User:Tala Luva/Ester Hernandez

Ester Hernandez artist: Farmworkers

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Ester Hernandez is a Mexican Yaqui American Native and comes from a farmer’s family. Her artwork in screen printing helps to bring attention to a community that has been ignored and is exposed to how pesticides are hurting people in the fields . Ester’s own family work on the farms picking grape which gave her the inspiration in helping those that needed a voice. The Skeleton in the screen-printing is the representation of death instead of the happy young maiden. America hires cheap labor in 1982 and work conditions were unhealthy for the ones that pick the grapes . In 1982--8.8% of people died from the pesticide poisoning."

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California: During 1960’s political activism at a park, labor issues central focus with the Artwork establishment with indigenous ties of Chicanos/a to the American continent which affirmed their historical presence in California. The contested history Mexican American that traced back 1848, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which used to be known as the Alta California ceased to exist. 1880 land in California was sold instead of the promise of Alta U.S. citizens political and property rights. By 1900 and 1920 Mexicans became a major source of labor for agriculture in California. In the 1930’s many Mexicans who were American Citizens were repatriated to Mexico and 1933 many Mexicans who work the cotton fields went on strike requesting higher pay and better conditions, conditions were unsafe due to pesticides and other chemicals. Later in the 1980’s conditions still were bad, so a group of artists came together, Ester Hernandez, Rupert Garcia, Malaquias Montoya produce posters in support of the UFW (united farm workers). (page 78) As one of the artists has said “Rafael Perez-Torres reminds us … “contemporary Chicano consciousness traces its development through the farm worker’s struggle.” (page 973) Many artists also in the visual arts besides writers help to bring about the awareness of the farmworkers’ labor. For the visual arts it is Salvador Roberto Jones, Louis Gonzales, Joe L. Lopez, and Ester Hernandez brought farmworker iconography in their art with the UFW symbols, like the black eagle, poster art union flyers, pilgrimages, picketers and Cesar Chavez “contributing to a political call to make the difficulties facing a whole laboring class socially visible” (pg. 974) Ester Hernandez and Viramontes had created an oppositional code for the label which brought attention to the issues of the grape picker so that the audience’s imagination brings the story or event to life and see through the white lies or myths. (pg. 977) George Lucas indicated that” central valley has experimental Laboratory for the development of forms of neoliberalism that individual's market in dangers the freedoms are engendered in oppositions to racialized farm workers.” (Page 119) Ester Hernandez uses her artwork to help UFW and to bring attention of the farmworkers and conditions of the business of Sun Maid and other companies. Mexican workers and white consumers were both affected by pesticides. This was the inspiration for her to create the sun mad screen printing to show the importance of the labor of Mexicans and the conditions of their work life. The point of Luca’s movie was about agribusiness and farm workers from California show or reshapes race, class, formations in California that agribusiness created through its economy. Another movie films were inspired by the strikes that were led by Mexicans was the movie “The Grapes of wrath”.(Page 119) I believe that the strikes created a form of farm fascism, it brought violence with domination of the movies screening and workers struggled to live and combat against agribusiness propaganda. In other words, artists and writers, filmmakers and farmworkers wanted to bring awareness. As the UFW was created by our artists and others, so that they can protect and create change in our farm workers life and that Mexicans, indigenous and consumers can be safe from harm. Pesticides in the 1980’s to technology now cause more problems instead of helping the farm workers, it helps the agribusiness to profit over the deaths of the labor who suffered from the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals, or they want to end labor which means no jobs. In Star Wars we see how there are different classes of people and how the lower are mistreated. Ester Hernandez and many other artists from all walks of life came together to fight for the people in order for change to be made. The Grapes of wrath had to do with the farm workers or Star Wars is about the division that is happening with our Mexicans, and other races. Most artists have been forming Alliances, Artists for example is Juana Alicia, Ester Hernandez and Patricia Rodriguez “aid that understanding by depicting the inseparability of work, the environment health.”(page xiv- xv) Irving Norman use to work with George and he quit do to the fact that he saw all the magic of movie making as what the future would look like with the technology but later on in life that it seem more bizarre, they began to come to that realization what is or is not possible from my understanding. I see how the artist made it their mission to wake up the world to our common dilemma and danger, as state in the book “to our responsibilities toward one another and our home. It is to those ends the artists of At Work Labor.” (page xv) Just like Cesar Chavez who fought for the farm workers and those who have labor in poor condition. Chavez is an inspiration source for many Chicano/a activists, artists and writers. I have now an understanding of why Ester created her visual art alone with the fiction writer Helena Maria Vimontes and brings light to an understanding of labor. They took their work to be added with the consumer prints by changing them to represent the life of Farmworkers, the myth of California’s agricultural industry that was put as the second Eden is false. Which was used in California’s for their ads to make consumers buy their product. Ester Hernandez created by transforming the Sun Maid, she instead created a skeleton carrying grapes, wearing the sun maids bonnet to show the effects of health issues arising among the grape pickers and consumers.The sun mad artwork exposes the harmful nature of the use of chemicals. And the ugly truth of pesticides, insecticides, miticides, and herbicides and fungicides on their products, and can cause Server health risk.

The health problems from these harmful sprays created asthma, dermatitis and eye injuries. So many other side effects and health problems that were created using the sprays that were used on cheap labor. In conclusion These artworks help in shaping the minds of the people in California, just like Chavez who fought for the Farmworkers rights and conditions, Ester Hernandez and other artists have made a pollical change in how some companies treat their workers for labor and make things better for the consumers. But her artwork speaks volumes in the rights of farm workers and shows that horrible mistreatment of life of others. The fight for the people is never ending. The UFW which is the Union for the people who labor for the America, and Mexico labors will always need a reminder. “Nasty Liberty is a call to action inspired by the right wing’s new era of horrific, backward thinking that is attempting to destroy civil and human rights, science, equality, and more. ¡¡Viva La Libertad!!” (Artist statment)

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