Months before Alma Lopez's digital collage Our Lady was shown at the Museum of International Folk Art in 2001, the museum began receiving angry phone calls from community activists and Catholic leaders who demanded that the image not be displayed. Protest rallies, prayer vigils, and death threats ensued, but the provocative image of la Virgen de Guadalupe (hands on hips, clad only in roses, and exalted by a bare-breasted butterfly angel) remained on exhibition.

Highlighting many of the pivotal questions that have haunted the art world since the NEA debacle of 1988, the contributors to Our Lady of Controversy present diverse perspectives, ranging from definitions of art to the artist's intention, feminism, queer theory, colonialism, and Chicano nationalism. Contributors include the exhibition curator, Tey Marianna Nunn; award-winning novelist and Chicana historian Emma Perez; and Deena Gonzalez (recognized as one of the fifty most important living women historians in America).

Accompanied by a bonus DVD of Alma Lopez's I Love Lupe video that looks at the Chicana artistic tradition of reimagining la Virgen de Guadalupe, featuring a historic conversation between Yolanda Lopez, Ester Hernandez, and Alma Lopez, Our Lady of Controversy promises to ignite important new dialogues.

An anthology of vibrant responses to Alma Lopez's controversial print Our Lady, exploring critical issues of censorship, religion, and the female body.

About the Author

Alicia Gaspar de Alba is a Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, English, and Women's Studies at UCLA. Her nine previous books encompass historical novels, poetry, short stories, and a cultural study of Chicano art.

Alma Lopez is an artist, activist, and visual storyteller originally from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. She is the artist of the 11" x 14" photo-based digital print titled "Our Lady" which was at the center of the controversy in 2001.

Reviews
"An exceptionally important and powerful collection of essays, opening new interpretive paths and new tools for the activist-scholar-student. This is the most serious consideration of the oeuvre of Alma Lopez published to date." - --Charlene Villasenor Black, Associate Professor of Art History, UCLA "This book has many great and laudable qualities. First, it doesn't "wax poetic" or try to sound overly intellectual, just strict reporting of events. Secondly, the plain tone of the writing allows for balanced and unbiased reporting; it gives equal weight to both the artist and her critics, without passing judgment on either. The author respects the fact that the icons are important to some people, and Lopez' artwork isn't something they're accustomed to." - Olive Branch United blog



Book Information
ISBN 9780292726420
Author Alicia Gaspar de Alba
Format Paperback
Page Count 344
Imprint University of Texas Press
Publisher University of Texas Press
Weight(grams) 513g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm