University of California, Santa Barbara
Davidson Library

Department of Special Collections

California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives

 

 

GUIDE TO THE

Lopez, Yolanda M. Papers

1961-1998

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Collection Number:  CEMA 11.   Size Collection:  1.5 linear feet (3 hollinger boxes, 1 oversize portfolio box, 1 flat file portfolio box of silkscreen prints).   Acquisition Information:  Donated by Yolanda Lopez, December 12, 1996.   Access restrictions:  Selected correspondence files which are sensitive in nature will remain closed until 2027.

Use Restriction: Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB.  All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections.  Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to    include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.    Processing Information:  Salvador Güereña, Todd Chatman February, 1999. Revised 2006   Location:  Del Norte

 

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

 

Yolanda Lopez was born in San Diego, California in 1942.  As the eldest daughter of three, she was raised by her mother and her mother’s parents in the Logan Heights neighborhood. 

 

After graduating high school, Lopez moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and in 1968 became part of the San Francisco State University Third World Strike.  She also worked as a community artist in the Mission District with a group called Los Siete de la Raza.  Since that point she has viewed her work as an artist as a tool for political and social change and sees herself as an artistic provocateur. 

 

In 1975 Lopez received her B.A. in Painting and Drawing from San Diego State University and in 1979 went on to get her Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from the University of California San Diego.  As a visual artist, she is best known for her groundbreaking Virgin of Guadalupe series, an investigation of the Virgin of Guadalupe as an influential female icon.  Classically trained as an artisan,  her work has expanded into installation, video and slide presentations.  Her video, Images of Mexicans in the Media, has toured internationally and is collected in university libraries nationally.  Her media series, Cactus Hearts/Barbed Wire Dreams, has comprised numerous installations, including Things I Never Told My Son About Being a Mexican,  an installation that explores identity, assimilation, and cultural change. The series was part of the major traveling exhibition “La Frontera/The Border: Art About the Mexico/United States Border Experience.”  A recent project, Woman's Work Is Never Done,  includes a series of prints, as well as the installation The Nanny, which explores the invisibility of immigrant women as domestic workers. The installation was showcased in the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art’s exhibition “Mirror, Mirror…Gender Roles and the Historical Significance of Beauty.”

 

As a scholar as well as an artist, Lopez has taught studio classes and has lectured on contemporary Chicano art at the University of California at Berkeley and San Diego.  Lopez has produced a video, “When You Think of Mexico,” on the topic of cultural stereotypes in print and electronic media, and has presented the video and accompanying lecture throughout the West.  “It is important for us to be visually literate; it is a survival skill,” Lopez states strongly.  “The media is what passes for culture in contemporary U.S. society, and it is extremely powerful.  It is crucial that we systematically explore the cultural mis-definition of Mexicans and Latin Americans that is presented in the media.”

 

SCOPE NOTE

The contents of the Yolanda M. Lopez Papers are comprised of both personal and professional materials generated by the artist during the period 1961-1998. The bulk of the collection consists of incoming personal correspondence from family members and fellow artists. This includes a large body of correspondence from Analee Lively, Lopez’s half-sister, and another large amount from Rene Yañez, with whom Lopez has maintained a relationship since the late 1970s. The second largest component of the collection, the Biographical/Professional Activities series, contains a history of Lopez’s professional development through clippings of media mentions, announcement cards and posters for her exhibits and lectures, and various miscellaneous files and clippings that relate to her work. The collection also includes several original silkscreens and offset posters, a number of slides, a personal diary with irregular entries spanning from 1976-1979, and two video cassettes featuring Lopez. The greatest strengths of the collection are the insight it gives into Lopez’s personal and family life (especially in the late 1960s and 1970s), and the record it provides of her professional development and achievements.

 

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

The collection is divided into six series, each of which is arranged chronologically. The series are described as follows:

 

Series I: Correspondence – Incoming 1961-1995. This series is arranged alphabetically according to correspondent, then chronologically, and is divided into personal and professional correspondence. The largest amount of correspondence (spanning from 1978-1994) is from Rene Yañez, a Chicano artist with whom Lopez shares a son, Rio Rene Yañez. Other correspondents of note include:

·         Nesbit Crutchfield, who wrote to Lopez during his two years of incarceration in 1968-70;

·         Countes [sic] Cuchita, who claimed to be Lopez’s sister, and Mortimer Lopez, Lopez’s father;

·         David Avalos, a Chicano artist with whom Lopez had a close relationship for several years;

·         and Graciela Carrillo, a fellow artist and personal friend who, along with Lopez, was one of the Mujeres Muralistas.

