CSRC Newsletter - February 2018

Volume 16, Number 6

Director’s Message

On January 26, UCLA celebrated the career and legacy of Juan Gómez-Quiñones. The program for the event identified him concisely as “historian, poet, and activist.” Colleagues and former students described his many contributions as scholar, mentor, and educator during his six decades at UCLA. I’d like to acknowledge Juan’s immense contribution to the CSRC, which would not be what it is today—or might not even be around—had it not been for his leadership. Juan was one of the founding co-editors of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, overseeing the publication from 1970 to 1984. From 1974 to 1984 he served as the director of the CSRC, ushering in a period in which the center laid the foundation for the field with respect to library and archival holdings, academic publications, impact-oriented research projects, and community partnerships. When I was appointed as CSRC director, the first thing I did was to meet with Juan so that I could build upon the CSRC’s mission, unique infrastructure, and accomplishments. And, honestly, Juan had also been through some of the challenges that I would be facing, so I needed pointers. Shortly thereafter, I hired the person who had been his assistant director, Carlos Haro, who was then assistant dean of the International Studies and Overseas Program (now the International Institute). Carlos brought a deep institutional memory that proved invaluable in protecting the CSRC’s mission, which was necessary to advance the field. On a personal note, Juan had an impact on me much earlier, when I first arrived at UCLA some twenty-five years ago. I would occasionally see him on the KMEX nightly news, speaking to some issue facing the community. Even the media advocacy groups I worked with were familiar with Juan's work—not just his activism but also his scholarship. Here was a model for how to be a university scholar, train the next generation, and take part in the pursuit of social justice. I wish Juan all the best as he enters retirement from the university, but certainly not from his life as a historian, poet, and activist.

Chon A. Noriega
Director and Professor
 

News

Romana Acosta Bañuelos and Dora De Larios, presente!
The CSRC mourns the passing of two Latinas who were pioneering forces in the twentieth century. On January 15, Romana Acosta Bañuelos, business woman and community advocate, passed away at the age of ninety-two. As a young woman of twenty-one, living in Los Angeles, she founded what eventually became a multimillion-dollar company, Ramona’s Mexican Food Products. In 1965 she co-founded the East L.A.–based Pan American National Bank, the only Latina/o-owned bank at the time. From 1971 to 1973 she served as U.S. Treasurer. Appointed by President Richard Nixon, she was the first Latina to fill this position. The CSRC is proud to be the custodian of the Romana Acosta Bañuelos Papers. A biography based on this collection and on oral histories with family and colleagues is underway with CSRC Press.
 

On January 28, Dora De Larios, renowned Los Angeles–based ceramicist, passed away at the age of eighty-four. She was born in Boyle Heights, a Mexican and Japanese immigrant neighborhood. De Larios was the only Latina/o student in her undergraduate class at USC. She graduated in 1957 and soon became a key figure in the white male–dominated Southern California art scene, creating not only sculptures with Mexican and Japanese influences but also a major work for Disney’s Orlando resort in 1962 and in 1977 a set of dishes that was commissioned by First Lady Rosalyn Carter for the White House. Among the museum exhibitions that have showcased her work was Art Along the Hyphen: The Mexican-American Generation at the Autry in 2011. Art Along the Hyphen was organized by the CSRC. Curator Tere Romo discusses De Larios’s artwork and career in her essay for the exhibition catalog (L.A. Xicano).

García publishes book on segregation in Oxnard
David G. García, assistant professor of education in the UCLA Graduate School for Education and Information Sciences, has published Strategies of Segregation: Race, Residence, and the Struggle for Education (University of California Press, 2017). García documents a history of racial inequity in schools and residential communities in Oxnard, California, from 1903 to 1974.  García conducted his research with partial support from a CSRC research grant provided by the Institute of American Cultures.
 
VPAM holds closing event for Aguilar retrospective
On Saturday, February 10, 1:00–3:00 p.m. at the Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM), artists Delilah Montoya and Luis Alfaro will discuss their lifelong friendships with photographer Laura Aguilar and reflect on the works presented in Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell. Moderated by curator Sybil Venegas, the dialogue will also provide a final opportunity to view the exhibition before it closes that evening. This retrospective of Aguilar’s career of more than thirty years was organized by VPAM in collaboration with the CSRC. The exhibition will travel to museums in Miami, New York, and Chicago. CSRC Press published the exhibition catalogue.
 
Rosales exhibits work on party crews
Artist and CSRC collections donor Guadalupe Rosales has teamed with Eddie Ruvalcaba to create the installation Endless Nights, on view through March 3 at Commonwealth and Council gallery in Koreatown. The installation utilizes archival photographs, clothing, objects, and ephemera from Chicano party crew events in Los Angeles in the 1990s. The artist invites those who lived through this time to make new additions and “to show how lived experiences become documentation and ephemera, which in turn become archive and history.” For more information, visit the Commonwealth and Council website.
 
Vallejo presents “Brown Oscars”
From February 27 through March 12 at the Mezz Gallery in the Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, artist Linda Vallejo will exhibit a new body of work as part of her “Brown Oscars” project, in which she playfully colorizes images of white actors so that they appear to have dark skin. Vallejo explored this theme in critically acclaimed works for a 2016 collaboration with the CSRC, “For Your Consideration: Make ‘Em All Mexican,” which was a response to the ongoing failure of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to recognize Latina/o actors. A reception will take place on March 1, 7:00–10:00 p.m. For more information, visit https://lindavallejo.com/.
 
Osorio to receive Lifetime Achievement Award
The College Art Association (CAA) has announced that Pepón Osorio will receive the 2018 Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement at the association’s annual conference, February 21–24 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The award ceremony will take place during the conference convocation on February 21 at 6:00 p.m. Osorio is the first artist of Puerto Rican descent to receive this award. His work was included in the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing, and he is the subject of the award-winning monograph Pepón Osorio by Jennifer A. González (volume 9 in the A Ver: Revisioning Art History Series from CSRC Press). Osorio is a professor in the Community Arts Practices Program at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. He was recently named a 2018 United States Artist Fellow (see In the News, below).
 
Baca to receive award and participate in interview
The College Art Association (CAA) has announced that artist and UCLA faculty member Judy Baca will receive a Distinguished Artist Award at this year’s annual conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Baca will also participate in a “CAA Distinguished Artist Interview” on Friday, February 23, 3:30–5:30 p.m. She will be interviewed by Anna Indych-López, author of the recently published monograph Judith F. Baca, volume 11 in the award-winning A Ver series from CSRC Press.  For more information, visit the CAA website.
 
Farewell and thank you, Cheyenne Lentz!
In January the CSRC said farewell to Cheyenne Lentz, who served as the CSRC communications and academic programs assistant from August 2016 until early this year. Among her many accomplishments, Lentz played a key role in the CSRC’s marketing and promotional efforts concerning Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, including a successful crowdfunding campaign for the exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing. In addition, her organizational skills were vital to the production of all CSRC events, including the UCLA Medal ceremony in June 2017, which honored artist Raphael Montañez Ortiz. Lentz left the CSRC to pursue a new professional opportunity. We miss her and wish her the very best.
 
New videos on CSRC YouTube
 
  • Modern Art Blitz at LAAS: Interview with Artist Daniel Joseph Martinez and Curator Chon A. Noriega (January 10, 2018) (video) Mat Gleason of Modern Art Blitz interviewed artist Daniel Joseph Martinez and CSRC director Chon A. Noriega at the 2018 LA Art Show. Martinez’s installation IF YOU DRINK HEMLOCK, I SHALL DRINK IT WITH YOU or A BEAUTIFUL DEATH; player to player, pimp to pimp. (As performed by the inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade), 2016/2018, was on view at the show, held January 10-14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The installation was co-presented by the CSRC and LACMA. Video produced by Modern Art Blitz.
  • LA Art Show Dialog: “Of Ruins and Remnants” with Artist Leyla Cárdenas and Curator Chon A. Noriega (January 13, 2018) (video) Starting with the train station as both symbol and infrastructure, artist Leyla Cárdenas and CSRC director and curator Chon A. Noriega discussed the modern city as landscape, war zone, and archaeological site. The talk was part of the 2018 Dialogs LA series at the LA Art Show and was organized by the CSRC in conjunction with the LA Art Show. The installation Especular (Threshold), 2017, by Leyla Cárdenas was co-presented at the LA Art Show by the CSRC and LACMA. Video produced by Palm Beach Show Group.

