School of Art & Design Faculty Publications and Presentations

History/Whose-Story? Postcoloniality and Contemporary Chicana Art

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2007

Abstract

Abstract: Latinas/Chicanas have radically transformed late-twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century art by introducing issues of gender and sexuality within Latina/o society, as well as by challenging patriarchal colonial and postcolonial orders. Their ambivalent relationship to male-centered colonial cultures and Euro-American feminism situates their artistic production within a bordered space, a decolonial imaginary as noted by Emma Pérez, that is saturated with personal and aesthetic possibilities. By recently gaining acceptance among mainstream museums, galleries, and collectors, Latina/Chicana art has set in motion a disruption of the center/periphery paradigm that often defines power relations in the United States and, in particular, the art world. This article discusses the work of three artists, Celia Herrera Rodriguez, Consuelo Jiménez Underwood, and Delilah Montoya, in light of their individual postcolonial visual epistemologies. Their work not only stands as an exploration and critique of historic objectivity but also responds to challenges brought about by contemporary political and social realities.

Comments

Individual publishers retain original rights.

First Page

22

Last Page

54

Publication Title

Chicana/Latina Studies

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