 

Series II: Biographical/Professional Activities, 1978-1998. This series is arranged chronologically and contains primarily literature related to Lopez’s participation in exhibitions and other professional activities. This includes flyers and announcements for exhibitions and conferences, as well as articles from magazines and newspapers regarding Lopez’s work and Chicana art in general. Lopez’s personal biography and an Artist Statement dated 1998 can be found in box 4, folder 1. Note also that there are very informative newspaper/magazine interviews and clippings relating to Lopez’s professional activities in the Oversize series (series V).

 

Series III: Photography—Slides. The slides contained within this series are a sampling of some of Lopez’s better-known works. Subjects represented include:

·         The Virgin of Guadalupe series,

·         A Woman’s Work Is Never Done series

·         Cactus Hearts/Barbed Wire Dreams series

The Miscellaneous slides include selections from the Things I Never Told My Son About Being a  Mexican series, the Three Generations Tres Mujeres series, and slides of individual works such as Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?, La Mano Mas Poderosa (The Most Powerful Hand), Mexican Chair, Rio's World, and others.

 

Series IV: Video. This series contains two videotapes. One tape contains an interview with Lopez focused on the making of the Guadalupe series; the other  tape, entitled "Women of the Vanguard," contains original footage of a protest at the Galeria de La Raza in which Lopez took part.

 

Series V: Oversize. This series contains miscellaneous oversized items arranged chronologically, including a photograph of Lopez, newspapers, programs and fliers related to her professional activities, and several pieces of oversize correspondence from David Avalos and Analee Lively. Of particular interest is the Winter/Spring, 1995 issue of Venceremos which features an excellent interview with Lopez discussing much of her most well-known work (box 5, folder 1). Items are arranged chronologically.

 

Series VI: Graphic Arts. This series contains 15 silkscreen and offset posters by Lopez, as well as four iris prints of Lopez's work. Included in the posters are several of her well-known works, including Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?, A Woman’s Work Is Never Done, Things I Never Told My Son About Being a Mexican, and others. The prints are arranged according to record number and stored in flat files.

 

RELATED COLLECTIONS

The video, “When You Think of Mexico: Commercial Images of Mexicans,” written and produced by Yolanda Lopez (1986; running time 28 minutes; color; in stereo), is part of the media collections in the Curriculum Laboratory of the Davidson Library. It has the following call number: P94.5 M45 L6, 1986. In addition, two video collections within CEMA contain video materials pertaining to Lopez. In the Artistas Chicanas Symposium Collection, tape one (call number: 6538.M4 A76 1991a) features Lopez talking about the Virgin of Guadalupe series and other well known works. The Califas Collection (call number: E184.M5 C2995 1986) also contains extensive video footage pertaining to Chicano art in California.

CONTAINER LIST

SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE – INCOMING, 1961-1995

 Box      Folder       Contents

 

                                            Personal Correspondence

1           1                                    Avalos, David, 1971-1979

1           2                                    Avalos, Peggy, 1972-1978

1           3                                    Carillo, Graciela, 1977-1978

1           4                                    Crutchfield, Nesbit, 1968-1970

                                                   Cuchita, Countes [sic]

1           5                                          1966-1967

1           6                                          1967-1968

 

                                                   Yañez, Rene 

2           1-3                                       1978

2           4                                          1978-1981

2           5                                          n.d.

                                                   General

3           1                                          1961-1973

3           2                                          1977-87

3           3                                          1988-95

4           4                                          n.d.

 

                                            Professional Correspondence

3           5                                    1969-1995

3           6                                    n.d.

 

SERIES II: BIOGRAPHICAL/PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES, 1978-1998

 

                                            Diary

3           7                                    Personal diary, 1976-1979

 

                                            Chronological Files

3           8                                    1978

3           9                                    1979-1985

3           10                                  1988-1989

3           11                                  1990-1993

3           12                                  1994

3           13                                  1995-1996

 

Box      Folder       Contents

 

4           1-2                                 1997

4           3                                    1998

4           4                                    n.d.

 

                                            Exhibitions

4           5                                    “First Front: Vanguard of the Chicano Movement in Northern California,”

Galeria de la Raza Exhibit, 1994

4           6                                    “Ten Women, Ten Prints,” Exhibition, 1995

4           7                                    “The Latina Artist” Exhibition, 1998

 

SERIES III: PHOTOGRAPHY – SLIDES

 

4           8                              “La Virgen de Guadalupe” series

4           9                              “Cactus Hearts/Barbed Wire Dreams” series

4           10                            “A Woman’s Work is Never Done” series

4           11                            Miscellany

 

 

SERIES IV: VIDEO

 

Database #

V0019/VHS                        “An Interview with Yolanda M. Lopez and the Making of the Guadalupe Series”

1988 (“unedited”)

V0020/8MM                      "Women of the Vanguard" Protest at the Galería de la Raza, 8/20/94

 

SERIES V: OVERSIZE

 

                                            Biographical/Professional Activities

5           1                                    1995-1997

5           2                                    1988-1994

5           3                                    Photo of Yolanda Lopez by Joe Ramos, 9 ½” x 11 ½”, n.d.

 

                                            Correspondence – Incoming

5           4                                    Avalos, David, n.d.; Lively, Analee, n.d.

 

SERIES VI: GRAPHIC ARTS

 

                                            Iris Prints

4           12                            "A Woman's Work Is Never Done," "Virgin at the Crossroads,"

                                            "Your Vote Has Power," and "Madre Mestiza"

 

                                            The rest of the Graphic Arts contained within the Yolanda Lopez Papers are listed here. These prints are stored in the graphics collection cabinet in Special Collections, separate from the rest of the Lopez collection.

Silkscreen & Offset Prints

(Arranged Alphabetically By Title)

 

     1.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for Art & Action: A Spring for Change ; from the When You Think of Mexico Series ; 1984; silkscreen; image size:  16 1/4'' x 10 3/4''; paper size:   16 1/4'' x 10 3/4''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “Art & Action: A Spring of Change.”  Against a green background lies a yellow shirt with saguaro-cactus-and-man-in-sombrero design. A white apron atop shirt serves as background for text. Words over apron read, “Art & Action  A Spring for Change” in bold red. Further text reads “April 21, 1984 Saturday noon to midnight.  Veteran’s Memorial Bldg. 846 Front St. Santa Cruz, CA.  Music--Bands 9:00-12:00 midnight.  ‘The Looters’ ‘Tao Chemical’ donation requested.  Poetry--8:00 p.m. Choreopoem performance.  Dialogue--Panel discussion: Art & Political Action.  Video--Art--Performance.  For more info (408) 476-8328.  Poster: ‘Things I never told my son about being a Mexican.’ by Yolanda M. Lopez, When You Think of Mexico Series.”

 

     2.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for Arte Picante--Contemporary Chicano Arts ; 1975; offset; image size:  23 3/8'' x 18''; paper size:   25'' x 19''

unknown ed.; signed

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “Arte Picante--Contemporary Chicano Arts.”  Text above center picture reads, “Arte Picante.” Below is a black and white portrait of two women standing together. An older Latina woman, very thin, with glasses, is in the forefront. Another, larger Latina woman with a broader face has her arm around her.  Below picture, text in black reads “January 11-February 6, 1976.  Chicano Films, Poetry, Drama, Music, Art.  Gallery hours: Sunday through Friday 12-5 p.m.  For more information: 452-2860.  Mandeville Center for the Arts.  University of California, San Diego.”

     3.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for Chicano Studies Center of the Claremont Colleges--25th Anniversary 1994-5; 1995; offset; image size:  16'' x 10''; paper size:   17'' x 11''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “Chicano Studies Center of the Claremont Colleges--25th Anniversary 1994-5.”  There is a tan Aztec calendar in upper right center. Black text at top reads, “Chicano Studies Center for the Claremont Colleges 25th Anniversary 1994-5.” Following under, in a sierra-colored box, is a list of Chicano/a Studies Events - 1995 from February 8 through April 22. On the bottom, text in black reads: “Celebrating 25 years of scholarship, teaching and student services.” The background of poster in tan; image and text contained within a black border.
 

     4.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for Flor y Canto - Benefit for Yolanda Lopez; 1996; silkscreen; image size:  21 5/8'' x 13 1/2'' ; paper size:   22 1/2'' x 14 1/2''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “Flor y Canto - Benefit for Yolanda Lopez.”  The title text reads “Flor y Canto - Benefit for Yolanda Lopez.” In capital hand-written red letters at the top of the poster reads “Saturday June 8, 1996, 8 p.m.  Mission Cultural Center Gallery.”  In the center is a picture of a young Latina woman taking off a dramatic mask. She is wearing a shirt with house prints on it. Behind her mesh together a red background of floral screen and of nuclear warheads prints. A border surrounds the picture, containing guns and roses. Underneath the picture, text lists poets and music, ticket prices, where tickets can be purchased, and location of events. The event has been sponsored by, “Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeno Band, Galeria de la Raza, Studio 24, Juana Alicia, Alliance Graphics, (and) Mission Cultural Center.”