CSRC in the News

“Art Industry News: Pussy Riot Refugees Seek Asylum in Sweden + More Must-Read Stories”
In a roundup of recent news, the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing was noted in a blurb concerning PST: LA/LA exhibitions that will travel.
artnet, January 25, 2018 (PDF)
 
“Hispanic Activist Group Weighs Studio Boycott Amid Oscars Protest”
CSRC director Chon A. Noriega was quoted in a news story concerning a new campaign by the National Hispanic Media Coalition to draw attention to the underrepresentation of Latinos in Hollywood films.
The Hollywood Reporter, January 25, 2018 (PDF)
 
“LA/LA Officially Closes on 1/28 with Nearly a Quarter of the Exhibitions Due to Travel”
Broadway World published the Getty’s press release summing up the PST: LA/LA initiative as it approaches its official end date. The CSRC is named as one of the initiative’s five planning partners, and CSRC director Chon A. Noriega is quoted in the release.
Broadway World, January 24, 2018 (PDF)
 
“Getty Foundation Releases List of Traveling PST: LA/LA Exhibitions”
ARTnews provided a full list of the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA exhibitions that are traveling nationally and internationally to other museums. Among the exhibitions mentioned are the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing and Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell, organized by the Vincent Price Art Museum in collaboration with the CSRC. The article includes a photograph by Aguilar that appears courtesy of the artist and the CSRC.
ARTnews, January 24, 2018 (PDF)
 
“United States Artists Names 2018 Fellows, Including Dread Scott, Pepón Osorio, and Cassils”
ARTnews reported on the announcement of the United States Artists foundation fellows for 2018. Among them is Pepón Osorio. The story notes his installation Badge of Honor (1994) in the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing.
ARTnews, January 16, 2018 (PDF)
 
“What to See at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on MLK Day”
The CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing, which was on view at MFAH through January 21, was named in the Houston Chronicle online as the number one show to see at the museum on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Houston Chronicle, January 15, 2018 (PDF)
 
“Los Angeles Art Show Featuring Latin American Art”
Artists Leyla Cárdenas, Ramiro Gomez, and Raphael Montañez Ortiz were named in a news story as among the famous artists who have shown work at the LA Art Show. The CSRC organized the presentation of these artists’ works at the annual art fair.
Latin American Herald Tribune, January 12, 2018 (PDF)
 
“New Exhibit at MFAH, One to See”
The Venture reported on the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing, which was on view at MFAH through January 21. The article also described a related public program that took place at the museum called “A Celebration of HOME,” at which attendees crafted their own representation of home with cardboard boxes, paper, and other supplies.
The Venture, January 9, 2018 (PDF)
 
“Three Questions with an L.A. Art Show Organizer”
The CSRC was mentioned in an article interviewing Kim Martindale, producer and partner of the 2018 LA Art Show, who highlighted the installation by Daniel Joseph Martinez, which was co-presented by the CSRC and LACMA.
Los Angeles Downtown News, January 9, 2018 (PDF)
 
“LACMA and the Autry Museum Announce New Partnership to Share Their Art”
The CSRC was mentioned in an article discussing the new collaboration between the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Autry Museum of the American West. The photography exhibition La Raza, currently on display at the Autry, was organized in partnership with the CSRC.
Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2018 (PDF)
 
“Separation from Home: Pepón Osorio and ‘Badge of Honor’”
Inside the MFAH, a blog published by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, featured Pepón Osorio’s two-room installation, Badge of Honor, which was on view in the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston through January 21.
Inside the MFAH, January 5, 2018 (PDF)
 
“FTV 0575—An Evening of Insurrections with Harry Gamboa Jr.”
Pacifica Radio Archives presented a “From The Vault” recording featuring “See What You Mean: An Evening of Insurrections with Harry Gamboa Jr.,” a panel discussion at the Getty Center. The panelists were L.A. artists Ramiro Gomez, Guadalupe Rosales, and Harry Gamboa Jr. CSRC director Chon A. Noriega served as moderator. To listen to the recording, click here.
From the Vault, October 28, 2017
 
All “In the News” articles are available in PDF format on the CSRC website.
 

Events

Exhibition Reception and Presentation: “Casos de Justicia: The Street Vendor Movement”
Thursday, February 8, 3:00–4:30 p.m.
CSRC Library—144 Haines Hall
Opening February 8, Casos de Justicia: The Los Angeles Street Vendor Movement explores the activism of black and Latina/o street vendors in Los Angeles (see Library, below). Join us for an introduction to the exhibition and community-based visual research by the curator, LeighAnna Hidalgo, a new media ethnographer and PhD candidate in Chicana/o studies at UCLA. A panel discussion and a performance by entrepreneurs, activists, and scholars will follow. The event is sponsored by the CSRC, and the exhibition is supported by research grants from the Institute of American Cultures and the Tamar Diana Wilson Fund. The exhibition will be on view through February 23.
 
