We visited the Judy Baca retrospective at MOLAA, the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, Memorias de Nuestra Tierra (Memories of Our Land).
Dance of the Land by Judy Baca, 2009
Against the colored walls, the painting Dance of the Land above literally seems to move with the swirling of the Mexican dancers.
The Birth of the Vision of the Heart by Judy Baca, 2021
I was aware of some of the work of the Chicana muralist and activist, but it was amazing to be able to see in detail the numerous panels of the Great Wall of Los Angeles, a half mile long mural painted by over 400 youths and 100 scholars from 1976 to 1983 and still standing in the San Fernando Valley. As they were rolling around the walls via several overhead projectors, we could see brightly colored illustrations of the history of California from prehistoric times to the 1950s. I cannot begin to describe the depth and breadth of this enormous undertaking, so I urge you to go experience the immersive audiovisual installation it for yourselves at MOLAA.
Thirteen Women in the Volcanic Eruption by Judy Baca, 2021
The most stunning piece was a two-sided tryptic in the Womanist Gallery, When God Was A Woman, inspired by the 1976 book by Merlin Stone. On one side is The Birth of the Vision of the Heart, on the reverse, that a museum employee kindly rotated for us when we asked, is Thirteen Women in the Volcanic Eruption.
Judith Baca as La Pachuca, by Donna Deitch
A series of Black and White portraits of Baca as a Pachuca from the 1940s was photographed by Donna Deitch.
Las Tres Marias by Judy Baca, 1976
A full length colorized version was one of the panels of the 1976 performance piece Las Tres Marias, recreated for the exhibit as Las Tres Forever.
Josephina: Ofrenda to the Domestic Worker by Judy Baca, 1993
Another colorized Black and White photo, Josefina: Ofrenda to the Domestic Worker, 1993, honors the work of Latina cleaning ladies in Los Angeles. It has votive candles in front and it’s flanked by Pancho sculptures, ceramic figurines of Mexican men dozing under sombreros, of which we see many examples reimagined by Baca in the next gallery.
Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi by Judy Baca
In this third gallery we saw paintings of the holy trinity of Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez and Mahatma Gandhi.
Street vendor cart by Judy Baca
A street vendor’s juice cart as you see in Mexico stood in the middle, with paintings of immigrant field workers.
Painting by Judy Baca
I am not sure, since I did not read the caption, but I assume this is a painting of the artist’s grandma, Francisca. On her website Judith Francisca Baca says that her grandmother was an indigenous woman, so she knew since she was a child that there was an intelligence to living things and to the earth that nurtured them.
For more information, I suggest you explore the Judy Baca website, read this art review and click on the other links.
Text and photos by Elisa Leonelli