Judithe Hernández
Encyclopedia
Judithe Hernández is a Chicana artist and a founding member of the Chicano Art/Los Angeles Mural movements. She first received acclaim in the 1970s as a muralist. In her long career as a studio artist her creative production as centered around works-on-paper, principally pastels, which frequently incorporate indigenist imagery and the social-political tension of gender roles. Hernández has lived both in Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles. In 1974, she became the "fifth member", and only woman in, Los Four
, an influential East Los Angeles
Chicano artist collective, along with Gilbert Luján
, Carlos Almaraz
, Frank E. Romero, and Roberto de la Rocha
. Of this experience, Hernández later said that "Often I was literally the ONLY female at meetings who was NOT a girlfriend or wife, but an active artist participant."
Hernández graduated from the Otis Art Institute
in Los Angeles. In 1972, after earning a B.F.A. at Otis, she began graduate studies there. Carlos Almaraz enrolled in the graduate program and they became good friends. Along with Almaraz, she became involved in the Chicano civil-rights movement and worked on such projects as the Chicano Moratorium
. During her time at Otis, Hernández studied drawing with Charlie White. White, an African-American artist who had spent time in Mexico
, was interested in indigenous and latin art. In 1971, while working as the illustrator of the Aztlán
Journal, published by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Hernández illustrated the first volume of poetry by the celebrated Mexican-American poet Alurista
, Floricanto en Aztlán.
After completing M.F.A.'s at Otis, she and Almaraz collaborated with El Teatro Campesino, worked on behalf of the United Farm Workers
, and as members of the Concilio de Arte Popular (CAP), they worked to create an organization that united Chicano artists across the state of California. Chicano arts organizations such as the Royal Chicano Air Force
of Sacramento; Galeria de la Raza, in San Francisco, and the artists of Chicano Park in San Diego were among those who during the 1970s participated in CAP. In 1981, she and seven other Chicano muralists painted murals inside the Craft and Folk Art Museum
in Los Angeles for an exhibition entitled The Murals of Aztlán. She and the other artists were criticized in Artweek by reviewer Shifra Goldman for "shedding ... their cultural identity and political militance" in order to "enter the mainstream as competitive professionals." Hernández responded "why should changes in my work and socio-political attitudes be construed as compromising my commitment ... while in another artist the same would be construed as personal and professional growth?"
In 2011, her solo exhibition, La Vida Sobre Papel, at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago included several new series of work, one of which was the noted serial murders of women in Ciudad Juárez
. According to the Chicago Weekly
, "The only thing as conspicuous as the artist’s skill is her message: being human is hard, a woman harder, and life as a Latina occasionally downright grisly." In the Fall of 2011, Hernández' contributions to the art of Los Angeles will be featured in "Pacific Standard Time: Art of Los Angeles 1945-1980" (PST), funded by the Getty Foundation
and the Getty Research Institute
. Judithe Hernández currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Los Four
Los Four was a Chicano artist collective during the 1970s and early 1980s in Los Angeles, California. The group was instrumental in bringing Chicano Art to the attention of the mainstream art world.-Brief history and significance:...
, an influential East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles can refer to:* East Los Angeles, California * East Los Angeles...
Chicano artist collective, along with Gilbert Luján
Gilbert Luján
Gilbert "Magú" Luján was a well known and influential Chicano sculptor, muralist and painter. He founded the famous Chicano collective Los Four that consisted of artists Carlos Almaraz, Beto de la Rocha , Frank Romero and himself...
, Carlos Almaraz
Carlos Almaraz
Carlos Almaraz was a Mexican-American artist and an early proponent of the Chicano street arts movement.-Childhood and education:...
, Frank E. Romero, and Roberto de la Rocha
Roberto de la Rocha
Roberto "Beto" de la Rocha is an American painter, graphic artist, and muralist. He was born in Wilmar, California to Mexican American parents. However, according to Carlos Almaraz, he claimed to be a Hasidic Jew from a Spanish Jewish family...
. Of this experience, Hernández later said that "Often I was literally the ONLY female at meetings who was NOT a girlfriend or wife, but an active artist participant."
