The concept of Indigenismo (Indianism) - Term Paper Example

27 March The concept of "Indigenismo" (Indianism) was one of the primary themes expressed in the Chicano Art of the 1960's and 1970's. What is this concept in relationship to the Chicano experience? Why was it so important to the early Chicano movement? Identify and describe a work of art that clearly illustrates the concept. As the 1960s approached, the Chicano movement embraced an “inclusive approach,” by including undocumented and legal Mexican immigrants in their definition of “Chicano” (Cardenas 166). Chicano also refers to Chicano in this paper. Whereas before, the Chicano was only the Mexican American, the Chicano has become more plural by integrating all people from the same Mexican race. This new meaning of the Chicano influenced new ideologies (ideology refers to a system of beliefs and behaviors of a people) and cultural concepts (Cardenas 166). The Chicano movement then developed a significantly politicized aesthetic that supported the Chicano working class and challenged the white power (Rosales 257). During the 1960s and 1970s, Indigenismo or Indianism became one of the primary themes of Chicano art (Rosales 257). Indigenismo refers to the integration of indigenous practices and symbols into Chicano art, and which played a large role in the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s (Gonzalez 27). This concept is related to the Chicano experience, because it recognizes the Chicano’s pre-colonial, or pre-Columbian, roots and supported the “universality” of Chicano movement’s Indian culture (Gonzalez 27). Indigenismo is related to the Chicano experience, because it concerned the recovery of the rich, cultural Indian heritage of Chicanos and Mexicans. Chicano artists used this cultural memory to represent the history and continuation of oppression of Indians. Through Indigenismo, native symbols and images, which some regard as folk lore, were included in Chicano art works and literature (Rosales 257). Indigenismo aimed to end oppression of all Indian groups in Latin American and American societies (Gonzalez 27). It sought to represent and emphasize the marginalized and oppressed position of Indian peoples throughout history (Rosales 257). It supported the egalitarian and revolutionary ideologies in Latin America and the United States, where the political, social, and economic forces that historically exploited and marginalized Indian peoples were exposed and opposed (Gonzalez 27). Indian civilization, in the view of the indianistas, provides a different version of the future that is dissimilar to “the civilizing project of the west,” and which struggles for Indian liberation (Solano 568). In order to attain this mission, a strategy was required, which re-valorized and re-Indianized ethnic groups and political units (Solano 568). This process was considered to be part of the struggle for recognition in the broader Mexican context of diverse cultures, languages and institutions (Solano 568). The Centro Cultural de la Raza of San Diego became the center of indigenismo (Gonzalez 27). The Centro became the meeting place of all Chicano and Mexican artists: a place where Native Americans exchanged works and ideas with other Mexicans, and where groups in Mexico, such as Mascarones and Concheros, as well as Mexican and Mexican American Ballet Folklorico, performed (Gonzalez 27). These collaborations improved the appreciation of the Chicano heritage in the United States and other nations (Gonzalez 27).Victor Ochoa, co-founder of the Centro, also significantly contributed to the making of the Toltecas en Aztlan artists’ group (Gonzalez 27). He also supported the large mural campaign at Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, one of the poorest Chicano communities in San Diego (Gonzalez 27). Chicano park is one of the most extensive showcases of different murals that integrated different indigenous Mexican images and exhibited the diverse interpretations of Chicano artists of their Chicano history and identities (Gonzalez 27). Other art works emphasized the Chicano and Mexican peasantry and working class as active agents, instead of objects of production (Gonzalez 27). Indigenismo is so important to the early Chicano movement, because it united Chicanos and Mexicans in their struggle, so that as a collective, they would recognize the historical and universal issues of the indigenous people against the oppressive White society (Rosales 257). Chicano activists used native cultural images and symbols to undercut potential ideological and methodological differences among Chicanos and Mexicans (Rosales 257). With Indianism, the Chicano movement interconnected the cultural sub-consciousness of Chicanos and Mexicans and their overwhelming need for the recognition of their civil