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Olga Garcia-Echeverria

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Aurora Guerrero

Robert "Cyclona" Legorreta

Catherine Lord

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Roy Rogers Oldenkamp

Monica Palacios

Antonio Rael

Julio Salgado

Terisa Siagatonu

Joey Terrill

Ryan Trecartin

 

 

 

Antonio Rael

Antonio Rael is a Latino artist from Los Angeles, currently residing in West Hollywood. He transferred from Pasadena City College to the University of California, Los Angeles where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Art. He started off as an art teacher at Broadway Elementary and moved on to be an art instructor at the Brentwood Art Center and at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Following that, he became a makeup artist at M.A.C Cosmetics and Estee Lauder. In 1997, he founded a non-profit organization called "KIDZ EYEZ" and is the events coordinator for that as well. Some of Rael's goals include sharing his creative talents and knowledge in art, teaching, makeup, acting, performing, business and distribution of his artwork to the world. 

Rael is known for his use of bright, bold colors and unique imagery, focusing on the Latino culture. He utilizes latino-inspired images such as calaveras, churches, flowers and altars to show his connection to his cultural background and also to commemorate great Latino artists, such as Frida Kahlo. Rael sells his original artwork online that goes by the name of Latino Pop Shop and has an actual shop location in West Hollywood.

Some of Rael's awards include: Certificate of Congressional Recognition from the United States Congress (1999), City of Los Angeles Certificate of Appreciation (1999), California Legislature Assembly Resolution Certificate (1999), Who's Who In America (2004), Adelante Media Awards (Best Business Person,2003), and WEHO Award winner (Best Visual Artist, 2003)

Link to Rael's online art shop: http://www.cafepress.com/latinopopshop

Link to Rael's online art gallery: http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/10307-antonio-raels-art-gallery

This painting by Rael is called "Las Memorias", painted in 1999 and owned by the Lorna Auerbach Estate. Here, he uses a depiction of a traditional altar to commemorate the lives of those who have passed away. Rael does so in a way that celebrates the lives of these people, by adding pictures and objects that give this altar life and vibrancy. Although death is something that is very tragic, this painting sheds a more positive light on it because it relies on the memories made by the deceased and their loved ones. The candles, flowers, rosaries, and pictures are all objects that are typically used in building an altar and Real clearly uses these to stay true to the Mexican perception of death. Along with the altar comes the overall celebration of 'Dia de los Muertos', which is the Day of the Dead. Traditions connected with this holiday include building private altars to honor the deceased using sugar skulls and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. People also leave possessions of the deceased as well. This painting and the traditions it represents show the importance of celebrating life and remembering our loves ones in a positive and spiritual manner.

 

This piece is called “Saludable", which means healthy in Spanish. It is the image used in the 'Milagros' solo exhibition cover art for The Icaro Gallery in Long Beach, California. In 2005, “Saludable” was published in 'Triumph Of Our Communities: Four Decades of Mexican American Art' by The Bilingual Press Foundation. This piece of art work is interesting because of the intense use of the red and orange color and the way Rael spread out the dismembered body parts. Rael also includes actual 'milagros', which are small religious metal charms that symbolize miracles. These small charms are often in shapes of arms, legs, praying people, farm animals and a wide range of other subjects and get nailed or pinned to crosses or wooden statues of various saints like the Virgin Mary or Christ. 'Milagros' can also be carried around for good luck. In this image, we see a woman who who's probably not in a good state of health and the 'milagros' around her are there in hopes of saving her life. Rael can possibly be alluding to HIV/AIDS in the queer community. Since not many people are aware or knowledgeable about this topic, we can begin to bring up a discourse by studying paintings that may allude to such important issues.

 

This piece of work by Antonio Rael entitled "Frida Kahlo's Tree of Life: Celebrating Her 100th Birthday" is one of his most popular. Here, Rael commemorates Frida’s life, love, growth, and nourishment. The symbols he put on the tree, such as the birds, butterflies, the paint, and flowers are all a great representation of who Frida was as an artist and also who Rael is as an artist as well. I feel like this painting depicts the strong similarities Frida and Rael have in terms of their artistic capabilities and creative imagination. You can truly see how much he is inspired and influenced by her. Rael also includes a quote here, which reads, “I Happily Await the End and Hope Never to Come Back”. I think what he is trying to say is that one should always be proud and happy with what they have accomplished throughout their lives. Death is inevitable and all we can do is enjoy life while it lasts. If we do things that make us happy maybe the end won’t seem as scary. However, Rael may also be referring to the life of Frida and all the pain and suffering she endured. Depite all of her artisitc success, she had many health problems and lived a very painful life, which is why she looks forward to her death where she will finally reach a state of tranquility.

My name is Ana De La Torre and I am a 4th year, double majoring in Political Science and Chicana/o Studies at UCLA. I am from Montebello, California and enjoy exploring the beautiful city of Los Angeles. Even though political science is one of my majors, I find this field to be a little dry at times, so I decided to take Chicana/o Studies classes to
bring in some color and culture into my education. I am Mexican-American so taking Chicana/o courses has made me love and appreciate my background even more.

I plan on either taking a year off after I graduate this upcoming June or staying a 5th year to study abroad. I definitely plan on continuing onto graduate school in the near future. I am still undecided as to what I want to do career-wise but I am interested in either working for the government or having some type of job that helps underserved communities. Also, I am a sister of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc., which has provided me with an amazing sisterhood and with the networking tools that I will need to jumpstart my life after graduating UCLA.