Talk: Oscar López Rivera presents “Decolonization, Hurricanes, and Solidarity”
Thursday, February 8, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
100 Moore Hall
In 2017, President Barack Obama commuted Oscar López Rivera, whose commitment to Puerto Rican independence led to a fifty-five-year sentence for seditious conspiracy. The longest-held political prisoner in Puerto Rican history, he served thirty-six years in federal prison. Upon his release, he was greeted as a national hero by tens of thousands in Puerto Rico and in Puerto Rican diaspora communities in the United States. For this talk, he will address Puerto Rico’s colonial status in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. He will also discuss his own incarceration as well as that of other political prisoners in U.S. custody. Organized by MEChA de UCLA and Puerto Ricans in Action, and co-sponsored by the UCLA Latin American Institute, UCLA Program on Caribbean Studies, UCLA Department of History, and the CSRC. This event will include a Q&A segment and refreshments will be served. Please RSVP.
 
Panel: “2017-18 UCLA Visiting Speaker Series on Digital Archiving: Data Management”
Friday, February 9, 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Moore Hall Reading Room—3340 Moore Hall
The third session in a series dedicated to digital archiving, this event addresses the issue of data management. The featured speakers are Karen Cariani, American Archive of Public Broadcasting and WGBH; Robert Browning, Purdue University and C-SPAN Archives; Alan Rubel, University of Wisconsin-Madison iSchool; and Samuel Gustman, USC Shoah Foundation.  A roundtable discussion and refreshments will follow the presentations. This event is organized by the UCLA Digital Archiving Collective, a cross-campus organization with members from the Department of Information Studies; Department of Communication Studies; Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media; Center for Digital Humanities; Film and Television Archive; Ethnomusicology Archive; Library and Digital Library Program; Music Library; Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies; Asian American Studies Center; American Indian Studies Center; and the CSRC.
 
Performance: Tzutu Bak'tum
Tuesday, February 13, 12:00 p.m.
Dickson Court at Perloff Hall
Join us for a special midday outdoor performance by Mayan hip-hop artist Tzutu Bak'tum, who is visiting UCLA as part of his California tour. Organized by the UCLA American Indian Studies Center and cosponsored by the CSRC.
 
Talk: David Theo Goldberg presents “Dread and the Politics of Our Time”
Wednesday, February 14, 3:00–4:30 p.m.
CSRC Library—144 Haines Hall
David Theo Goldberg is the director of the University of California Humanities Research Institute, the University of California system-wide research facility for the human sciences and theoretical research in the arts. He also holds faculty appointments at UC Irvine in the departments of comparative literature, anthropology, and criminology, law and society. He is a fellow of the UCI Critical Theory Institute. His books include Are We All Postracial Yet? (2015); The Threat of Race (2008); The Racial State (2002); Racial Subjects: Writing on Race in America (1997). This event is organized by the Race and Ethnicity Working Group in the department of sociology and is cosponsored by the CSRC. This event is part of the Irene Flecknoe Ross Lecture Series and is made possible by a gift from Ray Ross in memory of his wife.
 
Seeking Educational Justice: The 1968 Chicana/o Student Walkouts Made History”
Saturday, March 10, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (conference and exhibition tour)
Sunday, March 11, Noon–4:00 p.m. (film screenings)
Fowler Museum at UCLA, Lenart Auditorium
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Eastside walkouts, the CSRC will present two days of programming. On Saturday, March 10, a speakers’ program will feature walkout participants and scholars; it will conclude with a tour of an exhibition at the CSRC Library of related materials from archival collections. On Sunday, March 11, the 1995 documentary Taking Back the Schools and the 2005 HBO film Walkout! will be screened. Producers Susan Racho and Moctesuma Esparza, respectively, will introduce their films. A Q&A will follow the screenings. This event is organized by the CSRC and co-sponsored by the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Institute of American Cultures, the Division of Social Sciences, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o Studies. These events are free but registration is required. To register, please go to the EventBrite pages for both the Saturday and Sunday events.


