Judithe Hernández-Neikrug, M.F.A.

Bio

• Born Los Angeles, March 19, 1948
• Master of Fine Arts degree from Otis Art Institute
• One of the pioneers (and very few females) of the Chicano art and mural movement in California. Mural worked included murals painted for The United Farm Workers Union and several for East Los Angels Housing Projects
• Was the only female member of Los Four: the Chicano artist collaborative which broke down the museum barriers to Chicano art in the U.S. with exhibitions at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Oakland Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Art, the Craft and Folk Art Museum. My work has also been exhibited in several museums in Europe.

Inspiration/thought for the Painting

I think basically my inspiration was derived from a view of the Mariachi as a mythical character who transcends time and place to bring who ever will listen "la magia de la cultura Mexicana". In keeping with this mythic image, you don't see his face. Instead you identify the Mariachi by his beautiful "traje" and musical instrument. As he plays, the essence of "mexicanismo" swirls around him like a ribbon, a ribbon which also reminds us of the Mexicano's perception of mortality and how intimately it intertwines our culture and lives; like the music of the Mariachi.

Events