Leo Limon: Portrait of an Artist

These movies are in two formats. One requires Quicktime to be enabled on the browser and loads faster. The other is in MP4 format which works on iphones and ipads as well as some computer configurations that may not work with this version of Quicktime.

Leo Limon: Portrait of an Artist Full Movie (Only on QuickTime version)
Portrait of an Artist: Trailer (Only on QuickTime version)
Chapter 1. Portrait of an Artist: QuickTime | MP4
Chapter 2. Chicano Movement Artist: QuickTime | MP4
Chapter 3. Social Aesthetics and Indigenous Expressions: QuickTime | MP4
Chapter 4. The L.A. River Cat Artist: QuickTime | MP4
Chapter 5. Cultural Worker and Youth Mentor: QuickTime | MP4

Chicano visual art is a field of significant growing interest within the UC system and among the general public. Teaching, research and exhibitions and publications related to Chicana/o visual art have all expanded considerably this past decade. Despite all this, there are many subjects, such as is the case with Leo Limon, that have remained seriously undocumented simply because materials do not exist in sufficient quantities to support new scholarship, analysis and interpretation.

The video documentary Leo Limon: Portrait of an Artist was created to address this paucity. It is about one of the most popular and visible artists in the Chicano art movement. The video captures various phases of the artist’s life in the context of the broader history of important cultural centers such as Self-Help Graphics & Art and the Mechicano Art Center, and his proactive and collaborative approaches to alleviate gang violence and other social problems confronting at-risk urban youth and residents in high-violence neighborhoods. In addition, the video explores his important work in the preservation and restoration of the Los Angeles River as an ecological and recreational zone for the Los Angeles community. It illustrates the cultural and economic benefits of innovative parklands preservation through initiatives like the L.A. River arts program.

Leo Limon: Portrait of an Artist yields important new biographical information and documentation that will support new scholarship not only in Chicana/o aesthetic and cultural studies but also in the interdisciplinarity and hybridity of the visual arts and the social sciences. Leo Limon’s successful, innovative cultural arts-based strategies and methods address a range of social issues. This process is defined as aesthetic activism that uses art for social transformation and social justice. Limon’s remarkable work on the L.A. River will be of interest to students in environmental studies, urban studies and to sociology students studying the role of voluntarism and societal partnerships for gang violence intervention.

Diane Gamboa: an interview with Tomás Carrasco

Diane Gamboa was a visiting artist at UCSB near the end of May. On May 25, 2011this video was recorded during her visit.

Diane Gamoba Interview
Slideshow from Diane's visit

Come Together Art Exhibit and Panel Discussion

Exhibit Information
Slide show of some of the gallery activities

Video of the Come Together Panel Discussion (streaming quicktime) with artist Nancy Hom and Juan Fuentes moderated by Professor George Lipsitz - February 8th, 2011 at the UCSB MultiCultural Center.
Mp4 Videos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (these may download slower)

Chicano Park 40th Anniversary

This Shades of San Diego Show was produced by Diana Guevara and aired April 18, 2010. It includes an interview with artist activist Alurista, muralist Mario Torero and and Irene Mena, honorary mother of the Brown Berets. This show celebrates the 40th anniversay of Chicano Park. It is used with permission from Diana Guevara on behalf of Channel 4 San Diego, Cox Meida.

Irene Mena and Alurista being interviewed by Diana Guevara on the show
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four