http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news01/040401_alma.shtml
Artist defends 'Our Lady,' artistic vision
By J.M. Bar様
Tribune reporter ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
Alma L用ez is calling on higher forces to help her in a public battle over her deep, personal vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
The Los Angeles artist plans to be in Santa Fe today to defend her art piece, showing a bikini-clad Virgin and a bare-breasted angel, a depiction of a traditional religious image that has been fiercely opposed by many Roman Catholics. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
In an e-mail sent to her supporters Monday, L用ez wrote: "Please think of me and send me really good and supportive energy," for her trip to New Mexico. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
L用ez is expected to speak today at the New Mexico Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe at a board of regents meeting, during which opponents and supporters will have a chance to voice their opinions about the controversial art piece, "Our Lady." ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
L用ez's 18-inch by 14-inch digital collage shows the Virgin of Guadalupe's robe open, revealing a woman scantily clothed in rose-laden undergarments. Below, a bare-breasted woman holds up a crescent moon on which the Virgin stands. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
The piece has received national attention for its contemporary depiction of a traditional image. Several members of the Roman Catholic Church community are insisting the Museum of International Folk Art, which houses L用ez's work in its "Cyber Arte" exhibit, remove the art piece. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
Protesters are threatening an economic boycott against the museum if the piece is not taken down, but museum officials have said they have no intention of doing so. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
Despite the rash of criticism that her piece desecrates a religious image, L用ez said the real issue at hand is gender. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"If my work is removed, that means that I have no right to express myself as an artist and a woman," she said. "It means that there must be something wrong and sexually perverted about my female body. It means that it's OK for men to look at our bodies as ugly. It means that as Chicanas we can only be sexualized or only be virgins. It means that only men can tell us how to look at the Virgen. It means that we cannot look upon the Virgen as an image of a strong woman like us." ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
Opponents of L用ez's work, however, say their problem is with how she depicts the traditional Catholic image. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"To depict the Virgin Mary in a floral bikini held aloft by a bare-breasted angel is to be insulting, even sacrilegious, to the many thousands of New Mexicans who have deep religious devotion to Guadalupe," Archbishop Michael Sheehan said in a written statement last week. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
In his statement, Sheehan accused L用ez and the museum of mistreating symbols sacred to the Catholic faith. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"I wish those who want to paint controversial art would find their own symbols to trash and leave the Catholic ones alone," he said. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
L用ez, who was born in Mexico and grew up in a Catholic family in Los Angeles, said the Virgin belongs to everybody, not just a select few. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"Catholic or not, Chicana/Latina/Hispana visual, literary or performance artists grew up with the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe, therefore entitling us to express our relationship to her in any which way relevant to our own experiences," she wrote. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
In the two-page e-mail message, L用ez laid out her intentions of representing the Virgin in such a contemporary context. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"The 'offending' work . . . is a photo-based digital print on exhibition in a museum, and not an object of devotion in a church," she wrote. "It is an image that could possibly arouse conversations on topics such as use of cultural images in art, gender issues or the use of technology as a tool for creative expression." ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"Even if I look really hard at my work and the works of many Chicana artists, I don't see what is so offensive," she wrote. "I see beautiful bodies that are gifts from our creator. I see nurturing breasts. I see the strong nurturing mothers of all of us." ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
Despite that, L用ez said she is pained by the divisiveness her work has caused because it was intended to show her belief that the Virgin, like all women, should be seen as strong. ﾊﾊﾊﾊﾊ
"It scares me to see so many people organized to attack me," she wrote. "It makes me sad that this has been a divisive issue, especially along gender lines, to see brothers and sisters fighting, and to see politicians trying to use this as an excuse to cut funds in art and education."
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THE PEOPLE SPEAK
Excerpts from letters to the editor from The Albuquerque Tribune, Santa Fe New Mexican and Albuquerque Journal about a bare-midriff version of the Virgin of Guadalupe and efforts to have it removed from the Museum of International Folk Art:
"This attempt at censorship runs counter to American principles of freedom of speech and the separation of church and state. . . . The stifling of unorthodox, dissenting views impairs the free expression and evaluation of ideas upon which a vigorous democracy depends." Hugh Whitemeyer, Albuquerque
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"I beg to differ with this California artist as to her 'artistry' -- no matter how she explains it. It is insulting and shameful to even have such derogatory work." Carlota Vigil, Socorro "To depict Our Lady as a pinup denies her holiness and etheric (sic) beauty. She is therefore perverted to the artist's ideology of material/carnal levels of thinking. "You don't get 'playful' with cosmic beings." Harriet C. Goodman, Albuquerque
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"The image that Alma L用ez created is not meant to be disrespectful, nor is it. After all, what (the Virgin) is wearing is not what I consider to be a bikini, as is so reported in the press, rather a 1940s bathing suit. It is an attempt to render an image that young, modern women can relate to." Tey Diana Rebolledo, professor of Spanish/Chicano literature, Albuquerque
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"It is culturally insensitive. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a supremely important symbol to all Latinos because she represents God's advocacy of the poor and oppressed, and of the Virgin's intervention in Mexican history at a particularly crucial time. "It is religiously offensive. "Art museums are at the service of the community. New Mexico's citizen community has one-third of its membership calling themselves Roman Catholic. To have our taxes support what is in effect an attack on our religion is distasteful, to say the least. "We are consequently respectfully asking that the board of regents seriously consider the removal of said artwork and, in the future, enter into dialogue with various faith leaders before such examples of religious art be admitted to displays for our citizens." The Rev. William Kollasch and 13 other members of the Catholic clergy
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"If we as a culture begin to censor anything that one group of people finds offensive, then we risk losing those freedoms we so often take for granted and return to a darker time when people were persecuted for expressing any belief not condoned by the Church. It was called the Inquisition." Laurel Avery, Santa Fe
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"We are concerned about long-term implications of removing from public view one work of art from the current exhibition. It is ironic that the artist is a Mexican-American, a devout Roman Catholic whose portrayal of the Virgin utilizes roses, a reference to a story of her appearance to an Indian farmer named Juan Diego in 1531. . . . Restriction of an artist's right to express herself may lead to other restrictive policies. We believe that this could have negative impacts on perceptions, locally, nationally and internationally, of the museums in the system, which could have implications for exhibitions, donations and collections." Elizabeth Alley and 22 other docents, Museum of International Folk Art
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"Within this community exists a rich diversity of ideas and beliefs. As a state institution, the museum has an obligation to be inclusive rather than exclusive, to be open to all facets of cultural expression." James K. Gavin, Santa Fe
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"I read with dismay about the actions of many people who profess to defend their religious beliefs by imposing them on others. The systemic destruction of Buddhist statues by the Taliban of Afghanistan; the Mississippi state-mandated posting of "In God We Trust" mottoes in public schools; the protests of various artistic interpretations of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Community College and at the Museum of Folk Art all cause me to wonder: Is this the way to bring God's love into the world?" Jim Klukkert, Santa Fe
The Associated Press