April 13, 2017 47th National Conference, San Diego, CA
Panel - Art & Design Culture: Looking at Race and Identity in Visual Culture
Liga, Sucia, y Mutantes: Representation and Diversity of US Latinidad and Latinx Identities through Zines
Currently, questions on race, identity, and culture are being heavily raised and discussed within contemporary society. Questions regarding these issues are being explored and expressed through artistic means, such as zines. New waves of young creative individuals are establishing zine collectives that address the aforementioned topics, but also ideas surrounding sexuality and gender. This paper analyzes works from the multi-city collective, La Liga Zine, as well as the San Antonio based collective St. Sucia, and the Chicago based collective Mujeres Mutantes. I assert that their works express a cultural perspective of Latinidad and Latinx, one that has been largely ignored by mainstream media and publications. This paper seeks to critically analyze the social and cultural constructs of latinidad and latinx identity through the artistic outlet of these zines but also explore the networks of culture that these artistic publications exist in.
These collectives are carving out third-space platforms for their creative, socially engaged, and artistic presence to be heard from within and outside of their cultural networks.
These collectives are carving out third-space platforms for their creative, socially engaged, and artistic presence to be heard from within and outside of their cultural networks. The overall design and artistic visions of these zines vary, however they incorporate and integrate complex aspects of latinidad, latinx, and border identity with post-punk, pop, cinematic, and comic elements. It is with these aspects and elements that establish a hybrid and syncretic consciousness of both personal and popular identity within these works.