and human rights, as well as their Indian history and culture (Gonzalez 27). Chicano artists used Aztec gods, revolutionaries, immigrant farm workers, and lived experiences of the people or la raza so that they could generate a powerful populist aesthetic (Cardenas 166). The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe held a special role in the movement of indigenismo, because it once unified Mexicans in their fight for independence from Spain, and would, once again, unite the Indian people against the oppressive White society (Cardenas 166). In particular, Indigenismo opposed the assimilation programs of the West. Acculturation refers to the process, where one cultural group accepts and adopts the beliefs and practices of another dominating group. It is different from assimilation, because acculturation allows the minority group to have a distinct culture from the dominant group, while assimilation aims to fully eliminate the minority group’s culture. Velasco asserts that indianismo pertains to an: Ideological and political movement, the objective of which is centered on the liberation of the Indian, not the liberation of the individual Indian but the Indian as a member of indigenous civilization, who lives in the collective memory of indigenous groups, and rather than having been destroyed, waits patiently for liberation. (Solano 568). Indianismo opposed assimilation and oppression of all Indian groups. It suggested an alternative future, where Indian groups led in fighting for their rights as human beings and citizens of their respective communities (Cardenas 166). Hence, indigenismo provided a universal aesthetic for Chicano artists, because it went beyond the socio-economic, political, and cultural issues of their times, and included the indigenous histories and struggles of their past (Gonzalez 27). Below is an example of an Indigenismo art. See Figure 1. It is a painting by David Alfaro Siqueiros and called "Indigenous People (5/10 Mexican Suite) / Indios (5/10 Serie Mexicana),” and completed in 1968. It expresses a social message to the public through signifying the culture and lived experience of the Indian people. It can be seen that the painting included an Indian group who seemed to be either celebrating, or congregating for some event or demonstration. Men, women, and children are shown in a collective experience, which also help reconnect to the ancient Mesoamerican past of Indians with their clans. Someone has both arms raised, perhaps in an outcry. Men have their hair long, which is traditional to Native Americans. This painting depicts the strength of Native American culture and their collectivity. The themes of collectivity and Indian culture and history aspire to represent the unity of the Native Americans and the same histories of oppression and displacement that bind them. In support of the Indigenismo movement, this painting reminds Chicanos and Mexicans that they carry the same past, and that together, they can forge a better future for their peoples, where Chicanos and Mexicans stand equal with other white races. Personally, the message it leaves is this: We are people, we are here, and we will stay where we are, for this is the same place that our forefathers built, where they used to hunt and expand their civilizations and cultures. You can kill us, but never our histories and heritage. Figure 1: David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974), "Indigenous People (5/10 Mexican Suite) / Indios (5/10 Serie Mexicana),” 1968, lithograph. Source: Antiques and the Arts Works Cited Antiques and the Arts. Newark Museum Hosts ‘Indigenismo: Ancient Roots in Mexican Art.’ 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. . Cardenas, Gilberto. “Unfinished Journey: Mexican Migration through the Visual Arts.” Art in the Lives of Immigrant Communities in the United States. By Paul DiMaggio and Patricia Fernandez-Kelly. New Jersey: Rutgers U P, 2010. 155-175. Print. Gonzalez, Anita. Jarocho's Soul: Cultural Identity and Afro-Mexican Dance. Maryland: U P of America, 2004. Print. Rosales, Francisco Arturo. Chicano!: The History Of The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Texas: Arte Publico P, 1997, Print. Solano, Xochitl Leyva. “Indigenismo, Indianismo and ‘Ethnic Citizenship’ in Chiapas.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 32.3/4 (2005): 555–583. Print. 4. What is "rascuachismo"? Identify and describe three works of art that clearly illustrates and/or employ this concept. Rascuachismo or rasquachismo is a specific Chicano popular sensibility or cultural aesthetic, which is most frequently, but not limited to theater and other performance productions (Allatson 200). It comes from the Mexican Spanish word rasquache, which means “provisional” or “poorly built” (Allatson 201). Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, a literary academic and professor at the University of Washington and Stanford, and a former member of the Seattle-based Teatro del Piojo [Theater of the Head Louse], defines rasquachismo as “the aesthetic sensibility of los de abajo, of the underdog” (qtd. in Barnet-Sanchez 92). It is a “visceral response to lived reality,” a strategy of survival for working class Mexicans and Mexican Americans, and which soon became a Chicano attitude or sensibility that manifested in Chicano art (Barnet-Sanchez 92). Ybarra-Frausto asserts that to be rasquache “is to be down but not out” (qtd. in Barnet-Sanchez 92). He explains the two ways by which rasquachismo can be shown as approaches to making Chicano art, such as through the “recuperation and recontextualizations of vernacular sensibilities… It can be sincere and pay homage to the sensibility by restating its premises,” or through the direct manipulation of existing materials and Chicano iconography ” (qtd. in Barnet-Sanchez 92). Rascuachismo is also described as an “attitude rooted in resourcefulness and adaptability, yet mindful of stance and style,” says Ybarra-Frausto (qtd. in Barnet-Sanchez 92). For him, others might misappropriate rascuachismo as kitsch, but rascuachismo is not kitsch, because it actively challenges the aesthetic hegemony, where hegemony refers to the autonomy of white culture over the Indian culture (qtd. in Barnet-Sanchez 92). Rascuachismo expresses the material plane of existence, where a rasquache aims to survive through resourcefulness (Barnet-Sanchez 92). Amalia Mesa-Bains, one of the most renowned installation artists and cultural critic, emphasizes the inventiveness of rascuachismo, as a depiction of survival and strength: In rasquachismo, the irreverent and spontaneous are employed to make the most from the least… one has a stance that is both defiant and inventive... In its broadest sense, it is a combination of resistant and resilient attitudes devised to allow the Chicano to survive and persevere with a sense of dignity. The capacity to hold life together with bits of string, old coffee cans, and broken mirrors in a dazzling gesture of aesthetic bravado is at the heart of rasquachismo… [It] is an obvious, and internally defined tool of artist activists. (qtd. in Barnet-Sanchez 92). She believes in the ability of rascuachismo to illustrate the survivor spirit of the Chicano, particularly as they struggle in a hostile environment. Defiance and resourcefulness are two particular characteristics of a rasquache. The political positioning of Chicanos/as came from a working- class sensibility that calls for defiance and inventiveness. In “’Domesticana’: The Sensibility of Chicana Rascuache,” Amalia Mesa-Bains describes the conditions of Chicanos/as that are rasquache. She argues that the word “Chicano,” with its local connotations, describes what rasquache is. She stresses that the responsiveness of rasquachismo is an understandable and internally characterized tool of artist-activists. Mesa-Bains notes that the main goal of rascuachismo is to “provoke” the conventional "superior" norms of the Anglo-American through representation of the daily reality of Chicano cultural practices. She says that through the extensions and re-definitions of domestic environments, the car, personal posing, and others, rasquachismo presents an ideology that composed as “oppositional identity.” One of Mesa-Bains’ works can be described as a rasquache, see Figure 1 below. The whiteness of this artistic work indicates the blinding dominance of the white culture. The only way that the Chicano can preserve their identity is to include morsels of their heritage, such as a religious icon and possibly other ornaments hidden inside the table’s closet. This is where the inventiveness of rascuachismo can be found. Furthermore, in particular, this work uses rascuachismo to define the Chicana experience. This space is a feminized space, where the domestic defines gender and racial issues: “The sphere of the domestic includes home embellishments, home altar maintenance, healing traditions, and personal feminine pose or style.” It is this sphere where gender stratification is evident, and where the defiance for it can be explored. The “room” is embellished with flowers, the symbols of femininity, especially the traditional kind that is tender and vulnerable. There is something unsettling with Venus Envy. Is the Chicano envious of the white woman? Or is it the other way around? Should the dominating gender and race fear for the “absence” of the minority? The more that one race is rendered invisible, after all, the more that is capable of fighting back. Figure 1: Amalia Mesa-Bains, Venus Envy, Chapter One (First Holy Communion, Moments Before the End), 1991 Source: Mesa-Bains Another