Art is a form of self expression in which the mind and 
emotions are fused in the creation of a work that invokes 
thought in others.  Through this medium, people are able to
step into the shoes of the artist and see life from their 
perspective.  On this note, we decided to visit the La Voz 
exhibit at the Triton Museum of Art and see how 
Mexican-American artists use the power of art to express 
themselves.
	
Throughout the exhibit, we noticed a definite theme of 
oppression and a search for identity emerging.  As we 
entered the room the first work of art that caught our eye 
was Setting the Table by Richard Godinez.  In this work, a 
white upper middle class family was depicted preparing for 
a nice dinner.  Yet instead of portraying this scene in the
traditional manner, it was divided into three sections and 
placed on a blood red background in which farm workers could
be seen laboring in the fields.  One could clearly see that
the purpose of the farm workers labor was to provide food 
for the upper middle class.  The frivolous, carefree life 
of the upper middle class family who were ignorant of the 
hard working and poor farm workers just scraping by.  
	
Richard Godinez also made strong statements in his other 
works.  Once again, using a traditional medium in an 
untraditional fashion, in Trompe L'Oeil, a dead 
Mexican-American man lies dead along side a road while 
yellow ribbons adorn the canvas.  These tied yellow ribbons
symbolize hope in the midst of a societal war in which 
Mexican-Americans are the victims.
	
Different artists had varying motivations for creating their
art.  However all share the commonality of dealing with
isolation and oppression in their individual lives.  One of
the artists on exhibit, Lucia Villegas expressed this 
eloquently in her statement, 
	
The struggle as an individual has been to understand and to
be understood. My work is a way of understanding who I am by
means of history.  The attempt I make is to see the history 
of Mexico in spite of 500 years of distortion.  These works
began as did the revolution, as a discovery of myself and a
return to my origins. Villegas's thought is an accurate
depiction of what motivated all of the artists participating
in this exhibit.  
	
Art is seen everyday, yet rarely do people let themselves
experience it mentally and emotionally.  Through visiting 
the La Voz exhibit, we were compelled to view society from 
a perspective we were not accustomed.  It is through 
exhibits like this that Mexican-Americans are able to share
their heritage and identity with people of all races.

WRITTEN BY:
Jaime Dick
Eileen Pedersen
Sandie De Medeiros