ERIC Number: EJ837964
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0005-2604
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Available Date: N/A
Tonanlupanisma: Re-Membering Tonantzin-Guadalupe in Chicana Visual Art
Lara, Irene
Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, v33 n2 p61-90 Fall 2008
This essay draws on Chicanalo cultural studies and art history to interpret the way three artworks by Chicana artists address the relationship between spirit and flesh through the indigenous inflected iconography of la Virgen de Guadalupe. Recognizing the significance of the transcultural link between Tonantzin (the Nahua mother "goddess") and Guadalupe, I introduce the concept of Tonanlupanisma as a prism through which to understand cultural productions that engage the contested histories and iconographies of Tonantzin-Guadalupe from a decolonial feminist perspective. Countering the subjugation of Tonantzin in dominant Guadalupana visual culture and discourse in general, Tonanlupanisma critically privileges Mesoamerican indigenous worldviews that render a more complex and humanized image of the mother goddess and woman and thus challenge the spiritual/sexual dichotomies of Christian-influenced Western thought. Integrating scholarly research and personal narrative, the essay reinterprets two well-known artworks through a Tonanlupanista lens, Yolanda Lopez's "Margaret F. Stewart: Our Lady of Guadalupe" (1978) and Ester Hernandez's "La Ofrenda II" (1990), and offers the first published interpretation of Isis Rodriguez's "Virgen II" (1990).
Descriptors: Art History, Personal Narratives, Hispanic Americans, Females, Spiritual Development, Artists, Art Products, Indigenous Knowledge, Cultural Influences, World History, World Views, Christianity, Feminism, Social Attitudes, Visual Arts
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. 193 Haines Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544. Tel: 310-794-9380; Tel: 310-825-2642; Fax: 310-206-1784; e-mail: press@chicano.ucla.edu; Web site: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/press
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A