work of art emphasizes the Chicano culture that seeks for recognition and respect in a white society. See figure 2. This sculpture is done by Luis Jimenez. It is called Fiesta Dancers, 1991, made of fiberglass and with urethane finish. It shows a middle-aged pair of dark-skinned Hispanic people dancing on a feast day. The woman is dressed in traditional Mexican garb with a long, swirling skirt. Her voluptuous body is shown through her swelling hips and breasts that are highlighted through tight-fitting clothes. She is overdramatically made-up. The man has a minor pot-belly and thin legs; he is wearing workmen's jeans and cowboy boots. The woman is almost as tall as the man and she courageously looks him in the eye; he gazes on her decollete. On the one hand, the inventiveness comes from using a traditional dance to depict the survival of Chicano practices. On the other hand, defiance can be sensed on the somber climate of the sculpture. Somehow, a sense of loss can be felt, a loss of freedom, opportunities, and rights (Whitney). Thus, this sculpture is considered as a work of rascuachismo, because it illustrates the survival of Chicano culture and its defiance for their oppression. Figure 2: Fiesta Dancers, 1991. Fiberglass with urethane finish, 12 ft. high Source: Whitney One more painting explores a modern issue that also connects to rascuachismo. See Figure 3. It is a painting from Chicano artist Tony Ortega, and called Madonna of the Border Crossing, 2008. It is a monotype with digital and etching and has a size of 9 x 11 inches. The inventiveness of rascuachismo is exhibited through the crossing of borders of “illegal” Mexican workers. It is interesting how the crossing is juxtaposed with two female icons, the Statue of Liberty and the Virgin Mary. Liberty stands for equality and freedom, and yet Mexicans, whose forefathers originally owned the Americas, are treated as illegal workers/residents. Furthermore, the icon of the Virgin Mary stands as a blessing to this holy crossing. It shows the defiance for American laws that prohibit the “rightful” inheritors of the Americas from living and working in their own lands. All these three paintings manifest the diverse struggles of Chicanos/as in asserting their rights as individuals and as cultural and racial group. Figure 3: Madonna of the Border Crossing, 2008 Source (11) Works Cited Allatson, Paul. Key Terms in Latino/a Cultural and Literary Studies. Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2007. Print. Ortega, Tony. Mi Frontera Es Su Frontera. Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. . Barnet-Sanchez, Holly. “Tomas Ybarra-Frausto and Amalia Mesa-Bains: A Critical Discourse from Within.” Art Journal 64.4 (Winter, 2005): 91-93. Print. Mesa-Bains, Amalia. “’Domesticana’: The Sensibility of Chicana Rascuache.” Zonezero.com. no date. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. < http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/distant/zdomes2.html>. Whitney, Kathleen. Man on Fire. 1996. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. . 5. What is the difference between the two art movements known as "social realism" and "socialist realism"? Identify and describe Chicano works of art that clearly illustrates and/or employ these two concepts. Social realism is an art movement that criticizes society: its social, economic, and political structures (Golden et al. 20). It is different from socialist realism, because the latter carries a socialist ideology, which is why some call it as Marxist or communist art. The governments of China, Nazi Germany, and Soviet Union preferred to use socialist realism in their propaganda of spreading their communist ideology among the masses (Golden et al. 20). They use paintings, posters, and murals to depict their communist propaganda and to ensure the spreading of acceptance for communist values and norms. Socialist realism then often portrays the peasantry or working-class, as they work for the good of the community. Socialist realism works exhibited the happiness of the working class, or the struggles of the poor that can only be relieved through socialism. Social realism is like socialist realism, because it has political content, but it is different from socialist realism, because it is not always about political propaganda, but also depicts social problems and issues. Social realism can show mundane activities, such as workers at their workplace, or Chicanos celebrating different traditional activities, like fiestas (Golden et al. 20). Mexican social realism aims to describe real social, political, and economic issues, as well as the need to own the forces of production. Social realism is not afraid to show poverty, inequality and suffering, which are prevalent to the Mexican poor and working class (Golden et al. 20). Art