Alma López facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alma López
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1966 Sinaloa, Mexico
|
| Nationality | Mexican Chicana |
| Education | MFA from University of California Irvine, BA from University of California Santa Barbara |
| Known for | Paintings, Murals, Digital art |
|
Notable work
|
|
| Movement | Chicana |
| Spouse(s) | Alicia Gaspar de Alba |
Alma López (born 1966) is an artist from Mexico. She is known for her Chicana art. Chicana art is made by artists of Mexican American heritage.
Her art often shows important Mexican figures. These include the Virgin of Guadalupe and La Llorona. Alma López uses her art to empower women. She also aims to empower indigenous Mexican people. She does this by using symbols from ancient Mexican history. In these old stories, women often had important roles.
Alma López uses digital art to create her pieces. This lets her mix different ideas. She combines elements from Catholicism with indigenous art. She also includes images of women and topics like racism. This mix helps her show how women and indigenous Mexicans are seen. It also explores their histories, which were sometimes lost after colonization. Her art can sometimes cause discussions. Today, she teaches at the University of California Los Angeles. She works in the Department of Chicana/o Studies.
Early Life and Education
Alma López was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles. She is married to the writer and poet Alicia Gaspar de Alba.
Even after moving, Lopez often visited Mexico. The image of the Virgin Mary was a big part of her life. Culture from both Mexico and the United States influenced her art.
Lopez studied at several universities. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from UC Santa Barbara. She also has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from UC Irvine. She later got a Photography Certificate from UCLA Extension.
Famous Artworks
Our Lady
Our Lady is a digital print made from a photo. It shows a performance artist named Raquel Salinas. She looks confidently at the viewer. She wears a bikini made of roses. Roses are a symbol often linked to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Below the main image, there is a butterfly angel. This angel shows Raquel Gutierrez. The way Raquel Salinas stands and looks is different from traditional images of the Virgin. Her cloak has pictures of Coyolxauhqui. Coyolxauhqui was an Aztec moon goddess.
This artwork mixes Catholic symbols with indigenous goddesses. It shows how indigenous female goddesses were sometimes replaced by Catholicism. Our Lady is about modern Chicana women taking back these symbols.
Alma López believes her art empowers women. It also empowers indigenous Mexicans. For her, La Virgen de Guadalupe is more than a religious symbol. She is a public figure. She represents her culture, community, and family. La Virgen was also used as a symbol in the Chicano Movement. She was also a symbol in the Women’s Liberation Movement in Mexico. Lopez says this shows La Virgen is not just a religious symbol.
Heaven 2 Mural
Heaven 2 was a large painting. It was shown outside Galería de la Raza. This was from November 2000 to January 2001. The mural shows a woman thinking about herself and her loved one. They are holding hands on the moon.
The mural was later damaged. People wrote Bible verses on it. The gallery also received threats. Someone even shot through their window.
La Historia de Adentro/La Historia de Afuera Mural
This mural was painted by Yrenia Cervántez and Alma López. It was created in 1995. It was on the Huntington Beach Art Center. The mural used images of water and waves. It showed the history of people of color in the area.
The agreement for the mural ended in 2000. In 2008, the new owners of the building decided to paint over it. Many art experts and community leaders tried to save it. They said destroying it was like painting over a famous work by Diego Rivera. But the mural was eventually lost.
La Llorona Desperately Seeking Coyolxauhqui
This artwork is from a series made in 2003. It uses the same model. The piece shows a young woman crying. She looks directly at the viewer. This refers to the legend of La Llorona.
Behind her, you can see the shape of La Virgen. La Virgen has her arms raised. Her back is to the young woman. Some people think La Virgen has turned away from the young woman. Others think she is asking for a female goddess. Or perhaps she is sad for a young woman who has been hurt. This connects to the story of La Llorona.
Coyolxauhqui Returns Disguised as Our Lady of Guadalupe Defending the Rights of Las Chicanas
The name of this artwork is inspired by an earlier sketch. That sketch was by Ester Hernandez in 1976. It showed a karate Lady of Guadalupe. Its title was La Virgen de Guadalupe Defending the Rights of the Xicanos.
Lopez chose to use Las Chicanas instead of Los Xicanos. This shows her focus on Mexican women. The painting shows a pregnant indigenous woman. She holds up one hand. In her other hand, she holds a sword. A halo around her head represents both La Virgen and Coyolxauhqui.
Her raised hand suggests she is trying to stop something unfair. The sword pointing down means she prefers talking over fighting. But like Coyolxauhqui and La Llorona, she will use force to protect women.
La Briosa y la Medusa
La Briosa y la Medusa was inspired by Lucha Libre. Alma López grew up watching this Mexican wrestling. This artwork focuses on female wrestlers, called luchadoras. Specifically, it features La Medusa and La Briosa. Lopez found them during her research on female wrestlers.
Lopez learned about Alicia Alvarado, also known as La Medusa. Alicia was inspired to become a wrestler after watching a tag team match. Lopez saw these women in a sport mostly dominated by men. She wanted to show that women have always been present, even in male-dominated areas. She believes young people should see this.
UCLA Mural
In 2014, Alma López and her students painted a mural. It was in the LGBTQ studies offices at UCLA. The mural shows the community and their friends protesting. They are protesting police actions at the Black Cat Tavern.
Awards and Honors
- 2018 Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Academic Senate's Council on Research
- 2013 Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship, Metropolitan State University, Denver, Colorado
- 2013 UCLA Diversity Program Student's Choice LGBT Outstanding Faculty Award
- 2012 UCLA Diversity Program for Innovative Courses in Undergraduate Education, LGBT Studies Program
- 2011 UCLA Diversity Program for Innovative Courses in Undergraduate Education, Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies
- 2009 UC Regents' Lecturer, UCLA Department of Art History and the Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies
- 2005 Durfee Foundation's Artist Resource Completion Grant
- 2005 Outstanding Community Activist, Los Angeles LGBT Center
- 2004 Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Visual Artist Grant
- 2002 Arts Funding Initiative Visual Arts Mid Career Grant, California Community Foundation
- 1999 Premio Pollock-Siqueiros Binacional
- 1998 Brody Emerging Visual Artist Grant, California Community Foundation
- 1998 City of Los Angeles (COLA) Individual Artist Grant
