Ester Hernandez facts for kids

Ester Hernández (born 1944) is a talented Chicana artist from the California Bay Area. She is famous for her prints and pastel drawings. Her art often highlights important topics like the rights of farm workers, cultural issues, and women's rights. Ester Hernández was also an activist in the Chicano Arts Movement during the 1960s. She created art that spoke out for social justice, civil rights, and the Farm Worker Movement.

Early Life and Learning

Ester Hernández is a Chicana, meaning she has both Yaqui and Mexican family roots. She was born in Dinuba, a small town in the middle of California's San Joaquin Valley. Her parents and other family members worked as farmworkers.

In 1976, Ester Hernández earned her Bachelor of Art degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Her Art Career

Ester Hernández's artwork has been shown in many places, both in the United States and around the world, since 1973. She has received awards and special projects from groups like the California Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her art is kept in the permanent collections of almost twenty museums. These include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Ester Hernández often finds ideas and strength from her personal heroes. These include the famous artist Frida Kahlo, civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, and singer Lydia Mendoza.

In 2024, her art was part of a big exhibition called Xican-a.o.x. Body. This show was at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in Florida. It featured artworks from the 1960s up to today.

About Her Life

Ester Hernández currently lives in San Francisco, California.

Famous Artworks

La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo los Derechos de Los Xicanos (1976)

La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo los Derechos de Los Xicanos is an etching that Ester Hernández made in 1976. She created it while she was a student at UC Berkeley. This print is now in the Smithsonian Museum of Art. It is seen as the first artwork to show Our Lady of Guadalupe in a new way, from a Chicana feminist point of view.

In this etching, Our Lady of Guadalupe looks familiar with her halo and blue cloak. But in Hernández's art, she wears a karate uniform and is doing a powerful kick! Even the angel's face looks different.

Ester Hernández was inspired by her own life to create this piece. She shared that after her grandmother's funeral, she felt the traditional image of Our Lady of Guadalupe didn't truly show her strong grandmother. Her grandmother had sixteen children and worked hard in the fields. At the same time, Ester was taking a self-defense class with other Chicana women.

This etching changes Our Lady of Guadalupe from a calm figure to an active, strong one. It shows the hard work women do for social justice. It also celebrates the strength and spirit of Chicana women.

Libertad (1976)

Libertad is another etching from 1976. Hernández made it as a response to the American Bicentennial celebration. The artwork shows a female artist, often seen as a Chicana artist, chipping away at the Statue of Liberty. As she chips, a Mayan Sculpture is revealed underneath. In Libertad, Hernández re-imagines the Statue of Liberty to bring attention to the history of the Americas and honor native peoples.

Sun Mad (1982)

Sun Mad (ofrenda dedicated to the artist's father, a farm worker from the San Joaquin Valley, CA) (1989) at the National Museum of Mexican Art in 2023

Sun Mad is a screen print from 1982. In this artwork, Ester Hernández changes the famous red-bonneted woman from the Sun-Maid raisin box into a skeleton. She did this to protest against the use of harmful insecticides on farms. This print is in the collections of the Los Angeles Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Hernández explained that she created Sun Mad out of anger and fear. She worried about what would happen to her family and community because of these chemicals.

This image was also part of an art display in 1989, also called Sun Mad. This display was dedicated to her father, who was a farm worker in California.

Tejido de los Desaparecidos / Weaving of the Disappeared (1984)

Tejido de los Desaparecidos is a silkscreen print from 1984. This artwork comments on the civil war in Guatemala, which caused many Maya people to disappear or be killed. The print looks like a traditional Guatemalan shawl (rebozo). But it also includes small white images of helicopters, skeletons, and red blood splatters.

La Ofrenda (1990)

La Ofrenda is a screen print created in 1990. This print is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum of Mexican Art.

The print shows a woman with a short, punk-style haircut. She is facing away, showing a tattoo of La Virgen de Guadalupe on her back. La Virgen de Guadalupe is a strong symbol for women in Chicanx history. By showing this tattoo, Hernández questions old ideas about women's roles.

La Virgen De Las Calles (2001)

In 2001, Hernández created La Virgen de las Calles (Virgin of the Streets). This pastel print honors hard-working Latina women, showing them in a special and divine way. The woman in the print wears a red sweatshirt with "USA" on it, jeans, and a green and red striped shawl with stars. The shawl looks like the cloak of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In front of the woman is a bucket of roses with the word "future." The roses also connect to the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe appearing to Juan Diego.

This artwork was very important to Hernández. She wanted to show the love a Chicana mother has for her family. She said that many Chicana mothers, like the one in this piece, "work day and night to educate their children because they know this is the greatest gift a parent can give a child."

BudaLupe (2007)

BudaLupe is a mixed media painting from 2007. It uses acrylic paint and Japanese paper collage. The painting combines images of both the Buddha and Our Lady of Guadalupe. The artwork is inspired by Japanese culture, like Shintoism and Buddhism, and art forms like papermaking. This mix of cultures in BudaLupe shows the artist's own family background and the idea that different cultures make life richer.

Sun Raid (2008)

Sun Raid is a screen print from 2008. It is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection. Hernández re-imagined her classic Sun Mad artwork to speak out against the many workplace raids and the creation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the George W. Bush administration. These actions were taken for "national security." Sun Raid suggests these strategies were a result of globalization and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Hernández uses images like traditional clothing, a skeleton figure, and a wrist monitor that says "ICE." She connects the effects of globalization to the forced movement of indigenous communities, who were often undocumented immigrants affected by these security strategies.

Wanted (2010)

Wanted is a screen print Hernández made in 2010. It was a response to anti-immigration laws like SB 1070 in Arizona, which allowed for racial profiling. The print looks like a police "wanted" poster. It shows Our Lady of Guadalupe as a "wanted terrorist" by the "President of Arizona." The poster includes a description, fake names, and front and side pictures of an ordinary-looking woman who represents La Virgen. The artist said that La Virgen de Guadalupe "represents the resilient spirit of our people, and that can never be captured or taken away." La Virgen de Guadalupe is a very important symbol for Mexican identity.

CUANDO BAILA YEMAYA (2014)

CUANDO BAILA YEMAYA is a print created by Hernández in 2014. The print shows her interpretation of the goddess Yemọja, also known as Yemaya. It includes symbols linked to her, such as cowrie shells, fans, and watermelon. This goddess, who comes from the Yoruba culture, is important in many different cultures. She is often connected to the worship of the Virgin Mary in Latin American traditions.

Solo Art Shows

• The Defiant Eye, Galeria de La Raza, San Francisco (1988)
• Sun Mad Installation, Mexican Museum, San Francisco (1993)
• The Art of Provocation: Ester Hernandez - A Retrospect, Gorman Gallery, University of California, Davis (1995)
• Day of the Dead, CreArte Gallery, Minneapolis (1996)
• Ester Hernandez - Everyday Passions, Galeria de la Raza, San Francisco (2001)
• Inspiraciones, Patricia Correia Gallery, Santa Monica (2005)

Awards and Honors

• Sor Juana Award | National Museum of Mexican Art (2016)
• Corazon del Barrio, Award of Excellence | Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (2012)
• Lifetime Achievement Award | Women's Caucus for Art (2009)
• Artist Activist Award | California Rural Legal Assistance (2007)
• Hellen Crocker Russell Award | San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards (2004)
• Premio Galeria | Galeria de la Raza (2004)