 

     5.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for In Progress; 1982; offset; image size:  20 7/8'' x 12''; paper size:   20 7/8'' x 12''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “In Progress.”  The title in red text at top reads, “In Progress,” across a backdrop of a red grid. Underneath the title text, black print reads, “19 artists creating murals in an open studio on the walls of Galeria de la Raza [GDLR address, dates, hours, encouragement of public to come follows.]" A column of text on the right side lists the artists. More text announces a joint reception for another show in progress and for Michael Rios' newly completed minipark mural. Interspersed in grid are b/w photos of artists. At bottom is a group b/w photo of artists.

 

     6.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for La Mano Mas Poderosa/The Most Powerful Hand; 1997; silkscreen; image size:  21 1/8'' x 16 3/4''; paper size:   26 1/2'' x 21''

13/25; signed

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “La Mano Mas Poderosa/The Most Powerful Hand.”  The title text reads, “La Mano” (in red horror-movie script) with the words “Mas Poderosa” in a b/w box in the top left corner on a cloud.  The text is above a large flesh-colored hand printed with map of southwest United States and Mexico. One person stands atop clouds above each digit. A child and a man, also on part of the cloud, stand above the thumb. The hand rises from a flaming spot in the center of the black-colored continent of North America. Houses lie to the northwest; a clock tower and office lie to the northeast. To the side of the hand lies a black and white box that reads, “Chicana y Chicano Scholarship: Un Compromiso con nuestras comunidades.” At the bottom, in a red box, reads white text: “XXIV Annual Conference National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Radisson Hotel Sacramento, California April 16-19, 1997.” Underneath this text reads the trademark and “86 Alliance Graphics” and also “Poster: (c) Yolanda M. Lopez 1997.” Underneath this text in pencil script is Yolanda Lopez's signature, date, and title, “The Most Powerful Hand.” The color of the background ranges from yellow at top to orange to red at bottom. The globe is blue with black continents.

 

     7.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for U.S. Latino Art On Film--Festival Cinearte;  1985; poster; image size:  13 3/8'' x 8''; paper size:   14'' x 8 1/2''

unknown ed.; unsigned

 Comments:  Announcement Poster for “U.S. Latino Art on film--Festival Cinearte.”  There is an image of a tube of paint with black and white movie film flowing out of opening. The label on paint tube reads, “Peliculas.” The text on tube reads, “color y b/w.” Continuing text lists Friday and Saturday programs of U.S. Latina Art on Film. The background is tan; the text is black.

 

     8.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Announcement Poster for Yolanda M. Lopez Works: 1975-1978; 1978; offset; image size:  16'' x 9 1/2'' ; paper size:   17'' x 11''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  Announcement Poster for “Yolanda M. Lopez Works: 1975-1978, Exhibition & Artist’s Reception.”  There is a black and white print titled “Guadalupe: Victoria F. Franco” of an older Latina woman sitting on a raised print throw in the center. She is holding a knife in her left hand and a snakeskin in her right hand. Behind her hovers a small Chicano angel, his head encircled by a half-wreath. Behind both figures the rays of the sun spread out. The sun is hidden behind the older woman. The text underneath the print lists the date, location, and co-sponsors of the exhibition (at UCSD).  Text in black reads “7-9 p.m. Fri., Dec. 8, '78, Mandeville Ctr., East Rm., UCSD, La Jolla, Ca.  Co-sponsored by University of California and El Centro Cultural de la Raza.”

     9.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  El and de los Siete; n.d.; silkscreen; image size:  21 1/2'' x 16 1/2''; paper size:   22 1/2'' x 17 1/2''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  There are blue abstract forms in the center. Two vaguely resemble a teapot. Large neon orange text reads: “El” and “de” at the top of the page/ and “los siete” at bottom of page, in capital block letters. Mauve/dark red text encloses picture in a square. This text lists the date, time, location, and what will take place at a community event: “May 2--12 noon to 7 p.m.--22nd and Folsom--Primer and Los Siete--Pintas para los ninos--Gratis--Rock Band ‘Gold’--Latin Bands-- Speakers from los Siete and community.”

