Be a 'degenerate'

One of the hallmarks of totalitarian regimes is a crackdown on freedom of expression. Hitler censored artistic expression that he deemed "degenerate" - any art that did not promote the ideals of Nazi Germany. Today, we have Trump cracking down on art he deems as promoting "improper ideology" in our country's most celebrated museums, such as the Smithsonian and in particular the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. (you better click on these links today as these websites will, no doubt, begin to censor what is deemed improper ideological art in their collections.) Art that highlights the history of iniquities in the US are now seen as anti-American by his standards. The history of genocide, enslavement and oppression of marginal groups in the US are now being whitewashed. 

Because of this censorship, I now see it my artistic and moral duty to produce art that displays truth in history and tells the stories of people like me: brown, queer, woman, disabled, etc. Inspired by this, I dug out this old journal entry (that I find lacking in technical skill). I do not like how I did my face with pastels, but enough of my perfectionism. My art journal, my story. Not every layout has to be great.

I made this journal entry a couple years ago when I began to identify as mixed race with Andean indigenous roots combined with Iberian European. This was after I did an ancestry.com analysis. It was a sadly powerful experience to see the colonization of my ancestors by the conquering Europeans. When I saw that half of my DNA was indigenous from the South American Andes region, I saw the truth. Many of my physical features and skin color comes from that side of my lineage. The rest comes from the conquerors who raped my female ancestors as an act of war, and in a concerted effort to breed out the "Indian". 

I hate the fact that 'Hispanics' are simply seen as white by US census statistics. It's simply not scientifically accurate. Reducing an entire mixed race people as white erases their history of colonization. Latinos are a mixed race. Mestizos.  Some of us have more indigenous roots, and some of us have more European. My experience growing up Latina in the US was certainly not as a white person. I was often seen as "mulata". This art journal entry was the start of my identifying as mixed-race in order to better reflect reality and educate about the European colonization that happened in Peru.

Looking back to my time in art school, I see that even back then, I tried to paint an aspect of my experience with some of the Latino racism in the US. I remember painting this portrait of my father and I in a painting class. I wanted to use glitter and or sequins in the Mexican sombreros to drive home the garish caricature of all Latinos in the US. Growing up, I was always misidentified as Mexican or Puerto Rican, even by those that knew me well. No matter how many times I told them I am Peruvian. They could not be bothered to remember. Forget learning anything about my wonderful Peruvian culture. Cinco de Mayo was seen as a holiday made just for me and my kind. Tequila, sombreros, serapes.

So I did a portrait of my father and I as ghosts wearing the accoutrements of a different culture than mine. One the US comically portrays my people in. My art teacher missed my point. He told me in no uncertain terms of any art that employed glitter or sequins was not real art.

He said I would never be taken serious as an artist if I used those materials, I tried to explain that I was using these cheap shiny embellishments precisely to highlight the cartoonish lens of Mexican culture imposed on a Peruvian family. But his chastisement hit home and I internalized shame. Shame for my poor taste as an artist.

Today I reclaim my art from the constraints of a dominant culture's lens. I will make the art that I think tells my story, that validates my vision. It is more important than ever, that US artists express their truths. Art can educate as well as delight. 

Now, I got my Bachelors of Arts in art history that was primarily art of the (male) western world. I love many artists, genres and periods of Western art history. I am not bashing that. But as an artist myself, I produce art that reflects my life. And it should not be censored as inappropriate ideologically. Latino history and life experiences are not inappropriate! 

So let the current administration try to erase us. We have the numbers to resist. Marginalized groups of people make up the majority of people in the US. And we have stories to tell, through art and  discourse. We determine our narrative. Many artists may continue to produce safe work that does not rock the boat in this political climate. They may grace the halls of approved galleries and museums, but they will always have to dance to the Emperor's fiddle.