My surrealist portrait for this weeks project focuses on themes surrounding latinidad, such as discussions on migrants, first generation Americans, and cultural identity amidst a current tough political climate. I choose to represent myself in the present with a mixed media collage of newspaper, magazine cutouts, photographs, and fabrics. I was primarily inspired by Wangechi Mutu for the abstract approach to my piece, as well as Frida Kahlo for her surrealist pieces and focus on her own identity as a Mexican woman, “Because of her figures’ ultimate otherworldly manifestations, it was most surprising to see that they begin as rather classical drawings before they are reworked, manipulated, amputated, ornamented and otherwise transformed.” I personally enjoyed this quote when learning about Mutu and the process she takes to find her art pieces. I prescribed to this style of art making when approaching my own self-portrait project for this week again. The skin is made from a newspaper article of Donald Trump discussing Latinos and other minority groups in America in a derogatory way. The skin on my face is from a journal excerpt of the current struggle of Palestinians, a story more Latinos can relate to than not and as an echo of our past. The face and hair are taken from picture cutouts of people from all races and backgrounds, representing unity despite diversity of Latinos. I also have small red fabric roses on the piece, symbols of love for our fallen friends and family members.
I was also personally inspired by much of Kahlo’s work and beliefs. Within her work, she drew meaning from not conforming to traditional beauty standards, “That brow was meaningful because it didn’t conform to Hollywood beauty standards,” Even though my piece is a self-portrait, I choose to include a variety of different faces to represent the beauty I personally see in being Latino, and the many rich backgrounds we come from. Seeing beauty and resilience in the many different features that encompass us. I related also to her quote, “Kahlo suffered extensively for much of her life, and the most moving section of the show is devoted to her ecosystem of medical devices. But Kahlo did not conceal her pain, revealing her casts and leather braces with metal buckles in her work and turning her plaster corsets into art with elaborate designs of flowers, even a hammer and sickle. “She treated these second skins as canvases,” Ms. Small said.” Which again, this feeling of “concealing pain” is something many immigrants can attest to. & as a first generation American, it is often something you witness firsthand from family members and figures of authority as we grow up. As Latinos, we often swallow our pain, working hard for a country that seems to change its mind on us every other day.
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