 

   10.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Issues in Chicana Scholarship; 1993; offset; image size:  23'' x 17 3/8''; paper size:   24''  x 18''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  The text on top reads, “Culture and Society in Dialogue: Issues in Chicana Scholarship, May  14, 1993.” The text continues, to list the location (at UC Irvine) of the conference. The center portrait is titled, “Portrait of the Artist as the Virgen de Guadalupe.” There is a picture of young Chicana woman  in a pink dress with white lining and white running shoes, running, holding a snake in her left hand. A cape, blue with yellow dots (stars?) is thrown over her right shoulder and spreads out behind her. The sun is also behind her; her body covering the sun and the rays of light surrounding her form. The rays of sunlight lie within a red form. The woman is running on clouds. Underneath her left foot, the one which is on the ground, lies a Chicano baby with red, white , and blue wings, dressed in a red coat. The text beneath this picture lists sessions and speakers for events in Literary Expressions, Social Science Issues, and Artistic Impressions. The sponsors for the event and the number to call for information are also listed.

   11.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Mission Street Manifesto; 1983; offset; image size:  20 3/8'' x 12 3/4'' ; paper size:   21'' x 12 3/4''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  A bar across top with an illustration of eyes and forehead of a young Latina woman next to lips and chin of young Latino man. The image is in color against black, in a slightly pointilistic style. Underneath the image reads a poem in lower case print. The title of the poem is “Mission Street Manifesto [all caps, next line in lower case letters] for all varrios” and begins “Blow out the jiving smoke the plastik mix the huddling straw for the dying mind.” On the bottom of the poem, underneath a black line, reads “From Desires of Exile by Juan Felipe Herrera ©1983 Lab Press Publications Design by Cecilia Brunazzi, from a photo by Yolanda M. Lopez.”

 

   12.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Who's the  Illegal  Alien, Pilgrim?; 1994; offset; image size:  21 5/8'' x  15 1/8''; paper size:   221/2'' x 16 1/2''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  Within border of several lines a Native American male with angry expression points finger of left hand at viewer. He is wearing an Aztec headdress with black and white designs and metal wrist sheaths. In his right hand are clutched several ragged-looking papers entitled “Immigration Plans.” The title text lies over a blanked-out area on man's chest and torso. The word “pilgrim” is encased in a lined block.

 

   13.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? (calendar); 1989; Poster; image size:  16 3/8'' x 10''; paper size:   17'' x 11''

unknown ed.; unsigned

Comments:  In the top center is an image of young angry Native American in Aztec headdress and metal wrist sheaths, clutching ragged papers entitled, “Immigration Plans.” Text in black reads  “Who's the illegal alien, PILGRIM?” over his chest. Under the image of the man reads the following text in black: “America Pertenece Al Pueblo Indigena Indio/Mexicano somos un pueblo sin fronteras lucha liberacion y reunificacion de nuestras tierras” all in caps. Underneath this text is a month-by-month calendar of 1989. There is one Aztec deity on each side of the calendar centerpiece. Underneath the calendar in the left corner reads, “Centro Aztlan / 2803 B St. / San Diego, CALIFAZTLAN.” In the right corner is address, “Union del Barrio / P.O. Box 8095 / San Diego, CA 92102 / (619) 233-7279.” Underneath the left corner the address reads, “A Project of Union del Barrio.” In the bottom center is a bust of a man wearing a feathered piece of headwear. The print is black on grey.

 

   14.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Woman's Work Is Never Done ; 1996; photo silkscreen; image size:  20'' x 16''; paper size:   25'' x 24''

3/45; signed

Comments:  This is a silkscreen color print of two young women standing together. There is an orange print background of women in an older time period (1920s?) protesting for women's suffrage as a backdrop. The caucasion woman on the left is Amy Biehl; the black woman on the right is her South African friend, possibly Melanie Jacobs. On the white woman, a small blue bar of text above the pocket of her denim jacket reads, “Your vote has Power.” The text surrounding the women on the sides of the picture read: left, “From: South Africa to North America” right: “Amy Biehl --Melanie Jacobs ; bottom, “Woman’s Work is Never Done.” The artist has signed her name in pencil at the bottom. 

 

   15.    Lopez,  Yolanda;  Your Vote Has Power; 1997; silkscreen; image size:  22 1/2'' x 20''; paper size:   25'' x 22''

4/20; signed

Comments:  The center image is a young woman (possibly South American) with a baby on her back. The woman’s hair is in a braid and wraps partially around her neck. These human forms are colored red. The young woman stuffs paper into a ballot box. She is wearing a black hat with unintelligible logo and dark sweater and a white backsack to carry the baby. The form of the woman carrying the baby is surrounded by yellow. At the top, white text in black box reads, “Your Vote has Power,” with a white “X” enclosed in box image. On the bottom, white text in red box reads, “Woman’s Work is Never Done,” next to a black “X” in white box.  In lower right of poster in white reads “Yolanda 1997.”