Artist Linda Vallejo and Chicana Conceptualism
Charlene Villasenor Black, scholar, educator, curator
Aztlan: Journal of Chicano Studies 47:1
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Spring 2022
COMPLETE ESSAY
“This essay focuses on recent work by artist Linda Vallejo (b. 1951) to deepen understanding of her conceptual artistic practice, an important but overlooked aspect of Chicana/o/x artmaking. New pieces created in 2020-2021, during the global Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrate two conceptual strategies central to her work: stacking and morphing (Vallejo 2021b). Using these ideas to understand her recent art highlights its conceptual development. This essay also considers other conceptual artists with whom her work is in dialogue. My brief commentary is intended to deepen discussion of Chicana/o/x conceptualism and minimalism, important but understudied threads in the history of art. All three pieces introduced in this essay form part of her current conversation about the Victorian era, the so-called “Gilded Age” of the United States, and about Latina/os. Where were Latina/os in early American history and where are we today? How do race, color, and class define our status in the world? Do color and class condition our understanding and appreciation of culture? Are Latinos influencers of American beliefs and culture? How have we contributed to the American economy? (Vallejo 2021b)”