Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Quest For Understanding Finding My Way Back, Juan Saenz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

My work reflects my place in nature and how through its documentation I have been given the opportunity to mend family ties. In my paintings I capture the essence of those things that bring me peace of mind and good health. The aim of my work is not solely for the purpose of self reflection but also an attempt to bring my viewers back to a different time in their lives. The following works are an example of my direction and experimentation.

The Return To Aztlan, Eliseo Moreno

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

With this thesis I will focus on my Chicano artistic influences as well as on my life experiences as a third-generation Chicano growing up in the barrios of Browntown, “Tejas” (Brownsville, Texas) I will also examine in my paintings the Chicano identity; its culture, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle. In this thesis like my artwork I will depict the myth of “Atzlan” via eras of the Chicano movement. I will start my writings with the mid-nineteen forties, the “Zoot Suit” era, which I believe is the original beginning of the Chicano movement, and advance to the nineteen sixties and seventies where …

Quest For Spirituality, Teodoro Estrada

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Quest for Spirituality is a body of work that confronted and validated suppressed spiritual experiences. I credit Our Lady Virgin of Guadalupe for my resurrection from ignoring my creative gift and bringing me home.

Desire for limelight, stability, and fulfilling the gallery-going public’s desire overshadowed numerous invitations and opportunities to explore spirituality. A fruitful lifestyle suppressed the nuance of spirituality never expressed until the silence vanished. My mother’s passing, a spiritual epiphany unraveled memories giving expression to these experiences. The vicious cycle of gallery going public’s desire for my art crumbled the day I returned to my homeland. Time has …

Field Of Tears: A Tribute To Los Braceros, Maria Esperanza Balboa

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

With this thesis I intend to honor my Mexican-American heritage by portraying the roots of the Mexican and Mexican-American migrant workers in America. Using the experiences of my father, my relatives, and the history of the Braceros I will also describe the struggles, the pain, the sorrows of the migrant workers. My artwork which consists of black and white photographs, video, and installation will be the tools to give these people which have been forgotten, their long awaited voice. Interpreting ideas and inspiration from Mexican and Mexican-American political art, photography, and installation I have depicted the struggles and pain of …

Edge Of Existence, Mack Liao

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The painting, Edge of Existence best describes my surreal world at its current state. The idea started with the crisis of global warming. I want to express the peril of the creatures that are on the frontier of the global warming effect. The idea for the structure of the painting came from a Magritte painting called, The Domain of Arnheim. He has transformed an undeniably grand impression of a moonlit mountain landscape by means of a mental technique related to that of Poe and his imaginary friend Ellison, who described a magnificent, complicated, and weird landscape in which the natural …

Visual Cultural Identity In South Texas Art And Design, Mirla Gonzalez De Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Transculturation as the key element in the search for autochthonous visual richness and profundity is the theme for my investigation. In the process, numerous questions arise for the need for authentic cultural expression but also ownership of cultural, social identities. I selected the Rio Grande Valley region having little knowledge of conflicts that surround this border and its territories. I also explored the social and cultural histories that included art making and architectural and graphic design. The transfer of cultural imprints, sometimes accepted but often rejected or unknown, forms the basis of this inquiry. My intent resides in a respect …

The Borderline Between The Personal And Political, Celeste De Luna

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper is a documentation of the form, content, techniques, and processes of the body of visual artwork I created for my M.F.A. graduate coursework. My work frequently uses themes based on the migrant/border experiences of women, children, and families throughout generations in the context of the larger American experience. My acrylic paintings on canvas, assemblages and installations validate Latino/Chicano experiences and invites reflection and learning. My work is influenced and relates to contemporary Chicano and Post-Chicano Art, Feminist Art, and the writings of Gloria A. Anzaldua.