Hernández graduated from the Otis Art Institute
Otis College of Art and Design
Otis College of Art and Design is an art and design college in Los Angeles, California.The school's programs, accredited by WASC and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, include four-year BFA degrees in illustration, fine arts, graphic design, architecture, landscape design, interior...
in Los Angeles. In 1972, after earning a B.F.A. at Otis, she began graduate studies there. Carlos Almaraz enrolled in the graduate program and they became good friends. Along with Almaraz, she became involved in the Chicano civil-rights movement and worked on such projects as the Chicano Moratorium
Chicano Moratorium
The Chicano Moratorium, formally known as the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, was a movement of Chicano anti-war activists that built a broad-based coalition of Mexican-American groups to organize opposition to the Vietnam War...
. During her time at Otis, Hernández studied drawing with Charlie White. White, an African-American artist who had spent time in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, was interested in indigenous and latin art. In 1971, while working as the illustrator of the Aztlán
Aztlán
Aztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...
Journal, published by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Hernández illustrated the first volume of poetry by the celebrated Mexican-American poet Alurista
Alurista
Alurista is the nom de plume of Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia , a Chicano poet and activist.-Youth and education:...
, Floricanto en Aztlán.
After completing M.F.A.'s at Otis, she and Almaraz collaborated with El Teatro Campesino, worked on behalf of the United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
, and as members of the Concilio de Arte Popular (CAP), they worked to create an organization that united Chicano artists across the state of California. Chicano arts organizations such as the Royal Chicano Air Force
Royal Chicano Air Force
The Royal Chicano Air Force is a Sacramento, California-based art collective. It was one of the main centers of the Chicano art movement in California during the 1970s and 80s and continues to be influential into the 21st Century....
of Sacramento; Galeria de la Raza, in San Francisco, and the artists of Chicano Park in San Diego were among those who during the 1970s participated in CAP. In 1981, she and seven other Chicano muralists painted murals inside the Craft and Folk Art Museum
Craft and Folk Art Museum
The Craft and Folk Art Museum , founded as the popular omelette café The Egg and The Eye, has been an energetic hub of global culture and progressive thought in Los Angeles, California since 1965.-Overview:...
in Los Angeles for an exhibition entitled The Murals of Aztlán. She and the other artists were criticized in Artweek by reviewer Shifra Goldman for "shedding ... their cultural identity and political militance" in order to "enter the mainstream as competitive professionals." Hernández responded "why should changes in my work and socio-political attitudes be construed as compromising my commitment ... while in another artist the same would be construed as personal and professional growth?"
In 2011, her solo exhibition, La Vida Sobre Papel, at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago included several new series of work, one of which was the noted serial murders of women in Ciudad Juárez
Female homicides in Ciudad Juárez
The phenomenon of the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez, called in Spanish the feminicidios and las muertas de Juárez , involves the violent deaths of hundreds of women since 1993 in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a border city across the Rio Grande from the U.S. city of El...
. According to the Chicago Weekly
Chicago Weekly
The Chicago Weekly is a student-written alternative weekly at the University of Chicago that promotes arts and culture on the South Side of Chicago through coverage and criticism. The paper also follows South Side news stories that are ignored by mainstream media...
, "The only thing as conspicuous as the artist’s skill is her message: being human is hard, a woman harder, and life as a Latina occasionally downright grisly." In the Fall of 2011, Hernández' contributions to the art of Los Angeles will be featured in "Pacific Standard Time: Art of Los Angeles 1945-1980" (PST), funded by the Getty Foundation
Getty Foundation
The Getty Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California, at the Getty Center, awards grants for "the understanding and preservation of the visual arts". In the past, it funded the Getty Leadership Institute for "current and future museum leaders", which is now at Claremont Graduate University. Its...
and the Getty Research Institute
Getty Research Institute
The Getty Research Institute , located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". A program of the J...
. Judithe Hernández currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Solo Exhibitions
- Mi Arte, Mi Raza — Los Angeles Municipal Art GalleryLos Angeles Municipal Art GalleryThe Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery is located in the Barnsdall Art Park in Los Angeles, California. It focuses on the arts and artists of Southern California.-Main building:...
, 1978. - Virgen, Madre, Mujer: Imágenes de la Mujer Chicana — Casa de la Raza, Santa Barbara, CA 1979.
- A Decade of a Woman's Work — Solart Gallery, San Diego, CA 1980.
- Judithe Hernández : Works on Paper — Cayman Gallery, New York, NY 1983.
- What Dreams May Come / Qué Sueños Quizás Vengan — Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL 2010.
- La Vida Sobre Papel — National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL 2011.