Los Angeles County
Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
323-857-6000
Los Angelenos /
Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the
Cheech Marin Collection
June 15-
November 2, 2008
Cheech Marin, the entertainer known for his work in movies, television, and stand-up comedy, has been collecting art for more than 20 years, amassing one of the largest private collections of Chicano art. The exhibition, Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection, includes a number of widely-exhibited works by such first-generation Chicano artists as Carlos Almaraz, Margaret Garcia, Gilbert “Magu” Luján, Frank Romero, John Valadez, and Patssi Valdez, whose artistic careers began during the Chicano civil rights movement in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, as well as works by younger artists Vincent Valdez and David Flury. Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. is a Los Angeles-focused selection of Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, an exhibition of the Marin collection that toured nationally between 2001 and 2007.
The Chicano art movement arose in California in response to the political, cultural, and labor causes of the period. Inspired by the struggles of migrant farm workers led by late labor organizer Cesar Chavez, Chicanismo evolved into a general political and cultural revolution, stressing political self-empowerment, an assertion of cultural identity, and an affirmation of ethnic pride among Americans of Mexican heritage. Many first-generation Chicano artists were political activists creating posters, graphics, and murals in the monumental tradition. Others, including most of the artists in Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A., revealed Chicano experience in scenes of life in barrios, expressive portraits, and surrealist-influenced dreamscapes with a keen psychological edge.
Amonghighlights of the exhibition are: Carlos Almaraz's panoramic views of Los Angeles, such as California Natives (1988) in which the city is depicted as a paradise, suffused with a radiant magical aura, yet with danger and cataclysm always lurking; Gilbert "Magu" Luján’s depictions of car culture and its devotees, as in Blue Dog (1990), which are often surrounded by figures with contemporary updates of characters drawn from pre-Colombian mythology, such as Trickster the Coyote; and the intimately-scaled and deeply personal paintings of Patssi Valdez, like Little Girl With Yellow Dress (1995), which suggest memories of childhood or the haunting images of dreams. The exhibition’s title wall also proves exceptional — LACMA commissioned Charles “Chaz” Bojórquez, widely recognized as the first graffiti artist to bring the act of tagging from the street into the studio, to create the title wall at the exhibition entrance and inscribe participating artists' names on two architectural columns in the galleries.
Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A is supplemented with select works from LACMA's own holdings, as well as several significant works from other area collectors.
Cheech Marin said “It is especially gratifying to bring this collection to LACMA's large and diverse audience. Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. provides an opportunity for the public to become better acquainted with numerous artists whose achievement enriches Chicano art, as well as the cultural life of Los Angeles."
Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. provides a complement to another LACMA exhibition, Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, on view April 6-September 1, 2008. While Phantom Sightings primarily looks at very recent works created by Chicano artists who came to prominence in the 1990s and later, Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. features work mostly by first-generation Chicano artists who pioneered the Chicano art movement in the 1960s and 1970s and whose cultural activism was a legacy for others who came later.
Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A. is part of LACMA's ongoing Latino Arts Initiative in conjunction with Chicano Studies Research Center of University of California (CRSC), Los Angeles. The initiative capitalizes on the strengths of both institutions to create a greater understanding of Chicano and Latino arts and cultures for the wider public. The initiative began in 2004 with a five-year agreement between LACMA and CSRC that includes development of exhibitions, publications, educational activities, research projects, artistic collections, and community relations. |
|
Vincent Valdez, Kill the Pachuco Bastard!, 2001, Oil on canvas, 48 x 72", Collection of Cheech Marin, © Vincent Valdez.
Gilbert Lujan, Blue Dog, 1990, Pastel on paper, 30 x 44", Collection of Cheech Marin, © Gilbert "Magu" Lujan.
Patssi Valdez, Little Girl With Yellow Dress, 1995, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36", Collection of Cheech Marin, © Patssi Valdez.
Leo Limon, Un Poquito Sol, 1991, Acrylic on canvas, 59 x 47 1/4", Collection of Cheech Marin, © Leo Limon. |
