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chuparosa,
2002 (Claudia Rodriguez)
printed
at self help graphics, east los angeles
Atelier XL - Maestras III:
Upraise of the Urban Goddess at Self Help Graphics and Print
Curated by Diane Gamboa
The chuparosa (or hummingbird
in English) is the smallest and fiercest bird. It flies from
flower to flower taking the nurturing nectar it needs to survive.
The hummingbird is also an aggressive and fearless bird known
to attack creatures many times its size. I selected the hummingbird
to reference the idea of being fierce and taking the time
necessary to nurture and be nurtured by the people we love
(lovers, friends, family and community). I also wanted to
directly reference Huitzilopochtli (hummingbird on the left
or hummingbird of the south) the god of war, Coatlicue's son
and Coyolxauhqui's brother. In pre-Columbian imagery, the
hummingbird was often associated with bloodletting and war.
The background can be interpreted
as red roses or pools of blood. The young woman stands posing
like the hummingbird. With her hands on her hips instead of
her pelvis, she imitates a reverse pose of the earth goddess.
The hummingbird and earth goddess may serve as her spirit
guides. Her nose points in the same direction as the hummingbird's
beak, her elbows are like wings and her back is to the viewer.
This purposeful stance is intended to represent an attitude
of non-conformity to culturally and socially constructed gender
roles and expectations. On her shirt, she wears an image of
two pre-Columbian codex-like women holding each other. Significantly,
the young woman will dress and cut her hair how she wants,
and most importantly, love whomever she chooses.
The bottom section is an earth
goddess figure with her legs wide open showing her vagina.
The vagina is the space of intense sexual pleasure and the
female body opening most of us pass through at birth. It is
interesting to me that in order for us to be created, our
parents had sex, and their parents had sex, and all of our
ancestors had sex. Without sex, I most likely wouldn't be
here writing this and you wouldn't be here reading this. Sex
is the most natural act in our lives, and yet often we cannot
seem to engage in intelligent conversations about sex. Usually
when sex is talked about, it is because of something scandalous
(i.e. Catholic priest pedophilia, Clinton and oral sex, Senator
Condit and sexual predators). This seems a glaring discursive
problem, given that there is such horrific sexual violence
committed against women and children such as rape, incest
and pedophilia.
Historically, goddess images
are generally rendered with hyper-feminine features. I selected
a young Latina butch dyke as my goddess to challenge ideas
of beauty. The butch embodies duality, feminine and masculine
energies in one body. The butch lesbian is socially regarded
as ugly and therefore "unable to get a man." Overly sensitive
men and male-identified women tend to feel that the lesbian's
choice of a woman over a man is a rejection towards men. Often,
family disrespects her and hate crimes are committed against
her. She suffers this rejection and pain just for daring to
be herself. The reality is that lesbians don't reject men.
The lesbian's sexuality has nothing to do with men. She is
attracted to women. Yet, because she loves women, she is often
seen as an outcast.
In my print, she balances living
and joy, and the reality of her life, as others perceive her.
With this image of an urban goddess, I recognize and honor
the Latina butch dyke's life as a trailblazing and revolutionary
liberating force for everyone who dares to be his or her one
unique self.
Experience of Process
I am honored to have been selected
by artist Diane Gamboa to collaborate on Atelier XL - Maestras
III: Upraise of the Urban Goddess at Self Help Graphics. This
is only my third SHG silkscreen print in 10 years. I have
learned so much from Diane, my fellow collaborating artists,
and printer Joe Alpuche. For me, this has been one of the
most positive creative experiences. I really hope that this
maestras atelier continues for a long time so that many more
women artist can benefit from the best Self Help has to offer,
which is a safe and professional creative environment. Honestly,
it was shocking and disappointing to see that this year's
Atelier XXXIX and the Special Projects only included one Chicana
and another woman amidst sixteen men. I hope that more women
are included in all of the ateliers and special projects,
and not just relegated to the maestras program. I also hope
to be invited back many times to be able to learn and grow
creatively in this medium.
Throughout this process, I learned
many lessons. The most important lesson was changing my design
from what I believe is a strong photo-based digital image
to a less complicated graphic design with a smaller color
palette. The second (on the genius advice from Diane) was
printing as my first color a charcoal rendering of my design
to guide me throughout the print production. The third was
playing with layering transparent inks to create other colors.
The fourth was being prepared with design, at least half of
the total separations, and a clear idea of color selections.
Throughout this Maestras Atelier,
and at the risk of sounding like a nymphomaniac, I have learned
that serigraphy is like sex. They both must be approached
without fear and the participants must be able to assertively
communicate their wishes. Most importantly, one must understand
that surrendering to the experience is necessary in order
to achieve maximum satisfaction. Without Fear - An intense
project such as creating a silkscreen in five printing days,
in collaboration with other artists, can be very daunting
especially with little or no previous printing experience.
The scariest part is just lack of knowledge of what is possible
with the medium itself. Assertive Ð Creating a design, making
the separations, and printing while trying to make the best
use of the five printing days, the twelve colors, the printing
studio and the printer requires quick and decisive choices.
Silkscreen printing is unforgiving especially after the screens
have been shot, the color has been selected, and one hundred
sheets of archival paper have been printed. The decisions
made during the process are final with few available corrective
measures, especially when further in the process. Therefore,
the artist needs to be as prepared as possible with design,
color selections and color order, and yet flexible and open
to the possibility that the print may, and most likely will,
look completely different than imagined. The artist is the
only person signing the finished print; therefore she needs
to be clear and assertive in communicating her decisions to
the printer while maintaining a friendly and professional
relationship. Most importantly, the artist needs to trust
her own judgement and know that she has made the best choice
at that time. Surrender Ð Our imaginations and visions are
both fluid and multi-dimensional infused with an amazing spectrum
of shapes and colors. Like most mediums, serigraphy has its
limitations. ItÕs basically a colored flat line or dot on
a piece of paper. It is graphic, not photographic. The end
result is one color image on a flat piece of paper. It is
only one image in our lifeÕs body of work. However, serigraphy
also has unique qualities with limitless possibilities of
images that can be created even within its limitations. It
is a beautiful traditional medium. Surrendering to the medium
and allowing ourselves to learn as we go along, especially
in terms of the many color possibilities created by layering
transparent inks, can be most satisfying. I want to thank
everyone who made this a special experience for me. Diane
Gamboa and all the participating Goddesses; Tomas Benitez
and Self Help Graphics; Joe Alpuche, Amos and Ulisses; Claudia
Rodriguez; Tiffany Ana Lopez; and Lizette Sanchez.
June 18,
2002 Santa Monica, California |
