San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Spring 2016 Juana Alicia: a Case Study of the Artist as Critical Muralist Allison Ann Connor San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Connor, Allison Ann, "Juana Alicia: a Case Study of the Artist as Critical Muralist" (2016). Master's Theses. 4684. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.u3wr-h2z2 https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/4684 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JUANA ALICIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ARTIST AS CRITICAL MURALIST A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Art History and Visual Culture San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Allison Connor May 2016 © 2016 Allison Connor ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled JUANA ALICIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ARTIST AS ACTIVIST by Allison Connor APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY March 2016 Dr. Anne Simonson Department of Art History and Visual Culture Professor Patricia Albers Department of Art History and Visual Culture Dr. Johanna Movassat Department of Art History and Visual Culture ABSTRACT JUANA ALICIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ARTIST AS CRITICAL MURALIST Much has been written on Mexican Muralism and on the resurgence of mural art in the United States, and Chicana/o murals in San Francisco in particular, but very little has been written about mural artist Juana Alicia specifically, and none of this material has been gathered into one document. This study focuses on Juana Alicia as an important community-educator-artist-leader-activist, what educator and mural artist Arturo Rosette defines in his doctoral dissertation as a “critical muralist.”1 In particular, this study analyzes Juana Alicia’s 2012 mural, The Spiral Word, and places it within the context of mural art that functions as activist art, especially as it pertains to education, i.e. critical muralism. This study argues that many of Juana Alicia’s murals function as means of critical pedagogy, and that the complex densely packed narrative structure of The Spiral Word is particularly effective in this regard. By researching the literary and other source material for each image in The Spiral Word, this study concludes that decoding the complex iconography is a successful method of critical consciousness-raising. 1 Arturo Rosette, “Critical Muralism.” (PhD dissertation, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2009). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing this San Jose State University Master’s thesis would not have been possible with out the permission, cooperation and collaboration of the mural artist Juana Alicia, whose commitment to social and environmental justice activism, education, and art for an underserved audience has been the guiding inspiration. I am deeply grateful to Marlene Griffith for her encouragement and her eagle editorial eye. Thanks to Gina Arnold who took the time to read and comment on an early draft, and to Gina Barton who helped me format. Thank you to Joel Rubenzahl, Claire Stremple, Annie O’Hare, and Angel Ritchie for giving me space and time in which to write. My most profound gratitude and love goes to Devin Wilkinson Miller, for providing not only valuable time in which to write, but support in uncountable other ways. I could not have done this and many other things without her. Very special thanks must go to Dr. Marilyn Wyman, a truly inspiring teacher and excellent early critic of this thesis. Her presence has been missed. This thesis is dedicated to my late mother, Ann Wilkinson Connor, who encouraged my love of art from a very early age, gave me my moral compass, and was an exemplary role model as a mother, educator, writer, and activist for peace and social justice. TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Plates .................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: The Spiral Word ........................................................................................... 5 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5 History and Description of El Centro Chicano: the Physical and Cultural Context of The Spiral Word ......................................................................................................... 6 The Miranda Lounge at El Centro Chicano ................................................................. 18 Iconography of The Spiral Word ................................................................................. 19 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter Two: The Artist’s Context ................................................................................... 41 Juana Alicia’s Biography ............................................................................................. 42 The Chicano Cultural and Mural Movements ............................................................. 44 The Mural Movement in San Francisco: Chicano/a Murals in the Mission ................ 46 The Mural Renaissance of the 1970s and 1980s .......................................................... 47 San Francisco Murals: Balmy Alley ............................................................................ 48 The History of Murals in San Francisco ...................................................................... 51 The Impact of Diego Rivera on San Francisco Mural Artists ..................................... 52 Emmy Lou Packard, Lucienne Bloch, and Stephen Dimitroff as Links to Traditional Mural Arts..................................................................................................53 San Francisco in the Sixties ......................................................................................... 56 The Fate of the Mission: Juana Alicia in Exile ........................................................... 61 Chapter Three: Juana Alicia’s Art As A Reflection Of Her Activist Identity .................. 64 Critical Muralism ......................................................................................................... 64 Defining Activist Art ................................................................................................... 65 Murals as Democratic Activist Art .............................................................................. 68 Juana Alicia as a Critical Muralist and Activist Artist ................................................ 71 Las Lechugueras/The Female Lettuce Workers ........................................................... 72 Te Oímos Guatemala/We Hear You Guatemala .......................................................... 74 El Amanacer/The Dawn ............................................................................................... 76 Cease Fire/Alto Fuego ................................................................................................. 79 Maestrapeace ............................................................................................................... 81 Una Ley Immoral ......................................................................................................... 82 La Llorona ................................................................................................................... 83 True Colors Mural Project ........................................................................................... 86 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 89 vi Chapter Four: The Decoding Of The Spiral Word As A Method Of Critical Pedagogy .. 91 The Iconology of The Spiral Word .............................................................................. 91 The Mayan Scribe ........................................................................................................ 93 The Ceiba Tree ............................................................................................................. 95 Eduardo Galeano .......................................................................................................... 95 Galeano and Henequen ................................................................................................ 98 Galeano and Mining ..................................................................................................... 99 Galeano and the Central American Wars ................................................................... 100 Galeano and the Zapatistas ........................................................................................ 101 Galeano and Violeta Parra ......................................................................................... 102 Junot Díaz: Trujillo and the Mirabal Sisters .............................................................