Dear America We Need to Talk: The Vision of Maria de Los Angeles

Maria de Los Angeles, Discussant Ana Elena Noles, PsyD

Friday, May 14, 6:30-8:30pm

Photo by Ryan Bonilla

Maria de Los Angeles is an artist in dialog with herself, her art and the community. Join us as de Los Angeles takes us on a tour of her studio, through her explorations of representation, memory, perspective, intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience, immigration and the Virgin of Guadalupe as a theme of protection. De Los Angeles was selected to create a mural in Glen Ellen CA in Collaboration with the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and a local building owner. She will show us the work in progress and artworks in her studio to speak about process and community engagement. We will jointly consider with her complex questions of representation that emerge from her work, such as, how to interpret imagery that carries cultural significance, how to invent new imagery and ultimately bringing visibility via art. Growing up  as an undocumented citizen of the US transformed de Los Angeles’ sense of belonging and her worldview. She states, “Art gives me freedom and the ability to speak about social issues...I begin by drawing from my imagination then, later, from photographs, combining the two to create layered narratives. I like the meaning in my work to unfold slowly, with people discovering elements and moments they didn’t see at first. I think about time, and the time needed to fully take in the emotional and psychological impact of a painting and it’s story. My images are layered with combination of myth, actual situations, culture and political symbols, spirituality and sometimes humor. I often contemplate how myth, allegory and individual experience merge to create our perspectives. I am highly influenced by magic realism, feminist movement and sociopolitical art.”