CSRC Library

New library exhibition: Casos de Justicia
Casos de Justicia: The Los Angeles Street Vendor Movement is a CSRC Library exhibition curated by LeighAnna Hidalgo, new media ethnographer and PhD candidate in Chicana/o studies at UCLA. The exhibition focuses on black and Latino vendors-turned-activists in the Los Angeles street vendor movement. It features augmented fotonovelas that are based on a four-year visual ethnographic project Hidalgo conducted in partnership with the East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC). The exhibition, which supported by research grants from the Institute of American Cultures and the Tamar Diana Wilson Fund, will be on view February 8 through February 23 during regular library hours (Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.). (See Events, above)
 
Zines exhibition in Powell Rotunda
The CSRC is pleased to announce the exhibition Las Causas: Zines from the Chicano Studies Research Center Archive, on view February 5 through March 24 in the Powell Library Rotunda. The exhibition was curated by CSRC archives specialist Doug Johnson and showcases small handcrafted booklets created in 2005 and 2016 by undergraduates in Chicana/o Studies 10A and 10B, “Introduction to Chicana/o Studies.” The booklets reflect students’ creative engagement with various aspects of Chicana/o culture. The exhibition also includes zines created and collected by Tatiana de la Tierra, a Colombia-born activist and writer whose collection of papers are housed at the CSRC. Las Causas is on view during Powell Library hours.
 
Smithsonian interns tour CSRC
On January 5, CSRC librarian Xaviera Flores gave a behind-the-scenes tour of the CSRC Library to the first cohort of the Smithsonian Undergraduate Internship Program based at East Los Angeles College and the Vincent Price Art Museum. Flores talked about how a university-based archive functions within the context of museum and curatorial studies.
 
Flores speaks on career panel
On January 22, CSRC librarian Xaviera Flores was an invited speaker on the panel “Curating Your Career: Jobs in Museums and Arts Non-Profits.” Also on the panel was Theresa Sotto, assistant director of academic programs at the Hammer Museum and co-author of teacher’s guides for books in the A Ver: Revisioning Art History series from CSRC Press. The event was hosted by the UCLA College of Humanities.
 
Students receive instruction
In January CSRC librarian Xaviera Flores provided instruction for three classes. Graduate students in Information Studies 434, “Archival Use and Users,” learned about utilizing community archives for their internship projects. Flores taught library basics and primary-source research methods to undergraduate students in Chicana/o Studies 188, “Murals and Martyrs: Mexican Revolutionary Art,” and she provided archival methods and primary-research instruction to undergraduate students in Chicana/o Studies 157, “Chicano Movement and Its Political Legacies.”
 
Flores to participate in diversity panel
CSRC librarian Xaviera Flores will participate in a panel, “Diversity and the Information Professions: Closing the Gap,” hosted by the Diversity Council at the UCLA iSchool. Panelists will discuss the critical role of diversity in the profession and the challenges of providing services to underserved communities. The panel will be February 22, 11:30 a.m., in the GSE&IS building, second floor Salon. For more information see the Facebook page. Please RSVP.
 
To schedule a tour of the CSRC Library, contact CSRC librarian Xaviera Flores at xflores@chicano.ucla.edu or fill out the form on the CSRC Library Services page.
 

CSRC Press

New A Ver volume on Judy Baca
Judith F. Baca, creator of The Great Wall of Los Angeles—the vibrant 7,740-foot mural located along the Tunjunga Wash—is the subject of the latest volume in the CSRC’s award-winning A Ver: Revisioning Art History series. Anna Indych-López explores Baca’s oeuvre, from early murals created with gang members to recent commissioned works. Indych-López assesses what she calls Baca’s call “public art of contestation” and discusses how ideas of collaboration and authorship and issues of race, class, and gender have influenced and sustained Baca’s art practice. The eighty-six color illustrations include two multipage foldouts. Judith F. Baca may be ordered from the distributor of the A Ver series, University of Minnesota Press.
 

Opportunities

IAC 2017-2018 Research Grant Program in Ethnic Studies
The Institute of American Cultures (IAC) invites applications for grant support of research on African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Chicanas/os. The Institute also invites proposals on interethnic relations that will increase collaboration between UCLA ethnic studies research centers and/or between the centers and other campus units.
 
Eligibility Requirements:
UCLA faculty, staff, graduate students, and IAC Visiting Scholars.
 
Funding: The Research Grant Program is on a reimbursement-basis only. Funds for the purchase of permanent equipment will be provided only under exceptional circumstances. Conference travel, whether the applicant is presenting or attending, is not eligible.
 
Grant Period: July 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019.
 
Deadline: Applications must be received by March 1, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Applicants will be notified in May.
Prior to submission of the application, applicants should briefly discuss their proposal with the coordinator of the appropriate center, or in the case of interethnic proposals, with each applicable center. All grant recipients, where appropriate, must comply with UCLA’s Protection of Human Subjects in Research before receiving funding.
 
To Apply: Application is available online at https://sa.ucla.edu/IAC/ResearchGrant
 
Click here for a preview of the application pages.