enclaves in Los Angeles: A Photo Essay.” Journal of the Southwest, vol. 43, no. 4, Journal of the Southwest, 2001, pp. 729–45, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40170178. Accessed 11 Dec. 2021.
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