historian David Shapiro argues that Mexican social realism describes “both the struggle of the people to gain control of the means of production and some of the fruits of that power” (Shukla and Tinsman 287). Mexican muralists combined Cubist style, Renaissance classicism, expressionism, and fauvism (McCaughan 102; Shukla and Tinsman 287). These styles are also radical in their meaning and essence and often serve to question the dominance of a few elite on the working-class majority. Shifra Goldman argues that the main difference between Mexican social realism and socialist realism is that the former has raised the aesthetic development of Mexicans, unlike the cliche arts of socialist Russian works that serve didactic purposes (Shukla and Tinsman 287). Social realism can be subjective and expressive, while socialist realism tends to be heroic and didactic (Golden et al. 20). Realism refers to the subject matter that the artists wants to depict in as real terms as possible (Golden et al. 20). Social realism offers subjective interpretations of social and political issues and problems. Socialist realism, on the other hand, offers a similar and homogenous socialist interpretation of social and political concerns. Socialist realism can be seen as more concerned of political propaganda than promoting different forms of social critique. One of the murals that intersect social and socialist realism is Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads (1934). See Figure 1. By 1930, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera has gained international popularity for his abundant and ardent murals. His talents attracted wealthy patrons, such as Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. In 1932, she persuaded her husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to commission a Rivera mural for the lobby of the Rockefeller Center in New York City, which was then being built. Man at the Crossroads is a 63-foot-long portrait. It is a socialist realist mural, because of its portrayal of workers as they face the symbols of industry, science, socialism, and capitalism. The realism of the intersection among capitalism, science, and business is present. It shows the hardships and efforts of workers in a capitalist society. Rivera, however, in hoping that his friendship with the Rockefellers would be enough to justify minor revisions in the permitted work, has added an unapproved image of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin into a section, where there is a May Day parade. The use of Lenin is part of socialist realism, where socialism is considered as a better alternative socio-economic and political system than capitalism. By adding this image, the mural serves as a communist propaganda. The manager of the building asked for the image of Lenin to be removed, and when Rivera refused, the mural was destroyed. Figure 1: Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads (1934) Source: Rivera Another famous Mexican muralist has a product that expresses social realism. See Figure 2. The painting is called Zapatistas (1931) by Jose Clemente Orozco. Orozco was a Mexican social realist painter, whose main works were bold murals that launched the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and others. Zapatistas showed human suffering, particularly Mexican suffering. In Zapatistas (1931), the Mexicans with their swords signify the revolutionary stance against social inequalities. This is an example of social realism because it exposes poverty and oppression. It underscores that the Chicano will fight for their human rights and will struggle for social transformation. The painting emphasizes the need for the Chicano problems and issues to be recognized and resolved through the collective efforts of the Chicano. It leaves a strong message: Only through a unified Chicano identity can their culture and interests be promoted and preserved in modern capitalist society. Figure 2: Orozco, Jose Clemente (1883-1949) – 1931, Zapatistas Source: Orozco Works Cited Golden, Jane, Rice, Robin, Pompilio, Natalie, Graham, David, and Jack Ramsdale. Philadelphia Murals And The Stories They Tell. Philadelphia: Temple U P, 2006. Print. McCaughan, Edward J. Artists and Social Movements: Cultural Politics in Mexico and Aztlan. USA: Duke U P, 2012. Print. Orozco, Jose Clemente (1883-1949). 1931 Zapatistas. 1931. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. < http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/3600924722/>. Rivera, Diego. Man at the Crossroads. 1934. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. < http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/diegorivera_a.html>. Shukla, Sandhya Rajendra and Heidi Tinsman. Imagining Our Americas: Toward A Transnational Frame. USA: Duke U P, 2007. Print. Read More