Viewing page 41 of 45

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

ARTS
• Scepter Records founder didn't fit the image - Page 65F

THEATER ----------- [[cutoff]]
RAMIRO BURR ------- Page [[cutoff]]
BOB POLUNSKY ------ Page [[cutoff]]

San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio Express-News
Sunday, May 30, 1993
1-P[[cutoff]]

[[image]] CARA 
CHICANO ART: RESISTANCE AND AFFIRMATION

It's part politics, part journalism, all community pride

By Dan R. Goddard
Express-News Arts Writer

"Controversial" is the adjective most often used to describe "Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, 1965-1985," or CARA, the committee-curated, defiantly political exhibit that will have a Fiestalike opening Sunday at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Rooted in the civil rights struggle sparked by Mexican-American Farm laborers in Texas and California, Chicano art is an expression of Community Pride, grounded in the daily experience and culture of the artists and people around them. Part Journalism, part propaganda. Chicano art focuses more on politics than aesthetics.

A lowrider caravan will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at Benavides Park on the West Side and wind through downtown past Alamo Plaza to the Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave. At 1:45 p.m., community leasers will dedicate the exhibit to the memory of the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, who served on the CARA's national advisory committee. Folkloric dancers, live music and children's art activities also are part of the special community opening.

[[image - painting]] 
This oil pastel on paper by San Franciscan Yolanda M. Lopez is titled 'Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe,' 1978.

Organized by the Wight Gallery of the University of California at Los Angles, CARA was curated by 50 Chicano Scholars, artists and community organizers from around the country. The tilt is toward California, though, and out of the 90 Chicano Artists featured, only 17 are from Texas. Despite the community-oriented approach to curating and the number of artists in the show, CARA has been criticized in all 10 cities it has toured - including San Antonio - for leaving artists out.

A rally cry for "El Movimiento" or "La Causa" Chicano art is probably most influenced by the social realism of the Mexican muralist, especially Diego Rivera. And the introspective art of his wife, Frida Kahlo, is the model for the Chicana artists who expanded the movement to include feminism.

"Chicano" is a problematic word for many Mexican-Americans, connoting a specific time, attitude and political

See ART/4F

[[image - photograph]] 
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS
San Antonio artist Jesse Trevino is represented - and pictured - in CARA with 'Mi Vida,' 1972 (above). San Francisco artist Rupert Garcia's silkscreen 'Frida Kahlo,' 1975 (top left), is one of many images of the artist.

Exhibit draws praise for cultural education

By Ramiro Burr
Express-News Arts Writer

It is an exhibit that captures a wide range of emotions - from sad and poignant reflections to moments of fierce pride and joyous celebration. 

The works often are intriguing, frequently political and sometimes controversial. But whether one agrees with the politics of the day, most artists and scholars agree that "Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, 1965-1985," is an important chronicle of a turbulent time in America.

And the artistic expressions in CARA, which means "face" in Spanish, provide a historical context that helps viewers understand the struggles of Mexican-Americans for identity and acceptance.

"CARA is the expressions of a people, of a culture, with all their trials and tribulations, their joy and sorrows in every respect," said Pedro Rodriguez, executive director of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.

"The exhibit is significant because we (Mexican-Americans) virtually blanketed the walls of the United States with murals. We produced an

See CARA CALLED/4F

[[image - painting]]
Mexican-American culture is depicted in 'Loteria-Tabla Llena,' 1972, a hand-colored intaglio print by Carmen Lomas Garza of San Francisco.