What lies beneath the surface of the canvas are serious issues of race, racism, assimilation, and the complex entanglement of issues one faces as an American of non-European descent. The Pop Art movement began in the 1950s, reaching its peak in the 1960s. Mel Casas: Art about Art, 1975-1981, San Antonio Central Public Library, July 1-31, 2015. In Humanscape 62, Casas has juxtaposed references to the rich culture and peoples of Mexico and the American Southwest with several references to “brownies” or brownness and a crudely stereotypical Mexican character from American advertising. One friend asked us to live on his property, rent-free, to keep out strangers who might be coming around to take whatever they could. Support for internment also came from local white farmers and businessmen, who assumed possession of most of the internees’ property. One of the first protest campaigns to take on a specific stereotypical image was the campaign to eradicate the Frito Bandito, the sombrero-toting stereotypical mascot for Frito-Lay corn chips featured on television commercials. Casas has merged these references with those of indigenous culture to question the ways in which mainstream American popular culture has demeaned brown cultures, whether they be Mexican American or indigenous. The book "Con Safo: The Chicano Art Group and the Politics of South Texas" features this 1972 photograph of the group, which included, from left, Santos Martinez, Jesse Almazan, Carlos Espinosa, Roberto Rios, Felipe Reyes, Jose Esquivel, Vincente Velasquez, Mel Casas and Jose Garza The one factor that all ten camps had in common was their geographic isolation. “I’d never experienced heat like that. Mel Casas has given this painting a subtitle, located at the bottom of the canvas. The internees remained at these assembly centers until the camps were ready. The painting’s crisp, colorful forms contradict its serious content and message. Conditions varied from camp to camp depending on location – from the heat and dust of the Manzanar camp in California, to the bitter winter cold at the Minidoka camp in Idaho. Generally, it is used to describe people with “brown” skin tone who are of Hispanic or native ancestry. September 11, 2001: on this day, a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks took place by the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda, targeting symbolic American landmarks. What is its significance? Artists make choices in communicating ideas. Ronald Reagan: 40th President of the United States. Chicano: a chosen identity of an American of Mexican origin or descent. SOUTHWEST CHICKEN WRAP Boneless seasoned grilled chicken breast with peppers, jalapeños, onion, corn, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and chipotle ranch dressing in a flour tortilla. You heard that people were getting their houses burned down and we were afraid that those things might happen to us. We are in the Northern settlement which has facilities for 10,000. Hot Fudge Brownie Dessert Smucker's. Next, take a close look at what is going on inside the screened room. An image of the Frito Bandito is depicted astride a pre-Colombian skeletal figure. He continued his studies at the University of the Americas in Mexico City, where he earned a master’s degree before moving to San Antonio in 1961. Learn havc with free interactive flashcards. The inclusion of Superman is a reference to Shimomura’s love of comic books. Pop Art: a style of art based on modern popular culture and the mass media, especially as a critical or ironic comment on traditional fine art values. We can’t just run on instinct.”. . On the night of December 7, 1941, the FBI knocked at the Matsushitas’ door and took Iwao away, first to jail at the Seattle Immigration Stateion and then, by special train, windows sealed and guards at the doors, to Montana. The date of December 12th in the title of the painting refers to an entry in Toku Shimomura’s (1888-1968) diary. Nicole Neyenesch 4/27/2017 “Brownies of the Southwest: Troop 704” In Laurie Ann Guerreo’s “Brownies of the Southwest: Troop 704,” Guerreo focuses on the racial discrimination that is ever present in American society. What clues does Shimomura give us? Mel Casas’s pun-laced Humanscape 62 combines elements familiar to many Americans: brownie desserts and a young Girl Scout (a Brownie), with traditional Mexican imagery. The screen walls surrounding her are traditionally Japanese architectural design elements. Thanks to Michel Ruppli, not only for his books which I use daily, but also for a large amount of rare and unpublished data from his giant archive. But I sure hope we proved it. War Relocation Authority: the government agency in charge of the management of the ten relocation camps that Japanese American were sent to during World War II. I left my one-year-old son, Tony, in the truck, thinking I’d be back in two minutes. Find it in a Library (Excerpt from page 94), “When the tragedy of Pearl Harbor struck, all the Japanese were forced to leave their homes and property and were taken to concentration camps. There is also another Casas Humanscape painting that is currently on display in San Antonio. By December 11 the number of those taken had reached 1,300. MEL CASAS: The Southwestern Cliches, 1982-1989. The business has grown to employ six full-time workers to produce around 100 loaves of bread a day, as well as cookies, cinnamon rolls, brownies, turnovers, and … The use of a series by these artists is indicative of the broader discussion required to understand the issues raised in the paintings. Painted in 1970, this artwork is part of Casas’ “Humanscape” series, each which feature a large central image that evokes a television or movie screen, populated with everyday life imagery. Iran Hostage Crisis:  a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States, where more than sixty Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days (from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981). If Americans’ first reference point for Mexican-Americans is the Frito Bandito, Casas suggests, then the harmful stereotypes risk obscuring the rich culture and peoples of Mexico. each block is like one community and it’s up to those of us who comprise the community to make it better, through cooperative efforts.”, Imprisoned Apart : The World War II Correspondence of an Issei Couple, 1997, Louis Fiset “Most artists are right-brained and he was both right-brained and left-brained and he got my left brain going so that I could be analytical which is very important to artists. Shimomura’s painting style recalls ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints and paintings from the Edo Period, during the 17th-19th centuries), probably the style that most heavily shaped the West’s perception of Japanese art. 9-12 – Identify the major issues that affected immigrants and explain the conflicts these issues engendered. Shimomura’s “Diary” series expands on the artist’s personal reminiscences as an internee in a World War II-era Japanese internment camp. There were two rows of toilets facing each other with no doors. Standard 2D – The student understands contemporary American culture. Starting from today we were permitted to withdraw $100 from the bank. Casas was best known for pointed visual statements that questioned cultural stereotypes and portrayals of Mexican Americans in the media, works such as “Humanscape 62 (Brownies of the Southwest),… Center in California second generation. ” used to describe this figure Shimomura completed twenty-five in... 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